Signalling theory

Within evolutionary biology, signalling theory refers to the scientific theory around how organisms signal their condition to others. The central concept is that of honest signalling — that organisms should honestly signal their good condition to others rather than spending their energy elsewhere i.e. it is the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) and the population is not susceptible to invasion by cheats who signal less than their optimum. The handicap theory is one influential idea — proposed by Amotz Zahavi — that honest signals are maintained at an ESS by being wastefully costly. Others, such as John Maynard Smith, believe that signals can be both honest and cost-free.

Related Topics:
Evolutionary biology - Evolutionarily stable strategy - Handicap theory - Amotz Zahavi - John Maynard Smith

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