Hostname: page-component-5db58dd55d-4jdj6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-06-02T00:10:43.474Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The determinants of proxy treadmilling in evolutionary models of reliable signals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2024

Keith D. Harris Open the ORCID record for Keith D. Harris [Opens in a new window]
Keith D. Harris*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
*
Corresponding author: Keith D. Harris; Email: keith.harris@mail.huji.ac.il
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Identifying the conditions of proxy treadmilling is crucial for determining whether reliable signals can persist over time. I present a framework that maps evolutionary models of reliable signals according to their assumptions regarding the effects of Goodhart's law. This framework can explain the contrasting outcomes of different modelling approaches, and identify in which models proxy treadmilling is expected to occur.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 47 , 2024 , e74
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Biernaskie, J. M., Perry, J. C., & Grafen, A. (2018). A general model of biological signals, from cues to handicaps. Evolution Letters, 2(3), 201–209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fisher, R. A. (1930). The genetical theory of natural selection. Clarendon.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grafen, A. (1990). Biological signals as handicaps. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 144(4), 517–546.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, K. D., Daon, Y., & Nanjundiah, V. (2020). The role of signaling constraints in defining optimal marginal costs of reliable signals. Behavioral Ecology, 31(3), 784–791.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnstone, R. A. (1994). Honest signalling, perceptual error and the evolution of “all-or-nothing” displays. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 256(1346), 169–175.Google Scholar
Johnstone, R. A. (1996). Multiple displays in animal communication: “Backup signals” and “multiple messages”. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 351(1337), 329–338.Google Scholar
Johnstone, R. A., & Grafen, A. (1993). Dishonesty and the handicap principle. Animal Behaviour, 46(4), 759–764.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lachmann, M., Szamado, S., & Bergstrom, C. T. (2001). Cost and conflict in animal signals and human language. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98(23), 13189–13194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCoy, D. E., & Haig, D. (2020). Embryo selection and mate choice: Can ‘honest signals’ be trusted? Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 35(4), 308–318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Számadó, S. (2011). The cost of honesty and the fallacy of the handicap principle. Animal Behaviour, 81(1), 3–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahavi, A. (1975). Mate selection – A selection for a handicap. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 53(1), 205–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zahavi, A., & Zahavi, A. (1999). The handicap principle: A missing piece of Darwin's puzzle. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar