Three recent studies in different areas of applied evolutionary invasion biology indicate how conciliation concepts can be applied in strategic management. For each, I present the problem, current eco-evolutionary findings, conciliatory approaches, and similar findings.
Environment: Evolution of indigenous biological control and the preservation of invader nurseries of beneficial evolution in natives
Problem	Among the rampant invasive plants in eastern Australia is a tree-smothering, Neotropical vine that is spreading rapidly, but few human resources are available to control it (Carroll et al. 2005).
Eco-evolutionary finding	Native Australian insects attacking the plant's seeds have evolved longer mouthparts that more than double the numbers of seeds killed (Carroll et al. 2005). On a related but less invasive vine present in northern Australia for much longer (at least 200 years), the insects show 5 × greater increase in relative mouthpart length. Allopatric northern and eastern insect populations are interfertile (S. P. Carroll unpublished).
Conciliatory strategy	Introducing or hybridizing long-mouthpart populations with those on the destructive eastern invader may speed evolution to achieve better control. However, northern plants are prone to manual eradication, which threatens adapted insect populations. The conciliatory approach is to preserve populations of the earlier, more benign invasive plant while the biocontrol value of its adaptively hypertrophied native enemy populations is more thoroughly assessed.
Similar dynamics	Mealor and Hild (2007) and Leger (2008) found that a history of cohabitation between native and invasive grasses increased native tolerance to the invaders. Further, Ferrero-Serrano et al. (2009) showed that such adaptation improved tolerance to yet another, novel invader. Managing for coexistence to retain native genes selected by competition with exotics may promote the evolution of traits that improve restoration capacity.
Agriculture – Eco-evolutionary agronomics for sustainability in the face of rapidly evolving pests
Problem	Transgenic Bt crops are partial alternatives to insecticide applications for controlling insect pests of major global crops. As a constitutive rather than facultative defense system, transgenic Bt is relatively likely to select for resistance, which has evolved in five lepidopteran crop pests in 15 years since its commercialization (Carriere et al. 2010).
Eco-evolutionary finding	Resistance evolution is influenced by the relative frequencies and performance of resistant versus sensitive genotypes in the crop environment. Strategies that maximize local productivity of Bt crops also favor resistance evolution. Accommodating the certainty of resistance evolution requires regional rather than local management (Downes et al. 2010).
Conciliatory strategy	Sustaining the efficacy of Bt crops requires, first, conciliatory recognition that pests are unlikely to be eliminated and that resistance will evolve. Fitness advantages of resistance mutations can be reduced by agronomic practices including increasing plantings of non-Bt varieties (which are refuges for nonresistant pest genotypes), and managing refuges to increase fitness costs to resident resistant genotypes by manipulating additional factors such as host quality, natural enemies, sterile male release or pathogens (Crowder and Carriere 2009, Tabashnik et al. 2010). Coupling with other evolutionarily informed tactics such as ‘pyramiding’ two or more pest-control genes that reduce the probability of resistance evolution may cut cropping-related costs of regionally coordinated resistance management.
Similar dynamics	Chronic use of antimicrobials in uninfected livestock promotes the evolution of resistant pathogen populations (Silbergeld et al. 2008), perhaps because no untreated refuges are provided for treatment-sensitive strains that are fitter in those environments. Very low risk strategies of resistance management may be required where maintaining treatment-free refuges is judged too costly or unethical.
Health: Noneradication strategies for tumors may protect patients by maintaining refuges for therapy-sensitive cells that outcompete resistant mutants
Problem	Promising systemic cytotoxic cancer therapies often fail in application.
Eco-evolutionary finding	By hastening the evolution of resistance, therapies to eliminate cancers potentially hasten tumor reoccurrence (Gatenby 2009). Managing for coexistence of cell types may control resistance evolution and improve patient survival. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in tumor microenvironments of most cancers undergoing cytotoxic control reduces the probability of eradication and so contributes to the evolution of toxin resistance by tumor cells (Gatenby 2009; Silva and Gatenby 2010).
Conciliatory strategy	Models predict that for micro-environmentally dynamic tumors, treatment for stability rather than for cure may improve host survival by managing for the controlled survival of chemosensitive tumor cell subpopulations that, in turn, suppress proliferation of otherwise less fit but chemoresistant subpopulations. Conciliatory therapies may further manage mutant chemoresistant subpopulations with manipulations that accentuate their pleiotropic metabolic shortcomings (Silva and Gatenby 2010).
Similar dynamics	In infectious disease, susceptible and vulnerable hosts may select for lower virulence. Interventions that reduce the contribution of these hosts to pathogen transmission favor increased virulence (Williams and Day 2008). Likewise, vaccines neutralizing pathogenicity rather than blocking infection may select for greater virulence (Gandon et al. 2003). However, by directing antipathogenic vaccines specifically to the most vulnerable subsets of populations, the intervention may simultaneously protect patients and favor reduced virulence (Williams 2010).