S. A. West

Signatures of kin selection in a natural population of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis

The paper examines a natural population of Bacillus subtilis and finds evidence supporting kin selection through higher polymorphism and divergence in cooperative traits.

The evolution of manipulative cheating

This study identifies manipulative cheating as a new form of social cheating that involves evolving strategies to both exploit and resist exploitation, leading to dynamic oscillations in social interactions.

Parental control: ecology drives plasticity in parental response to offspring signals

The paper tests whether parental or offspring behavior drives variation in food allocation strategies in birds, finding that parents adjust their feeding preferences based on food availability.

Solving the sex ratio scandal in Melittobia wasps

The paper resolves the sex ratio discrepancy in Melittobia wasps by showing that females adjust their sex ratio based on dispersal status and relatedness in natural settings, contrasting with laboratory experiments.

The evolution of mechanisms to produce phenotypic heterogeneity in microorganisms

The paper uses theoretical models to show coordinated specialisation is more adaptive than random specialisation in microorganisms under certain environmental conditions.

Can natural selection favour indiscriminate spite?

The paper shows that true spite evolution requires kin discrimination, and previous models of indiscriminate spite involved selfish benefits, not pure spite.

Adaptation and the Parliament of Genes

The paper models the coevolution of selfish genetic elements and suppressor genes using population genetics, agent-based simulation, and game theory, finding that suppressors are favored when selfish elements cause greater distortion.

The evolution of collective infectious units in viruses

This study models the evolutionary advantages and disadvantages of collective infectious units in viruses, finding they are favored when multiple genomes enhance cell productivity and packaging efficiency.

Crystal Toxins and the volunteer’s dilemma in bacteria

This study shows that Cry toxin production in Bacillus thuringiensis is a volunteer's dilemma, where toxin producers benefit when others also produce, but cheaters can thrive under certain conditions.

Symbiont switching and alternative resource acquisition strategies drive mutualism breakdown

The paper identifies factors driving mutualism breakdown between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, finding that mutualism breakdown is stable only when plants switch to other symbionts or develop alternative resource acquisition strategies.