Abstract
In this paper I propose a reinforcement learning model for a predator preying upon two types of prey, the unpalatable (noxious) models, and the palatable mimics. The latter type of prey resembles the models in appearance so as to derive some protection from the predator who must avoid the unpalatable models. Essentially the predator is treated as a learning automaton adopting a simple reinforcement learning strategy in order to increase its consumption of palatable prey and reduce the consumption of unpalatable ones. The populations of both mimics and models are assumed to grow logistically.
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Acknowledgements
The author wishes to express his sincere gratitude to all three referees for their extremely careful and thorough readings of this paper. Two of the referees kindly revealed their identities. I wish to thank Professor Estabrook for his appreciation and approval of this work which was partly motivated on work he did while back. I also wish to thank Professor Turner, another major contributor in the field, for his insightful comments and criticisms throughout the revision process. Their valuable suggestions and encouragement has been deeply appreciated.
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Tsoularis, A. A Learning Strategy for Predator Preying on Edible and Inedible Prey. Acta Biotheor 55, 283–295 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10441-007-9020-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10441-007-9020-y