Date
March 27 (Thu) at 16:00 - 17:00, 2025 (JST)
Speaker
  • Andy Gardner (Professor, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, UK)
Language
English
Host
Thomas Hitchcock

The study of sex allocation—that is, the investment of resources into male versus female reproductive effort—yields among the best quantitative evidence for Darwinian adaptation, and has long enjoyed a tight and productive interplay of theoretical and empirical research. The fitness consequences of an individual's sex allocation decisions depend crucially upon the sex allocation behaviour of others and, accordingly, sex allocation is readily conceptualized in terms of an evolutionary game. I will discuss the historical development of understanding of a fundamental driver of the evolution of sex allocation—the rarer-sex effect—from its inception in the writing of Charles Darwin in 1871 through to its explicit framing in terms of consanguinity and reproductive value by William D. Hamilton in 1972. I will show that step-wise development of theory proceeded through refinements in the conceptualization of the strategy set, the payoff function and the unbeatable strategy.

This is a closed event for scientists. Non-scientists are not allowed to attend. If you are not a member or related person and would like to attend, please contact us using the inquiry form. Please note that the event organizer or speaker must authorize your request to attend.

Inquire about this event