The evolutionary ecology of deception

Small Brains: Body Shape Constrains Tissue Allocation to the Central Nervous System in Ant-Mimicking Spiders

In Batesian mimicry, mimetic traits are not always as convincing as predicted by theory-in fact, inaccurate mimicry with only a superficial model resemblance is common and taxonomically widespread. The "selection trade-offs hypothesis" proposes a life-history trade-off between accurate mimetic traits and one or more vital biological functions. Here, using an accurate myrmecomorphic (ant-mimicking) jumping spider species, Myrmarachne smaragdina, we investigate how myrmecomorphic modifications to the body shape impact the internal anatomy in a way that could be functionally limiting. Specifically, via x-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT), we quantify how the spider's constricted prosoma, which emulates the head and thorax of ants, impacts the size of the central nervous system (CNS) and the venom glands. Although, relative to their whole-body mass, we found no significant difference in venom gland volume, the CNS of the ant-mimicking jumping spider was significantly smaller when compared with a relatively closely related non-mimic jumping spider, indicating that some trade-off between mimic accuracy and size of neural anatomy, as articulated by the "selection trade-offs hypothesis," is a possibility. Our explorative evidence enables and encourages broader investigation of how variable mimic accuracy impacts the neuroanatomy in ant mimics as a direct test of the "selection trade-offs hypothesis."

Catch me if you can: free-living mice show a highly flexible dodging behaviour suggestive of intentional tactical deception

Intentional tactical deception, the employment of a tactic to intentionally deceive another animal, is a complex behaviour based on higher-order cognition, that has rarely been documented outside of primates and corvids. New laboratory-to-field assays, however, provide the opportunity to investigate such behaviour among free-living mice. In the present study, we placed laboratory-style test chambers with a single entrance near a forest outside Warsaw, where we observed the social interactions of two territorial murids, black-striped and yellow-necked mice, under food competition for seven months. Notably, among the social interactions, we video-recorded 21 instances of deceptive pursuer evasion. In the most obvious cases, an individual inside the chamber, to avoid an incoming mouse, hid by the chamber opening (the only means to enter or exit), paused until the pursuer entered and passed by, and then exploited the distraction of the back-turned pursuer by fleeing through the opening in a direction opposite to the one the pursuer came from. This deceptive dodging is the first evidence of a behaviour suggestive of intentional tactical deception among mice. As such, this deceptive behaviour may be of interest not only for rodent psychology but also, more generally, for the fields of non-human intentionality and theory of mind.

Emotions and courtship help bonded pairs cooperate, but emotional agents are vulnerable to deceit

Coordinated pair bonds are common in birds and also occur in many other taxa. How do animals solve the social dilemmas they face in coordinating with a partner? We developed an evolutionary model to explore this question, based on observations that a) neuroendocrine feedback provides emotional bookkeeping which is thought to play a key role in vertebrate social bonds and b) these bonds are developed and maintained via courtship interactions that include low-stakes social dilemmas. Using agent-based simulation, we found that emotional bookkeeping and courtship sustained cooperation in the iterated prisoner's dilemma in noisy environments, especially when combined. However, when deceitful defection was possible at low cost, courtship often increased cooperation, whereas emotional bookkeeping decreased it.

Batesian mimicry or general food deception? An evolutionary game between plants for pollinator services

Floral food deception is a well-known phenomenon which is not thoroughly understood. Particularly, it is unclear what drives a plant towards Batesian mimicry or towards generalized food deception. We analysed the evolutionary game between a Model species with nectar-secreting flowers and a Deceiver species that provides no nectar who share pollinators for reproduction. We focused our analysis on the effect of similarity of floral signals between participating plants and on costs of nectar production. We defined payoffs in the game between Models and Deceivers as the stationary visitation frequencies to participating species with different signal similarities and nectar costs. Therefore, fitness payoff of each strategy was a product of complex interactions between plant species composing the community and the pollinators visiting them. Our model provides a unified framework in which consequences of Model species interaction with different deception modes can be compared. Our findings suggest that plant-pollinator systems, like other mutualistic systems, are prone to exploitation, and that exploitation may persist at a large range of conditions. We showed that floral similarity, and thus, pollinators' ability to discriminate between Model and deceptive species, governs the stability of Batesian mimicry, while pollinator switching and sampling behaviour enables the persistence of general food deception.

Stressful environments favor deceptive alternative mating tactics to become dominant

BACKGROUND

Deceptive alternative mating tactics are commonly maintained at low frequencies within populations because males using them are less competitive and acquire lower fitness than those using dominant tactics. However, the successful invasion of a male deceptive tactic is plausible if deception carries no fitness cost to females. Among populations of the gift-giving spider Paratrechalea ornata, males very often offer females a deceptive worthless gift, rather than a nutritive gift. We tested the degree to which deceptive worthless gifts can occur in natural populations living under divergent environmental conditions (moderate and stressful). We examined the plasticity of morphological and behavioral traits and analyzed the fitness of females in relation to the gift type, also examining the paternity acquired by males offering either gift type.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that worthless gifts can become dominant under highly stressful environmental conditions (84-100%). Individuals in such environment reach smaller sizes than those in moderate conditions. We suggest that the size reduction probably favors low metabolic demands in both sexes and may reduce the costs associated with receiving deceptive worthless gifts for females. In contrast, males living under moderate conditions varied the use of the deceptive tactic (0-95%), and worthless gifts negatively influenced female fecundity. Furthermore, male size, rather than gift content, positively impacted paternity success in the moderate but not in the stressful environment.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, this is the first empirical evidence that a reversible deceptive tactic can become dominant when the environment becomes harsh and mate choice becomes limited.

A framework for understanding post-detection deception in predator-prey interactions

Predators and prey exist in persistent conflict that often hinges on deception-the transmission of misleading or manipulative signals-as a means for survival. Deceptive traits are widespread across taxa and sensory systems, representing an evolutionarily successful and common strategy. Moreover, the highly conserved nature of the major sensory systems often extends these traits past single species predator-prey interactions toward a broader set of perceivers. As such, deceptive traits can provide a unique window into the capabilities, constraints and commonalities across divergent and phylogenetically-related perceivers. Researchers have studied deceptive traits for centuries, but a unified framework for categorizing different types of post-detection deception in predator-prey conflict still holds potential to inform future research. We suggest that deceptive traits can be distinguished by their effect on object formation processes. Perceptual objects are composed of physical attributes (what) and spatial (where) information. Deceptive traits that operate after object formation can therefore influence the perception and processing of either or both of these axes. We build upon previous work using a perceiver perspective approach to delineate deceptive traits by whether they closely match the sensory information of another object or create a discrepancy between perception and reality by exploiting the sensory shortcuts and perceptual biases of their perceiver. We then further divide this second category, sensory illusions, into traits that distort object characteristics along either the what or where axes, and those that create the perception of whole novel objects, integrating the what/where axes. Using predator-prey examples, we detail each step in this framework and propose future avenues for research. We suggest that this framework will help organize the many forms of deceptive traits and help generate predictions about selective forces that have driven animal form and behavior across evolutionary time.

Review: Connecting circularity to animal welfare calls for a 'novel' conceptual framework based on integrity

The current food system is not sustainable. Circular agriculture aims to save the environment and produce food sustainably by closing nutrient cycles, possibly without improving animal welfare. This paper proposes a new conceptual framework, called a circular welfare economy (CWE), to facilitate a transition towards a sustainable agriculture based on integrity. The CWE framework explains how welfare relates to circular agriculture, how potential conflicts can be solved and what future livestock farming could look like. CWE applies the notion of circularity to welfare defined as the quality of life as perceived by the individual itself. CWE also identifies human integrity, defined as being open and honest, as a sine qua non for sustainability. Animal-welfare problems arise when animals are merely used as a means, e.g., for profits. Instead, profits and circular agriculture are means to the end of welfare. In a CWE, welfare is promoted sustainably, without causing undue need frustration in other individuals. This requires informed moral decision-making involving human integrity and the closure of welfare-related feedback loops. Conflicts between circular agriculture and animal welfare are solved by weighing all welfare needs impartially. Three future scenarios are presented: Animal-welfare-exclusive circular agriculture, which resembles modern intensive livestock farming, animal rights agriculture without livestock farming, and a CWE-based agriculture which integrates circular agriculture and animal welfare. In the latter case, we will not use animals merely as a means to close nutrient cycles, but take every effort, openly and honestly, to understand and benefit their points of view as we do our own.

Effects of sex and sex-related facial traits on trust and trustworthiness: An experimental study

The ability to trust others, including strangers, is a prerequisite for human cooperation. Economically it is not rational to trust strangers, as trust can be easily exploited. Still, generally, the level of trust toward strangers is relatively high. Trust is closely related to trustworthiness: when trusting others, one expects them to reciprocate. Some individuals elicit more trust than others. Apparently, humans use subtle cues for judging the trustworthiness of their interaction partners. Here, we report on an experiment that investigates trust and trustworthiness in a population of 176 mainly Dutch students. The aims of our study were: (1) to investigate how the sex of interaction partners and their facial appearance (femininity/masculinity) affect the degree of trust and trustworthiness, compared to fully anonymous conditions; (2) to test whether individuals who elicit trust in their interaction partners are trustworthy themselves. Each subject of our experiment played five one-shot Trust Games: one with an anonymous interaction partner, and four "personalized" games after seeing a 20 s silent video of their interaction partner (twice same-sex, and twice opposite-sex). The degree of facial sexual dimorphism was investigated with geometric morphometrics based on full-face photographs. Our results revealed that, despite the already high level of trust in the anonymous setting, the personalization of interactions had a clear effect on behavior. Females elicited more trust in partners of both sexes. Interestingly, females with more feminine faces elicited less trust in both male and female partners, while males with more masculine facial shape were more trusted by females, but less trusted by males. Neither sex nor facial femininity/masculinity predicted trustworthiness. Our results demonstrate that (1) sex and sex-related facial traits of interaction partners have a clear effect on eliciting trust in strangers. However, (2) these cues are not reliable predictors of actual trustworthiness.

Two lines of defense in the pupas of ichneumonid wasp parasitoids associated with spider hosts

Insects in the pupal stage are vulnerable to various predators because the pupa is immobile. The pupas of parasitoid ichneumonid wasps (Ichneumonidae) associated with spider hosts have evolved two lines of defense against predators, namely a cocoon spun by the parasitoid larva and a web provided by the spider host. The web is derived from a normal or modified spider web built by the spider under manipulation by the penultimate instar of the parasitoid wasp. In laboratory experiments, we tested the efficacy of these two defensive lines using six potential predators with two different types of mouthparts coming from three foraging guilds. The presence of the cocoon significantly reduced predation. Scavengers with chewing mouthparts, e.g., cockroaches and crickets, attacked and consumed pupas within both sparse and strong cocoon walls. Scavengers with piercing mouthparts were able to attack pupas in cocoons with a sparse wall, but not with a strong wall. Collectors and true predators showed no interest in cocoons. The presence of a web increased pupa protection by up to 80% when the web was on the ground and by up to 95% when the web was in the air. Only scavengers with chewing mouthparts were able to reach and consume pupas sheltered by the web. We provide the first evidence of how the two lines of defense contribute to parasitoid defense during the pupal stage.

Chemical and behavioural strategies along the spectrum of host specificity in ant-associated silverfish

Background

Host range is a fundamental trait to understand the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of symbionts. Increasing host specificity is expected to be accompanied with specialization in different symbiont traits. We tested this specificity-specialization association in a large group of 16 ant-associated silverfish species by linking their level of host specificity to their degree of behavioural integration into the colony and to their accuracy of chemically imitating the host’s recognition system, i.e. the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile.

Results

As expected, facultative associates and host generalists (targeting multiple unrelated ants) tend to avoid the host, whereas host-specialists (typically restricted to Messor ants) were bolder, approached the host and allowed inspection. Generalists and host specialists regularly followed a host worker, unlike the other silverfish. Host aggression was extremely high toward non-ant-associated silverfish and modest to low in ant-associated groups. Surprisingly, the degree of chemical deception was not linked to host specificity as most silverfish, including facultative ant associates, imitated the host’s CHC profile. Messor specialists retained the same CHC profile as the host after moulting, in contrast to a host generalist, suggesting an active production of the cues (chemical mimicry). Host generalist and facultative associates flexibly copied the highly different CHC profiles of alternative host species, pointing at passive acquisition (chemical camouflage) of the host’s odour.

Conclusions

Overall, we found that behaviour that seems to facilitate the integration in the host colony was more pronounced in host specialist silverfish. Chemical deception, however, was employed by all ant-associated species, irrespective of their degree of host specificity.

Are some species ‘robust’ to exploitation? Explaining persistence in deceptive relationships

Animals and plants trick others in an extraordinary diversity of ways to gain fitness benefits. Mimicry and deception can, for example, lure prey, reduce the costs of parental care or aid in pollination–in ways that impose fitness costs on the exploited party. The evolutionary maintenance of such asymmetric relationships often relies on these costs being mitigated through counter-adaptations, low encounter rates, or indirect fitness benefits. However, these mechanisms do not always explain the evolutionary persistence of some classic deceptive interactions.

Sexually deceptive pollination (in which plants trick male pollinators into mating with their flowers) has evolved multiple times independently, mainly in the southern hemisphere and especially in Australasia and Central and South America. This trickery imposes considerable costs on the males: they miss out on mating opportunities, and in some cases, waste their limited sperm on the flower. These relationships appear stable, yet in some cases there is little evidence suggesting that their persistence relies on counter-adaptations, low encounter rates, or indirect fitness benefits. So, how might these relationships persist?

Here, we introduce and explore an additional hypothesis from systems biology: that some species are robust to exploitation. Robustness arises from a species’ innate traits and means they are robust against costs of exploitation. This allows species to persist where a population without those traits would not, making them ideal candidates for exploitation. We propose that this mechanism may help inform new research approaches and provide insight into how exploited species might persist.

Individual differences in vocal size exaggeration

The human voice carries socially relevant information such as how authoritative, dominant, and attractive the speaker sounds. However, some speakers may be able to manipulate listeners by modulating the shape and size of their vocal tract to exaggerate certain characteristics of their voice. We analysed the veridical size of speakers’ vocal tracts using real-time magnetic resonance imaging as they volitionally modulated their voice to sound larger or smaller, corresponding changes to the size implied by the acoustics of their voice, and their influence over the perceptions of listeners. Individual differences in this ability were marked, spanning from nearly incapable to nearly perfect vocal modulation, and was consistent across modalities of measurement. Further research is needed to determine whether speakers who are effective at vocal size exaggeration are better able to manipulate their social environment, and whether this variation is an inherited quality of the individual, or the result of life experiences such as vocal training.

Speech timing cues reveal deceptive speech in social deduction board games

The faculty of language allows humans to state falsehoods in their choice of words. However, while what is said might easily uphold a lie, how it is said may reveal deception. Hence, some features of the voice that are difficult for liars to control may keep speech mostly, if not always, honest. Previous research has identified that speech timing and voice pitch cues can predict the truthfulness of speech, but this evidence has come primarily from laboratory experiments, which sacrifice ecological validity for experimental control. We obtained ecologically valid recordings of deceptive speech while observing natural utterances from players of a popular social deduction board game, in which players are assigned roles that either induce honest or dishonest interactions. When speakers chose to lie, they were prone to longer and more frequent pauses in their speech. This finding is in line with theoretical predictions that lying is more cognitively demanding. However, lying was not reliably associated with vocal pitch. This contradicts predictions that increased physiological arousal from lying might increase muscular tension in the larynx, but is consistent with human specialisations that grant Homo sapiens sapiens an unusual degree of control over the voice relative to other primates. The present study demonstrates the utility of social deduction board games as a means of making naturalistic observations of human behaviour from semi-structured social interactions.

Chemical identity of cuticular lipid components in the mimetic swallowtail butterfly Papilio polytes

The swallowtail Papilio polytes shows Batesian and female-limited polymorphic mimicry. In Japan, P . polytes females have two different forms: the cyrus form is non-mimetic and resembles males, whereas the polytes form mimics Pachliopta aristolochiae and Byasa ( Atrophaneura ) alcinous as unpalatable models. During mating, P . polytes males use cuticular lipids to distinguish non-mimetic females from conspecific males and sympatric sister species. In this study, we investigated whether compositional differences in cuticular lipids exist between mimetic and non-mimetic females of P . polytes and between mimetic females and their model species. The mimetic and non-mimetic females had nearly identical cuticular lipid profiles, which differed from those of males. The two model species exhibited sexually dimorphic and species-specific cuticular lipid compositions, which were distinctly different from those of mimetic P . polytes females. These results strongly suggest that P . polytes females maintain the identity of cuticular lipid profiles regardless of the mimicry type, and this feature helps males recognize mimetic females as the correct mating partners.

Perception of Emergent Leaders' Faces and Evolution of Social Cheating: Cross-Cultural Experiments

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether neutral faces of individuals with different propensities for leadership may convey information about their personal qualities, and are there impacts of sex, population and social environment on the facial perception. This study is based on a previous experiment ( Rostovtseva et al., 2022), where emergent leadership in the context of male group cooperation was investigated in Buryats (Mongolian population of Siberia). In the previous study three behavioural types of participants were revealed: non-leaders, prosocial leaders and leaders-cheaters, each having a set of distinguishing personality, communicative, and cooperative features. In the current study, three composite portraits representing different leadership qualities of Buryat men from the prior experiment were created. The composites were then scored on a number of traits by male and female Russian and Buryat independent raters (N = 435). The results revealed that ratings on masculinity, physical strength, dominance, competitiveness, and perceived leadership were positively correlated, while perceived trustworthiness was negatively associated with these traits. However, the composite portraits of actual leaders generally were scored as more trustworthy, masculine, and physically strong, with the prosocial leaders' portrait being perceived as healthier than others. Surprisingly, the composite of leaders-cheaters was scored as the most trustworthy and generous, and the least competitive than others. No significant effects of raters' sex, origin, or degree of familiarity with Mongolian appearance were revealed. We conclude that static facial morphology contributes to appearing trustworthy, which may allow exploitation of others.

Towards a Cognitive Theory of Cyber Deception

This work is an initial step toward developing a cognitive theory of cyber deception. While widely studied, the psychology of deception has largely focused on physical cues of deception. Given that present-day communication among humans is largely electronic, we focus on the cyber domain where physical cues are unavailable and for which there is less psychological research. To improve cyber defense, researchers have used signaling theory to extended algorithms developed for the optimal allocation of limited defense resources by using deceptive signals to trick the human mind. However, the algorithms are designed to protect against adversaries that make perfectly rational decisions. In behavioral experiments using an abstract cybersecurity game (i.e., Insider Attack Game), we examined human decision-making when paired against the defense algorithm. We developed an instance-based learning (IBL) model of an attacker using the Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R) cognitive architecture to investigate how humans make decisions under deception in cyber-attack scenarios. Our results show that the defense algorithm is more effective at reducing the probability of attack and protecting assets when using deceptive signaling, compared to no signaling, but is less effective than predicted against a perfectly rational adversary. Also, the IBL model replicates human attack decisions accurately. The IBL model shows how human decisions arise from experience, and how memory retrieval dynamics can give rise to cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias. The implications of these findings are discussed in the perspective of informing theories of deception and designing more effective signaling schemes that consider human bounded rationality.

How signalling games explain mimicry at many levels: from viral epidemiology to human sociology

Mimicry is exhibited in multiple scales, ranging from molecular, to organismal, and then to human society. 'Batesian'-type mimicry entails a conflict of interest between sender and receiver, reflected in a deceptive mimic signal. 'Müllerian'-type mimicry occurs when there is perfect common interest between sender and receiver in a particular type of encounter, manifested by an honest co-mimic signal. Using a signalling games approach, simulations show that invasion by Batesian mimics will make Müllerian mimicry unstable, in a coevolutionary chase. We use these results to better understand the deceptive strategies of SARS-CoV-2 and their key role in the COVID-19 pandemic. At the biomolecular level, we explain how cellularization promotes Müllerian molecular mimicry, and discourages Batesian molecular mimicry. A wide range of processes analogous to cellularization are presented; these might represent a manner of reducing oscillatory instabilities. Lastly, we identify examples of mimicry in human society that might be addressed using a signalling game approach.

Behavioural thresholds of blue tit colour vision and the effect of background chromatic complexity

Vision is a vital attribute to foraging, navigation, mate selection and social signalling in animals, which often have a very different colour perception in comparison to humans. For understanding how animal colour perception works, vision models provide the smallest colour difference that animals of a given species are assumed to detect. To determine the just-noticeable-difference, or JND, vision models use Weber fractions that set discrimination thresholds of a stimulus compared to its background. However, although vision models are widely used, they rely on assumptions of Weber fractions since the exact fractions are unknown for most species. Here, we test; i) which Weber fractions in long-, middle- and shortwave (i.e. L, M, S) colour channels best describe the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) colour discrimination, ii) how changes in hue of saturated colours and iii) chromatic background noise impair search behaviour in blue tits. We show that the behaviourally verified Weber fractions on achromatic backgrounds were L: 0.05, M: 0.03 and S: 0.03, indicating a high colour sensitivity. In contrast, on saturated chromatic backgrounds, the correct Weber fractions were considerably higher for L: 0.20, M: 0.17 and S: 0.15, indicating a less detailed colour perception. Chromatic complexity of backgrounds affected the longwave channel, while middle- and shortwave channels were mostly unaffected. We caution that using a vision model whereby colour discrimination is determined in achromatic viewing conditions, as they often are, can lead to misleading interpretations of biological interactions in natural - colourful - environments.

Emerging Molecular Tools for Engineering Phytomicrobiome

Microbial plant interaction plays a major role in the sustainability of plants. The understanding of phytomicrobiome interactions enables the gene-editing tools for the construction of the microbial consortia. In this interaction, microbes share several common secondary metabolites and terpenoid metabolic pathways with their host plants that ensure a direct connection between the microbiome and associated plant metabolome. In this way, the CRISPR-mediated gene-editing tool provides an attractive approach to accomplish the creation of microbial consortia. On the other hand, the genetic manipulation of the host plant with the help of CRISPR-Cas9 can facilitate the characterization and identification of the genetic determinants. It leads to the enhancement of microbial capacity for more trait improvement. Many plant characteristics like phytovolatilization, phytoextraction, phytodesalination and phytodegradation are targeted by these approaches. Alternatively, chemical communications by PGPB are accomplished by the exchange of different signal molecules. For example, quorum-sensing is the way of the cell to cell communication in bacteria that lead to the detection of metabolites produced by pathogens during adverse conditions and also helpful in devising some tactics towards understanding plant immunity. Along with quorum-sensing, different volatile organic compounds and N-acyl homoserine lactones play a significant role in cell to cell communication by microbe to plant and among the plants respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to get details of all the significant approaches that are useful in exploring cell to cell communications. In this review, we have described gene-editing tools and the cell to cell communication process by quorum-sensing based signaling. These signaling processes via CRISPR- Cas9 mediated gene editing can improve the microbe-plant community in adverse climatic conditions.

Mixed company: a framework for understanding the composition and organization of mixed-species animal groups

Mixed-species animal groups (MSGs) are widely acknowledged to increase predator avoidance and foraging efficiency, among other benefits, and thereby increase participants' fitness. Diversity in MSG composition ranges from two to 70 species of very similar or completely different phenotypes. Yet consistency in organization is also observable in that one or a few species usually have disproportionate importance for MSG formation and/or maintenance. We propose a two-dimensional framework for understanding this diversity and consistency, concentrating on the types of interactions possible between two individuals, usually of different species. One axis represents the similarity of benefit types traded between the individuals, while the second axis expresses asymmetry in the relative amount of benefits/costs accrued. Considering benefit types, one extreme represents the case of single-species groups wherein all individuals obtain the same supplementary, group-size-related benefits, and the other extreme comprises associations of very different, but complementary species (e.g. one partner creates access to food while the other provides vigilance). The relevance of social information and the matching of activities (e.g. speed of movement) are highest for relationships on the supplementary side of this axis, but so is competition; relationships between species will occur at points along this gradient where the benefits outweigh the costs. Considering benefit amounts given or received, extreme asymmetry occurs when one species is exclusively a benefit provider and the other a benefit user. Within this parameter space, some MSG systems are constrained to one kind of interaction, such as shoals of fish of similar species or leader-follower interactions in fish and other taxa. Other MSGs, such as terrestrial bird flocks, can simultaneously include a variety of supplementary and complementary interactions. We review the benefits that species obtain across the diversity of MSG types, and argue that the degree and nature of asymmetry between benefit providers and users should be measured and not just assumed. We then discuss evolutionary shifts in MSG types, focusing on drivers towards similarity in group composition, and selection on benefit providers to enhance the benefits they can receive from other species. Finally, we conclude by considering how individual and collective behaviour in MSGs may influence both the structure and processes of communities.

Origin of biomolecular games: deception and molecular evolution

Biological macromolecules encode information: some of it to endow the molecule with structural flexibility, some of it to enable molecular actions as a catalyst or a substrate, but a residual part can be used to communicate with other macromolecules. Thus, macromolecules do not need to possess information only to survive in an environment, but also to strategically interact with others by sending signals to a receiving macromolecule that can properly interpret the signal and act suitably. These sender-receiver signalling games are sustained by the information asymmetry that exists among the macromolecules. In both biochemistry and molecular evolution, the important role of information asymmetry remains largely unaddressed. Here, we provide a new unifying perspective on the impact of information symmetry between macromolecules on molecular evolutionary processes, while focusing on molecular deception. Biomolecular games arise from the ability of biological macromolecules to exert precise recognition, and their role as units of selection, meaning that they are subject to competition and cooperation with other macromolecules. Thus, signalling game theory can be used to better understand fundamental features of living systems such as molecular recognition, molecular mimicry, selfish elements and 'junk' DNA. We show how deceptive behaviour at the molecular level indicates a conflict of interest, and so provides evidence of genetic conflict. This model proposes that molecular deception is diagnostic of selfish behaviour, helping to explain the evasive behaviour of transposable elements in 'junk' DNA, for example. Additionally, in this broad review, a range of major evolutionary transitions are shown to be associated with the establishment of signalling conventions, many of which are susceptible to molecular deception. These perspectives allow us to assign rudimentary behaviour to macromolecules, and show how participation in signalling games differentiates biochemistry from abiotic chemistry.

Antipredator strategies of pupae: how to avoid predation in an immobile life stage?

Antipredator strategies of the pupal stage in insects have received little attention in comparison to larval or adult stages. This is despite the fact that predation risk can be high during the pupal stage, making it a critical stage for subsequent fitness. The immobile pupae are not, however, defenceless; a wide range of antipredator strategies have evolved against invertebrate and vertebrate predators. The most common strategy seems to be 'avoiding encounters with predators' by actively hiding in vegetation and soil or via cryptic coloration and masquerade. Pupae have also evolved behavioural and secondary defences such as defensive toxins, physical defences or deimatic movements and sounds. Interestingly, warning coloration used to advertise unprofitability has evolved very rarely, even though the pupal stage often contains defensive toxins in chemically defended species. In some species, pupae gain protection from conspecifics or mimic chemical and auditory signals and thereby manipulate other species to protect them. Our literature survey highlights the importance of studying selection pressures across an individual's life stages to predict how ontogenetic variation in selective environments shapes individual fitness and population dynamics in insects. Finally, we also suggest interesting avenues for future research to pursue. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of complete metamorphosis'.

Maintenance of deceptive gifts in a natural spider population: ecological and demographic factors

Alternative mating tactics are expected to occur predominantly when mate competition is intense, resources are in short supply, or as a result of asymmetric power relationships between individuals. Males of the nuptial gift-giving spider Pisaura mirabilis use a prevailing tactic of offering a nutritive gift (insect prey) and a deceptive tactic of offering a worthless gift (consumed prey) to prospective mates. If the male’s tactic depends on precopulatory male–male competition, worthless gifts should occur primarily late in the season, when the operational sex ratio (OSR) becomes male-biased. If it depends on resource availability and/or postcopulatory sexual selection (sperm competition), worthless gifts should occur mostly early in the mating season, when prey availability is low and most females are unmated (i.e., postcopulatory sexual selection is weak). Nuptial gift construction correlated positively with prey availability and negatively with OSR, suggesting that males increase reproductive effort when resource and mate availability increase. We did not find evidence for body condition affecting male tactic use. Male size had a marked effect on the reproductive tactic employed. Males that matured early in the season were very small and employed mostly the nutritive gift tactic during their short life. Among the males that matured later and persisted through the season, relatively small males employed the worthless gift tactic whereas large males employed the nutritive gift tactic. We suggest that the existence of 2 distinct life-history strategies among males (early small and late large size) interacts with environmental and demographic conditions to maintain the deceptive tactic.

Recent Developments in Systems Biology and Metabolic Engineering of Plant-Microbe Interactions

Microorganisms play a crucial role in the sustainability of the various ecosystems. The characterization of various interactions between microorganisms and other biotic factors is a necessary footstep to understand the association and functions of microbial communities. Among the different microbial interactions in an ecosystem, plant-microbe interaction plays an important role to balance the ecosystem. The present review explores plant-microbe interactions using gene editing and system biology tools toward the comprehension in improvement of plant traits. Further, system biology tools like FBA (flux balance analysis), OptKnock, and constraint-based modeling helps in understanding such interactions as a whole. In addition, various gene editing tools have been summarized and a strategy has been hypothesized for the development of disease free plants. Furthermore, we have tried to summarize the predictions through data retrieved from various types of sources such as high throughput sequencing data (e.g., single nucleotide polymorphism detection, RNA-seq, proteomics) and metabolic models have been reconstructed from such sequences for species communities. It is well known fact that systems biology approaches and modeling of biological networks will enable us to learn the insight of such network and will also help further in understanding these interactions.