Agent-Based Modelling with Rules Inspired by Game Theory: Case Studies in Insect Resistance Management

Abstract

A game can be defined as a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more players who make strategic decisions. Game theory (GT) provides tools that can be applied in many situations where two or more players make decisions that influence each other. Their applications range from strategic questions in warfare to understanding competition, economic or social problems of fair distribution, to the evolution and behavior of animals in competitive situations. We intend to present in our chapter how this approach could be useful to evaluate the consequences of insect competitive behavior for the maintenance and propagation of allele(s) conferring resistance to insecticides that are used in agroecosystems with transgenic technologies. The overarching aim of this chapter will be to address this knowledge gap by (i) presenting, with practical examples, fundamental concepts of game theory; (ii) showing results from simulation studies with a spatial game model approximating the competition behavior of lepidopteran species in agroecosystems in the context of insecticide use and resistance cases in areas with transgenic technology adoption; and (iii) translating the theoretical language into practical information to highlight that these kinds of models could be used as a tool to support strategies to delay resistance evolution in multiple pest species.