Rectangular game theory and metabolic response to random changes in environmental states.
Rectangular game theory is applied to the response of organisms to random environmental changes: A hypothetical example of the response of a facultative algae to random changes in illumination is analyzed. Two strategies are discussed: Bayes' risk and maximin. It is shown how to detect such strategies in populations. The analysis does not require assumptions about the form of the relationship between metabolic activities and selective advantage, but assumptions about evolutionary optimization are required. The maximin strategy is shown to be related to metabolic homeostasis.
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004777:Environment; D005055:Euglena / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D006706:Homeostasis; D008027:Light; D008660:Metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D008962:Models, Theoretical