Collapse and rescue of cooperation in evolving dynamic networks

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Behavioral ecology
• Social evolution

Background:

• Social structure profoundly influences the evolution of social traits.
• The coevolution between social structure and social traits remains underexplored.
• Understanding this interplay is key to explaining cooperation dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the coevolutionary dynamics between social traits and social structure.
• To model how social connections (inherited vs. random) affect the evolution of cooperation.
• To identify conditions promoting or hindering the long-term persistence of cooperation.

Main Methods:

• Development of a simple, realistic model of within-group social structure.
• Simulation of social connection inheritance and random connection formation.
• Analysis of the feedback loops between cooperation and social structure changes.

Main Results:

• Cooperation initially evolves with few random connections but is later destabilized by increased random connections.
• Costs associated with social connections can prevent cooperation collapse but may reduce overall benefits.
• External social inheritance can mitigate cost-related issues, allowing cooperation to enhance population fitness.

Conclusions:

• Coevolutionary dynamics between social traits and structure can create negative feedback loops.
• The interplay between inherited and random social connections critically shapes cooperation outcomes.
• Interventions like exogenous social inheritance may be necessary for sustained cooperation in evolving populations.