Term Description Reference
Public good
An extracellular product or function that benefits all community members. Also known as common pool resource. Examples: Exoenzymes, antibiotics, siderophores
(Smith and Schuster, 2019)
Black Queen Hypothesis
Selective gene loss of costly public good functions. Example: Production of extracellular catalase-peroxidases in cyanobacteria communities.
(Morris, Lenski and Zinser, 2012)
Snowdrift
Game theory scenario where cheating and cooperation produce win-compromise situations. Also known as “Chicken” or “Hawk-Dove” games. (Sugden, 2005; Gore, Youk and van Oudenaarden, 2009)
Prisoner’s dilemma
Game theory scenario where win-lose situations are more beneficial to the cheater than cooperation.
(Sugden, 2005; Schuster et al., 2017)
Tragedy of the commons Catastrophic exploitation of a common resource, leading to extinction or producers and cheaters. (Hardin, 1968)