scholarly journals Symmetry-based reciprocity: evolutionary constraints on a proximate mechanism

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Campennì ◽  
Gabriele Schino
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Evolutionary Constraints ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Cooperative Interactions ◽  
Proximate Mechanism ◽  
Proximate Mechanisms ◽  
Emergent Features ◽  
Selfish Agents

Background.While the evolution of reciprocal cooperation has attracted an enormous attention, the proximate mechanisms underlying the ability of animals to cooperate reciprocally are comparatively neglected. Symmetry-based reciprocity is a hypothetical proximate mechanism that has been suggested to be widespread among cognitively unsophisticated animals.Methods.We developed two agent-based models of symmetry-based reciprocity (one relying on an arbitrary tag and the other on interindividual proximity) and tested their ability both to reproduce significant emergent features of cooperation in group living animals and to promote the evolution of cooperation.Results.Populations formed by agents adopting symmetry-based reciprocity showed differentiated “social relationships” and a positive correlation between cooperation given and received: two common aspects of animal cooperation. However, when reproduction and selection across multiple generations were added to the models, agents adopting symmetry-based reciprocity were outcompeted by selfish agents that never cooperated.Discussion.In order to evolve, hypothetical proximate mechanisms must be able to stand competition from alternative strategies. While the results of our simulations require confirmation using analytical methods, we provisionally suggest symmetry-based reciprocity is to be abandoned as a possible proximate mechanism underlying the ability of animals to reciprocate cooperative interactions.

scholarly journals Trinidadian guppies use a social heuristic that can support cooperation among non-kin

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1934) ◽  
pp. 20200487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safi K. Darden ◽  
Richard James ◽  
James M. Cave ◽  
Josefine Bohr Brask ◽  
Darren P. Croft
Keyword(s):  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Social Partner ◽  
Proximate Mechanisms ◽  
Cognitive Limitations ◽  
Fitness Benefits

Cooperation among non-kin is well documented in humans and widespread in non-human animals, but explaining the occurrence of cooperation in the absence of inclusive fitness benefits has proven a significant challenge. Current theoretical explanations converge on a single point: cooperators can prevail when they cluster in social space. However, we know very little about the real-world mechanisms that drive such clustering, particularly in systems where cognitive limitations make it unlikely that mechanisms such as score keeping and reputation are at play. Here, we show that Trinidadian guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) use a ‘walk away’ strategy, a simple social heuristic by which assortment by cooperativeness can come about among mobile agents. Guppies cooperate during predator inspection and we found that when experiencing defection in this context, individuals prefer to move to a new social environment, despite having no prior information about this new social group. Our results provide evidence in non-human animals that individuals use a simple social partner updating strategy in response to defection, supporting theoretical work applying heuristics to understanding the proximate mechanisms underpinning the evolution of cooperation among non-kin.

scholarly journals Agent based models to investigate cooperation between cancer cells

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joao Xavier ◽  
William Chang
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Solid Tumor ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Agent Based Model ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Chemical Gradients ◽  
Close Proximity

We present a type of agent-based model that uses off-lattice spheres to represent individual cells in a solid tumor. The model calculates chemical gradients and determines the dynamics of the tumor as emergent properties of the interactions between the cells. As an example, we present an investigation of cooperation among cancer cells where cooperators secrete a growth factor that is costly to synthesize. Simulations reveal that cooperation is favored when cancer cells from the same lineage stay in close proximity. The result supports the hypothesis that kin selection, a theory that explains the evolution of cooperation in animals, also applies to cancers.

scholarly journals Evolutionary significance of maternal kinship in a long-lived mammal

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1780) ◽  
pp. 20180067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily C. Lynch ◽  
Virpi Lummaa ◽  
Win Htut ◽  
Mirkka Lahdenperä
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Young Female ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Preferential Treatment ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Life History Data ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Fitness Benefits

Preferential treatment of kin is widespread across social species and is considered a central prerequisite to the evolution of cooperation through kin selection. Though it is well known that, among most social mammals, females will remain within their natal group and often bias social behaviour towards female maternal kin, less is known about the fitness consequences of these relationships. We test the fitness benefits of living with maternal sisters, measured by age-specific female reproduction, using an unusually large database of a semi-captive Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ) population. This study system is particularly valuable to an exploration of reproductive trends in a long-lived mammal, because it includes life-history data that span multiple generations, enabling a study of the effects of kinship across a female's lifespan. We find that living near a sister significantly increased the likelihood of annual reproduction among young female elephants, and this effect was strongest when living near a sister 0–5 years younger. Our results show that fitness benefits gained from relationships with kin are age-specific, establish the basis necessary for the formation and maintenance of close social relationships with female kin, and highlight the adaptive importance of matriliny in a long-lived mammal. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.

scholarly journals Proximity-based vocal networks reveal social relationships in the Southern white rhinoceros

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Jenikejew ◽  
Brenda Chaignon ◽  
Sabrina Linn ◽  
Marina Scheumann
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Group Living ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Southern White Rhinoceros ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
High Level

Abstract Vocal communication networks can be linked to social behaviour, allowing a deeper understanding of social relationships among individuals. For this purpose, the description of vocal dyads is fundamental. In group-living species, this identification is based on behavioural indicators which require a high level of reactivity during social interactions. In the present study, we alternatively established a proximity-based approach to investigate whether sex-specific differences in vocal communication reflect social behaviour in a species with rather loose social associations and low levels of reactivity: the Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum). We performed audio- and video recordings of 30 captive animals from seven groups. Vocal networks for the four most common call types were constructed by considering conspecifics at close distance (≤ 1 body length) to the sender as potential receivers. The analysis of the resulting unidirectional structures showed that not only the sex of the sender but also the sex of the potential receiver, the quality of social interactions (affiliative or agonistic) as well as association strength predict the intensity of vocal interactions between group members. Thus, a proximity-based approach can be used to construct vocal networks providing information about the social relationships of conspecifics—even in species with loose social associations where behavioural indicators are limited.

Methodological foundations for agent-based systems

1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL FISHER ◽  
JÖRG MÜLLER ◽  
MICHAEL SCHROEDER ◽  
GEOF STANIFORD ◽  
GERD WAGNER
Keyword(s):  
Software Development ◽  
Dynamic Control ◽  
Agent Technology ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Cooperative Interactions ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Internal Change ◽  
High Level ◽  
Development Methods ◽  
Standard Software

In spite of the rapid spread of agent technology, there is, as yet, little evidence of an engineering approach to the development of agent-based systems. In particular, development methods for these systems are relatively rare. One of the key reasons for this is the inadequacy of standard software development approaches for these new, and fundamentally different, agent-based systems. Traditional software development methods often lack the flexibility to handle high-level concepts such as an agent's dynamic control of its own behaviour, its ability to represent cooperative interactions, and its mechanisms for representing internal change, assumptions, objectives, and the uncertainty inherent in its interactions with the real-world.

New Agent-Based Egress Model Allowing for Social Relationships

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 04015066 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fang ◽  
S. El-Tawil ◽  
B. Aguirre
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Agent Based

scholarly journals Do vampire bats groom others based on need?

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Narizano ◽  
Gerald G Carter
Keyword(s):  
Group Living ◽  
Motivational State ◽  
Negative Interaction ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
Proximate Mechanisms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Recipient Need ◽  
Positive Effect

Abstract Allogrooming provides a window into the social lives of many group-living mammals and birds. The fitness benefits of allogrooming are encouraged by proximate mechanisms that make it physiologically rewarding for both actors and receivers. However, receivers might not always benefit from allogrooming. Some allogrooming decisions might be the actor’s response to cues of the recipient’s need. Other decisions might only be caused by the actor’s motivational state. To test these ideas, we studied what triggers allogrooming in common vampire bats. In test 1, subjects that had experimentally disturbed and wetted fur were more likely to be allogroomed, even when controlling for increased self-grooming. In test 2, allogrooming rates were elevated not only by receiver self-grooming (a cue for receiver need) but also by the actor’s previous self-grooming. Both effects were significantly greater than the effect of self-grooming by third parties. Interestingly, we detected a negative interaction: the positive effect of receiver need on allogrooming was smaller when the actor was previously self-grooming. This is consistent with the hypothesis that there are “receiver-driven” allogrooming decisions, which are responses to recipient need, and “actor-driven” decisions, which are not. We predict that receiver-driven allogrooming will bestow greater benefits to recipients compared with actor-driven allogrooming.

scholarly journals Calves as social hubs: dynamics of the social network within sperm whale units

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1763) ◽  
pp. 20131113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Gero ◽  
Jonathan Gordon ◽  
Hal Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Physeter Macrocephalus ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
Social Unit ◽  
The Social

It is hypothesized that the primary function of permanent social relationships among female sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) is to provide allomothers for calves at the surface while mothers make foraging dives. In order to investigate how reciprocity of allocare within units of sperm whales facilitates group living, we constructed weighted social networks based on yearly matrices of associations (2005–2010) and correlated them across years, through changes in age and social role, to study changes in social relationships within seven sperm whale units. Pairs of association matrices from sequential years showed a greater positive correlation than expected by chance, but as the time lag increased, the correlation coefficients decreased. Over all units considered, calves had high values for all measured network statistics, while mothers had intermediate values for most of the measures, but high values for connectedness and affinity. Mothers showed sharp drops in strength and connectedness in the first year of their new calves' lives. These broad patterns appear to be consistent across units. Calves appeared to be significant nodes in the network of the social unit, and thus provide quantitative support for the theory in which communal care acts as the evolutionary force behind group formation in this species.

scholarly journals Familiar neighbours, but not relatives, enhance fitness in a territorial mammal

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin R. Siracusa ◽  
Stan Boutin ◽  
Ben Dantzer ◽  
Jeffrey E. Lane ◽  
David W. Coltman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Red Squirrels ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
North American Red Squirrels ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Effects Of Aging

SummaryOne of the outstanding questions in evolutionary biology is the extent to which mutually beneficial interactions and kin-selection can facilitate the evolution of cooperation by mitigating conflict between interacting organisms. The indirect fitness benefits gained from associating with kin are an important pathway to conflict resolution [1], but conflict can also be resolved if individuals gain direct benefits from cooperating with one another (e.g. mutualism or reciprocity) [2]. Owing to the kin-structured nature of many animal societies, it has been difficult for previous research to assess the relative importance of these mechanisms [3–5]. However, one area that might allow for the relative roles of kin-selection and mutualistic benefits to be disentangled is in the resolution of conflict over territorial space [6]. While much research has focused on group-living species, the question of how cooperation can first be favoured in solitary, territorial species remains a key question. Using 22 years of data from a population of North American red squirrels, we assessed how kinship and familiarity with neighbours affected fitness in a territorial mammal. While living near kin did not enhance fitness, familiarity with neighbours increased survival and annual reproductive success. These fitness benefits were strong enough to compensate for the effects of aging later in life, with potential consequences for the evolution of senescence. We suggest that such substantial fitness benefits provide the opportunity for the evolution of cooperation between adversarial neighbours, offering insight into the role that mutually beneficial behaviours might play in facilitating and stabilizing social systems.Graphical Abstract

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