Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences

Traditional approaches to ecological functioning, since Darwin, have viewed evolution as an optimizing process, inspiring a search for what it is that is optimized. But the evolution of ecological characteristics occurs within a broad context, in which others are also involved, necessitating a game theoretic approach in which interactions are diffuse, and in which the identities of the players and their strategy sets are continually changing. Particularly challenging is understanding the emergence of macroscopic properties of ecosystems, such as nutrient cycling, as well as the development of coalitions and groupings. This lecture will introduce a general approach drawn from the theory of adaptive dynamics, with application to situations as diverse as intertemporal discounting and nutrient use. Obvious analogies with economic systems will be pointed out.