Future Perspectives

Abstract

Important areas for future developments of game theory in biology are put forward. These include several issues that are dealt with in the book, such as trait co-evolution, the consequences of variation, time structure, and the embedding of games into an ecological context and into the lives of individuals. New areas are also suggested, with Tinbergen’s four questions about the study of animal behaviour serving as a starting point. Game theory could be combined with phylogenetic analysis by examining how Evolutionarily Stable Strategies (ESSs) might change over evolutionary time, including major shifts between different ESSs, which might correspond to different species over evolutionary time. Concerning behavioural mechanisms in large worlds, the question of which mechanism parameters that are tuned by evolution is addressed, with a brief summary of the current knowledge about comparative cognition. The possible importance of limited flexibility in mechanisms is illustrated by outlining a model of a trust game. Finally, the potential for game theory to contribute to the study of cognitive development is discussed, using mutualism between cleaner fish and their client fish as an illustration.