Revisiting the “fallacy of averages” in ecology: Expected gain per unit time equals expected gain divided by expected time.

0508821 - BC 2020 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Broom, M. - Cressman, R. - Křivan, Vlastimil
Revisiting the “fallacy of averages” in ecology: Expected gain per unit time equals expected gain divided by expected time.
Journal of Theoretical Biology. Roč. 483, DEC 21 (2019), č. článku UNSP 109993. ISSN 0022-5193. E-ISSN 1095-8541
EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 690817 - FourCmodelling
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : diet choice model * fallacy of averages * functional response
OECD category: Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology
Impact factor: 2.327, year: 2019
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022519319303418?via%3Dihub

Fitness is often defined as the average payoff an animal obtains when it is engaged in several activities, each taking some time. We point out that the average can be calculated with respect to either the time distribution, or to the event distribution of these activities. We show that these two averages lead to the same fitness function. We illustrate this result through two examples from foraging theory, Holling II functional response and the diet choice model, and one game-theoretic example of Hamilton’s rule applied to the time-constrained Prisoner’s dilemma (PD). In particular, we show that in these models, fitness defined as expected gain per unit time equals fitness defined as expected gain divided by expected time. We also show how these fitnesses predict the optimal outcome for diet choice and the prevalence of cooperation in the repeated PD game.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0300834