EDITORIAL — CULTURAL EVOLUTION IN SPATIALLY STRUCTURED POPULATIONS: A REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVE MODELING FRAMEWORKS

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 1203001 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNE KANDLER ◽  
CHARLES PERREAULT ◽  
JAMES STEELE
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Diffusion Theory ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Spatially Explicit Modeling

We consider the dynamics of cultural evolution in spatially-structured populations. Most spatially explicit modeling approaches can be broadly divided into two classes: micro- and macro-level models. Macro-level models study cultural evolution at the population level and describe the average behavior of the considered system. Conversely, micro-level models focus on the constituent units of the system, and study the evolutionary dynamics that emerge out of the interaction between these units. In this paper, we give an overview of the general properties of micro- and macro-level models using the examples of agent-based simulations and of continuum models based in diffusion theory; we highlight how both frameworks account for spatially-dependent processes. We argue that both micro- and macro-level models are well-suited to describe the process of cultural evolution in spatial settings and stress that micro- and macro-level models should not be considered as competing alternatives, but rather as complementary tools that can provide different insights into cultural evolutionary dynamics. Although adding spatial components to any model increases its complexity, we argue (based on the findings presented by contributors to this Special Issue of Advances in Complex Systems), that the incorporation of space into the evolutionary framework is a necessary step towards a more complete understanding of the process of cultural evolution.

scholarly journals Maintenance of prior behaviour can enhance cultural selection

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Walker ◽  
José Segovia Martín ◽  
Monica Tamariz ◽  
Nicolas Fay
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Cultural Selection ◽  
Agent Based Modelling ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary

AbstractMany cultural phenomena evolve through a Darwinian process whereby adaptive variants are selected and spread at the expense of competing variants. While cultural evolutionary theory emphasises the importance of social learning to this process, experimental studies indicate that people’s dominant response is to maintain their prior behaviour. In addition, while payoff-biased learning is crucial to Darwinian cultural evolution, learner behaviour is not always guided by variant payoffs. Here, we use agent-based modelling to investigate the role of maintenance in Darwinian cultural evolution. We vary the degree to which learner behaviour is payoff-biased (i.e., based on critical evaluation of variant payoffs), and compare three uncritical (non-payoff-biased) strategies that are used alongside payoff-biased learning: copying others, innovating new variants, and maintaining prior variants. In line with previous research, we show that some level of payoff-biased learning is crucial for populations to converge on adaptive cultural variants. Importantly, when combined with payoff-biased learning, uncritical maintenance leads to stronger population-level adaptation than uncritical copying or innovation, highlighting the importance of maintenance to cultural selection. This advantage of maintenance as a default learning strategy may help explain why it is a common human behaviour.

scholarly journals Cultural Evolution of Genetic Heritability

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-147
Author(s):  
Ryutaro Uchiyama ◽  
Rachel Spicer ◽  
Michael Muthukrishna
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Genetic Effects ◽  
Genetic Heritability ◽  
Innovation And Diffusion ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Behavioral genetics and cultural evolution have both revolutionized our understanding of human behavior—largely independent of each other. Here we reconcile these two fields under a dual inheritance framework, offering a more nuanced understanding of the interaction between genes and culture. Going beyond typical analyses of gene–environment interactions, we describe the cultural dynamics that shape these interactions by shaping the environment and population structure. A cultural evolutionary approach can explain, for example, how factors such as rates of innovation and diffusion, density of cultural sub-groups, and tolerance for behavioral diversity impact heritability estimates, thus yielding predictions for different social contexts. Moreover, when cumulative culture functionally overlaps with genes, genetic effects become masked, unmasked, or even reversed, and the causal effects of an identified gene become confounded with features of the cultural environment. The manner of confounding is specific to a particular society at a particular time, but a WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) sampling problem obscures this boundedness. Cultural evolutionary dynamics are typically missing from models of gene-to-phenotype causality, hindering generalizability of genetic effects across societies and across time. We lay out a reconciled framework and use it to predict the ways in which heritability should differ between societies, between socioeconomic levels and other groupings within some societies but not others, and over the life course. An integrated cultural evolutionary behavioral genetic approach cuts through the nature–nurture debate and helps resolve controversies in topics such as IQ.

scholarly journals Variation is the universal: making cultural evolution work in developmental psychology

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1743) ◽  
pp. 20170059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Ann Kline ◽  
Rubeena Shamsudheen ◽  
Tanya Broesch
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Geographical Scope ◽  
Cultural Gaps

Culture is a human universal, yet it is a source of variation in human psychology, behaviour and development. Developmental researchers are now expanding the geographical scope of research to include populations beyond relatively wealthy Western communities. However, culture and context still play a secondary role in the theoretical grounding of developmental psychology research, far too often. In this paper, we highlight four false assumptions that are common in psychology, and that detract from the quality of both standard and cross-cultural research in development. These assumptions are: (i) the universality assumption , that empirical uniformity is evidence for universality, while any variation is evidence for culturally derived variation; (ii) the Western centrality assumption , that Western populations represent a normal and/or healthy standard against which development in all societies can be compared; (iii) the deficit assumption , that population-level differences in developmental timing or outcomes are necessarily due to something lacking among non-Western populations; and (iv) the equivalency assumption , that using identical research methods will necessarily produce equivalent and externally valid data, across disparate cultural contexts. For each assumption, we draw on cultural evolutionary theory to critique and replace the assumption with a theoretically grounded approach to culture in development. We support these suggestions with positive examples drawn from research in development. Finally, we conclude with a call for researchers to take reasonable steps towards more fully incorporating culture and context into studies of development, by expanding their participant pools in strategic ways. This will lead to a more inclusive and therefore more accurate description of human development. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bridging cultural gaps: interdisciplinary studies in human cultural evolution’.

Empirical foundations for an integrated study of language evolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-229
Author(s):  
Gareth Roberts ◽  
Betsy Sneller
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Similar Role ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Evolutionary Study ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Radical Shift ◽  
Integrated Study

Abstract Half a century ago, Uriel Weinreich, William Labov, and Marvin Herzog laid out a programmatic vision for the study of language change. This included establishing five fundamental problems for the field and a radical shift from a focus on idiolects to a focus on population-level change (grounded in their concept of orderly heterogeneity). They also expressed an explicit desire to see an integrated evolutionary study of language change. In spite of this, the newer fields of language evolution and cultural evolution make little contact with the field of sociolinguistics that emerged out of their work. Here we lay out a program, grounded in their five problems, for a more integrated future. We situate each problem in modern sociolinguistics and identify promising points for theoretical exchange, making comparisons with Tinbergen’s four questions, which play a similar role in the evolutionary sciences. Finally, we propose cultural-evolutionary experiments for making empirical progress.

scholarly journals Agent-based modeling and life cycle dynamics of COVID-19-related online collective actions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Zhang ◽  
Hao Li ◽  
Rong He ◽  
Peng Lu
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Individual Behaviors ◽  
Micro Level

AbstractThe outbreak of COVID-19 has greatly threatened global public health and produced social problems, which includes relative online collective actions. Based on the life cycle law, focusing on the life cycle process of COVID-19 online collective actions, we carried out both macro-level analysis (big data mining) and micro-level behaviors (Agent-Based Modeling) on pandemic-related online collective actions. We collected 138 related online events with macro-level big data characteristics, and used Agent-Based Modeling to capture micro-level individual behaviors of netizens. We set two kinds of movable agents, Hots (events) and Netizens (individuals), which behave smartly and autonomously. Based on multiple simulations and parametric traversal, we obtained the optimal parameter solution. Under the optimal solutions, we repeated simulations by ten times, and took the mean values as robust outcomes. Simulation outcomes well match the real big data of life cycle trends, and validity and robustness can be achieved. According to multiple criteria (spans, peaks, ratios, and distributions), the fitness between simulations and real big data has been substantially supported. Therefore, our Agent-Based Modeling well grasps the micro-level mechanisms of real-world individuals (netizens), based on which we can predict individual behaviors of netizens and big data trends of specific online events. Based on our model, it is feasible to model, calculate, and even predict evolutionary dynamics and life cycles trends of online collective actions. It facilitates public administrations and social governance.

scholarly journals Between migration load and evolutionary rescue: dispersal, adaptation and the response of spatially structured populations to environmental change

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1778) ◽  
pp. 20132795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Bourne ◽  
Greta Bocedi ◽  
Justin M. J. Travis ◽  
Robin J. Pakeman ◽  
Rob W. Brooker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Evolutionary Potential ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
Local Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Response ◽  
Evolutionary Rescue ◽  
Opposing Effects

The evolutionary potential of populations is mainly determined by population size and available genetic variance. However, the adaptability of spatially structured populations may also be affected by dispersal: positively by spreading beneficial mutations across sub-populations, but negatively by moving locally adapted alleles between demes. We develop an individual-based, two-patch, allelic model to investigate the balance between these opposing effects on a population's evolutionary response to rapid climate change. Individual fitness is controlled by two polygenic traits coding for local adaptation either to the environment or to climate. Under conditions of selection that favour the evolution of a generalist phenotype (i.e. weak divergent selection between patches) dispersal has an overall positive effect on the persistence of the population. However, when selection favours locally adapted specialists, the beneficial effects of dispersal outweigh the associated increase in maladaptation for a narrow range of parameter space only (intermediate selection strength and low linkage among loci), where the spread of beneficial climate alleles is not strongly hampered by selection against non-specialists. Given that local selection across heterogeneous and fragmented landscapes is common, the complex effect of dispersal that we describe will play an important role in determining the evolutionary dynamics of many species under rapidly changing climate.

scholarly journals Determinants and consequences of dispersal in vertebrates with complex life cycles: a review of pond-breeding amphibians

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Cayuela ◽  
Andrés Valenzuela-Sanchez ◽  
Loïc Teulier ◽  
Íñigo Martínez-Solano ◽  
Jean-Paul Léna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Suitable Model ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Central Process ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations

Dispersal is a central process in ecology and evolution. It strongly influences the dynamics of spatially structured populations, by affecting population growth rate and local colonization-extinction processes. Dispersal can also influence evolutionary processes because it determines rates and patterns of gene flow in spatially structured populations and is closely linked to local adaptation. For these reasons, dispersal has received considerable attention from ecologists and evolutionary biologists. However, although it has been studied extensively in taxa such as birds and mammals, much less is known about dispersal in vertebrates with complex life cycles such as pond-breeding amphibians. Over the past two decades, researchers have taken an interest in amphibian dispersal and initiated both fundamental and applied studies, using a broad range of experimental and observational approaches. This body of research reveals complex dispersal patterns, causations and syndromes, with dramatic consequences for the demography and genetics of amphibian populations. In this review, our goals are to (1) redefine and clarify the concept of amphibian dispersal, (2) review current knowledge about the effects of individual (i.e., condition-dependent dispersal) and environmental (i.e., context-dependent dispersal) factors during the three stages of dispersal (i.e., emigration, immigration, transience), (3) identify the demographic and genetic consequences of dispersal in spatially structured amphibian populations, and (4) propose new research avenues to extend our understanding of amphibian dispersal. In particular, we emphasize the need to (1) quantify dispersal rate and distance rigorously using suitable model systems, (2) investigate the genetic basis and dispersal evolution patterns, and (3) examine dispersal-related eco-evolutionary dynamics. These proposed research avenues tap from the recent advances in quantitative and molecular methods and have the potential to improve our understanding of dispersal in organisms with complex life cycles.

scholarly journals Antagonism between killer yeast strains as an experimental model for biological nucleation dynamics

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Giometto ◽  
David R Nelson ◽  
Andrew W Murray
Keyword(s):  
Critical Frequency ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Microbial Antagonism ◽  
Microbial World ◽  
Experimental Dynamics ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
Yeast Strains

Antagonistic interactions are widespread in the microbial world and affect microbial evolutionary dynamics. Natural microbial communities often display spatial structure, which affects biological interactions, but much of what we know about microbial warfare comes from laboratory studies of well-mixed communities. To overcome this limitation, we manipulated two killer strains of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, expressing different toxins, to independently control the rate at which they released their toxins. We developed mathematical models that predict the experimental dynamics of competition between toxin-producing strains in both well-mixed and spatially structured populations. In both situations, we experimentally verified theory's prediction that a stronger antagonist can invade a weaker one only if the initial invading population exceeds a critical frequency or size. Finally, we found that toxin-resistant cells and weaker killers arose in spatially structured competitions between toxin-producing strains, suggesting that adaptive evolution can affect the outcome of microbial antagonism in spatial settings.

scholarly journals Determinants and consequences of dispersal in vertebrates with complex life cycles: a review of pond-breeding amphibians

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Cayuela ◽  
Andrés Valenzuela-Sanchez ◽  
Loïc Teulier ◽  
Íñigo Martínez-Solano ◽  
Jean-Paul Léna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Suitable Model ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Central Process ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations

Dispersal is a central process in ecology and evolution. It strongly influences the dynamics of spatially structured populations, by affecting population growth rate and local colonization-extinction processes. Dispersal can also influence evolutionary processes because it determines rates and patterns of gene flow in spatially structured populations and is closely linked to local adaptation. For these reasons, dispersal has received considerable attention from ecologists and evolutionary biologists. However, although it has been studied extensively in taxa such as birds and mammals, much less is known about dispersal in vertebrates with complex life cycles such as pond-breeding amphibians. Over the past two decades, researchers have taken an interest in amphibian dispersal and initiated both fundamental and applied studies, using a broad range of experimental and observational approaches. This body of research reveals complex dispersal patterns, causations and syndromes, with dramatic consequences for the demography and genetics of amphibian populations. In this review, our goals are to (1) redefine and clarify the concept of amphibian dispersal, (2) review current knowledge about the effects of individual (i.e., condition-dependent dispersal) and environmental (i.e., context-dependent dispersal) factors during the three stages of dispersal (i.e., emigration, immigration, transience), (3) identify the demographic and genetic consequences of dispersal in spatially structured amphibian populations, and (4) propose new research avenues to extend our understanding of amphibian dispersal. In particular, we emphasize the need to (1) quantify dispersal rate and distance rigorously using suitable model systems, (2) investigate the genetic basis and dispersal evolution patterns, and (3) examine dispersal-related eco-evolutionary dynamics. These proposed research avenues tap from the recent advances in quantitative and molecular methods and have the potential to improve our understanding of dispersal in organisms with complex life cycles.

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