Animals often use assessment signals to communicate information about their quality to a variety of receivers, including potential mates, competitors, and predators. But what maintains reliable signaling and prevents signalers from signaling a better quality than they actually have? Previous work has shown that reliable signaling can be maintained if signalers pay fitness costs for signaling at different intensities and these costs are greater for lower quality individuals than higher quality ones. Models supporting this idea typically assume that continuous variation in signal intensity is perceived as such by receivers. In many organisms, however, receivers have threshold responses to signals, in which they respond to a signal if it is above a threshold value and do not respond if the signal is below the threshold value. Here, we use both analytical and individual-based models to investigate how such threshold responses affect the reliability of assessment signals. We show that reliable signaling systems can break down when receivers have an invariant threshold response, but reliable signaling can be rescued if there is variation among receivers in the location of their threshold boundary. Our models provide an important step towards understanding signal evolution when receivers have threshold responses to continuous signal variation.

中文翻译：

---

阈值评估，绝对感知以及可靠信号的演变

动物经常使用评估信号将有关其质量的信息传达给各种接收者，包括潜在的伴侣，竞争者和掠食者。但是，什么能维持可靠的信令并阻止信令者发送比其实际质量更好的信令？先前的工作表明，如果发信号员为不同强度的信号发信号支付健身费用，并且低质量的人比高质量的人付出的代价更大，则可以维持可靠的发信号。支持该想法的模型通常假设接收器会感知到信号强度的连续变化。但是，在许多生物中，接收器对信号具有阈值响应，其中接收器对信号的响应高于阈值，而信号低于阈值则不响应。这里，我们同时使用分析模型和基于个人的模型来研究这种阈值响应如何影响评估信号的可靠性。我们表明，当接收器具有不变的阈值响应时，可靠的信号系统会崩溃，但是如果接收器之间的阈值边界位置存在差异，则可以挽救可靠的信号。当接收器对连续信号变化具有阈值响应时，我们的模型为理解信号演化提供了重要的一步。但是，如果接收机之间的阈值边界位置发生变化，则可以挽救可靠的信令。当接收器对连续信号变化具有阈值响应时，我们的模型为理解信号演化提供了重要的一步。但是，如果接收机之间的阈值边界位置发生变化，则可以挽救可靠的信令。当接收器对连续信号变化具有阈值响应时，我们的模型为理解信号演化提供了重要的一步。