Evolution of contribution timing in public goods games

Life history strategies are a crucial aspect of life, which are complicated in group-living species, where payoffs additionally depend on others behaviours. Previous theoretical models of public good games have generally focused on the amounts individuals contribute to the public good. Yet a much less studied strategic aspect of public good games, the timing of contributions, can also have dramatic consequences for individual and collective performance. Here, we develop game theoretical models to explore how the timing of contributions evolves. We show how contributing rapidly is not necessarily optimal, since delayers can act as "cheats," avoiding contributing while reaping the benefits of the public good. However, delaying too long can put the delayers at a disadvantage as they can miss out on the benefits. These effects lead to bistability in a single group, and spatial diversity among multiple interacting groups.