DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Coexistence or extinction: The coevolutionary dynamics of mutualists and exploiters

互惠互利，即物种之间为互惠互利而交换资源或服务，在许多物种的生存和繁殖中发挥着关键作用。然而，互惠关系的存在本身是令人费解的，因为这些相互作用经常被其他没有回报的物种利用。在这项研究项目中，将使用计算机模拟来解决互惠物种和掠夺者物种如何随着每个物种的进化而共存的问题。重点将放在分析互助者能否通过增加对报酬的竞争来限制剥削的成本，甚至选择危害较小的剥削者。进化和合作的持久性，特别是物种之间的合作，是生物学中最大的谜团之一。这项工作将通过研究物种之间的生态和进化动力学，并测试一种有趣的机制，以防止剥削扼杀合作，从而促进我们对物种之间合作的持久的理解。此外，分析模拟结果对不同环境条件的敏感性将预测环境变化和物种入侵等因素对互惠生存的影响。该项目为研究生和本科生提供生物、数学和计算机科学方面的培训，并促进亚利桑那大学和杜克大学研究人员之间的合作。

Mutualisms, the exchange of resources or services between species for a mutual net benefit, play a critical role in the survival and reproduction of many species. However, the very existence of mutualisms is puzzling, since these interactions are often exploited by other, non-rewarding species. In this research project, computer simulations will be used to address the question of how mutualist and exploiter species can coexist as each species evolves. The focus will be on analyzing whether mutualists can restrict the costs of exploitation and even select for less harmful exploiters by increasing the strength of competition for rewards. The evolution and persistence of cooperation, especially between species, is one of the largest mysteries in biology. This work will advance our understanding of the persistence of cooperation between species, by investigating its ecological and evolutionary dynamics and testing an intriguing mechanism that has been proposed to prevent exploitation from extinguishing cooperation. Furthermore, analysis of the sensitivity of simulation results to different environmental conditions will generate predictions about the effects of factors such as environmental change and species invasion on mutualism persistence. The project provides training at the interface of biology, mathematics, and computer science for graduate and undergraduate students, and fosters collaboration between researchers at the University of Arizona and Duke University.