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- Title
Information is a fitness enhancing resource.
- Authors
McNamara, John M.; Dall, Sasha R. X.
- Abstract
Here we provide a biologically relevant proof of the well-known result from economics and statistical decision theory that having more information never reduces the expected payoff to a decision-making agent. We then go on to illustrate this with an ecologically motivated example based on a model of growth under uncertain predation risk. Throughout we use the central result that the fitness (reproductive) value of information can never be negative to highlight conceptual inconsistencies in the ecological literature on information use.
- Subjects
INFORMATION processing; STATISTICAL decision making; ENVIRONMENTAL literature; PREDATION; BIOLOGICAL fitness
- Publication
Oikos, 2010, Vol 119, Issue 2, p231
- ISSN
0030-1299
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17509.x