Cheaters must prosper: reconciling theoretical and empirical perspectives on cheating in mutualism

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dc.citation.journalTitleEcology Letters
dc.contributor.authorJones, Emily I.
dc.contributor.authorAfkhami, Michelle E.
dc.contributor.authorAkçay, Erol
dc.contributor.authorBronstein, Judith L.
dc.contributor.authorBshary, Redouan
dc.contributor.authorFrederickson, Megan E.
dc.contributor.authorHeath, Katy D.
dc.contributor.authorHoeksema, Jason D.
dc.contributor.authorNess, Joshua H.
dc.contributor.authorPankey, M.Sabrina
dc.contributor.authorPorter, Stephanie S.
dc.contributor.authorSachs, Joel L.
dc.contributor.authorScharnagl, Klara
dc.contributor.authorFriesen, Ma
dc.date.accessioned2015-09-23T19:33:32Z
dc.date.available2015-09-23T19:33:32Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.descriptionNEWS COVERAGE: A news release based on this journal publication is available online: Study: It's not cheating unless a species gets hurt [http://news.rice.edu/2015/09/21/study-its-not-cheating-unless-a-species-gets-hurt/]
dc.description.abstractCheating is a focal concept in the study of mutualism, with the majority of researchers considering cheating to be both prevalent and highly damaging. However, current definitions of cheating do not reliably capture the evolutionary threat that has been a central motivation for the study of cheating. We describe the development of the cheating concept and distill a relative-fitness-based definition of cheating that encapsulates the evolutionary threat posed by cheating, i.e. that cheaters will spread and erode the benefits of mutualism. We then describe experiments required to conclude that cheating is occurring and to quantify fitness conflict more generally. Next, we discuss how our definition and methods can generate comparability and integration of theory and experiments, which are currently divided by their respective prioritisations of fitness consequences and traits. To evaluate the current empirical evidence for cheating, we review the literature on several of the best-studied mutualisms. We find that although there are numerous observations of low-quality partners, there is currently very little support from fitness data that any of these meet our criteria to be considered cheaters. Finally, we highlight future directions for research on conflict in mutualisms, including novel research avenues opened by a relative-fitness-based definition of cheating.
dc.identifier.citationJones, Emily I., Afkhami, Michelle E., Akçay, Erol, et al.. "Cheaters must prosper: reconciling theoretical and empirical perspectives on cheating in mutualism." <i>Ecology Letters,</i> (2015) John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.12507.
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.12507
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/81707
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.
dc.rightsThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.subject.keywordant-plant
dc.subject.keywordcleaner fish-client
dc.subject.keywordcooperation
dc.subject.keywordfig-fig wasp
dc.subject.keywordfitness conflict
dc.subject.keywordlegume-rhizobia
dc.subject.keywordnectar larceny
dc.subject.keywordpartner quality
dc.subject.keywordplant-mycorrhizae
dc.subject.keywordyucca-yucca moth
dc.titleCheaters must prosper: reconciling theoretical and empirical perspectives on cheating in mutualism
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.publicationpublisher version
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