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Bayesian animals sense ecological constraints to predict fitness and organize individually flexible reproductive decisions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2013

Patricia Adair Gowaty  and
Stephen P. Hubbell
Patricia Adair Gowaty
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Institute of Environment and Sustainability, Los Angeles, CA 90095; and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 9100, BOX 0948, DPO AA 34002-9998. gowaty@eeb.ucla.eduhttp://www.eeb.ucla.edu/indivfaculty.php?FacultyKey=8418shubbell@eeb.ucla.eduhttp://www.eeb.ucla.edu/indivfaculty.php?FacultyKey=8416
Stephen P. Hubbell
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Institute of Environment and Sustainability, Los Angeles, CA 90095; and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 9100, BOX 0948, DPO AA 34002-9998. gowaty@eeb.ucla.eduhttp://www.eeb.ucla.edu/indivfaculty.php?FacultyKey=8418shubbell@eeb.ucla.eduhttp://www.eeb.ucla.edu/indivfaculty.php?FacultyKey=8416
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Abstract

A quantitative theory of reproductive decisions (Gowaty & Hubbell 2009) says that individuals use updated priors from constantly changing demographic circumstances to predict their futures to adjust actions flexibly and adaptively. Our ecological/evolutionary models of ultimate causes seem consistent with Clark's ideas and thus suggest an opportunity for a unified proximate and ultimate theory of Bayesian animal brains, senses, and actions.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , June 2013 , pp. 215 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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References

Darwin, C. (1871) The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. John Murray.Google Scholar
Gowaty, P. A. & Hubbell, S. P. (2009) Reproductive decisions under ecological constraints: It's about time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106:10017–24.Google Scholar
Gowaty, P. A. & Hubbell, S. P. (2005) Chance, time allocation, and the evolution of adaptively flexible sex role behavior. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45(5):931–44.Google Scholar
Hubbell, S. P. & Johnson, L. K. (1987) Environmental variance in lifetime mating success, mate choice, and sexual selection. American Naturalist 130(1):91–112.Google Scholar