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Spatial evolutionary dynamics produce a negative cooperation-population size relationship.

Edward W Tekwa1, Andrew Gonzalez2, Michel Loreau3

  • 1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA; Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cooperation can increase population size, but spatial clustering can create a negative relationship between cooperation and population size. This ecological dilemma limits the evolution of stable cooperating populations.

Keywords:
Cooperation-population size relationshipEcological dilemma of cooperationEvolution of cooperationKin competitionPopulation dynamicsSpatial dynamics

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Ecology
  • Mathematical modeling

Background:

  • Natural selection can favor cooperation, but the conditions under which cooperative populations grow larger than less cooperative ones remain unclear.
  • Previous experiments suggest cooperation boosts population size, yet spatial dynamics can introduce negative correlations between cooperation and population size.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how spatial processes influence the relationship between cooperation and population size using a mathematical model.
  • To determine the conditions under which cooperation leads to increased population size in spatially structured populations.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a simple mathematical model for spatial common-pool resource production.
  • Utilizing individual-based simulations with varying individual movement rates to explore spatial clustering effects.

Main Results:

  • Cooperation significantly increases population size only when it provides substantial benefits to neighbors.
  • Spatial clustering, even with beneficial cooperation, can lead to a negative correlation between cooperation and population size by selecting for cooperation while reducing overall population size.
  • Simulations demonstrated that variations in spatial clustering and individual movement generate the predicted negative cooperation-population relationships.

Conclusions:

  • Spatial clustering can act as a constraint on the size of evolutionarily stable cooperating populations.
  • The study highlights an ecological dilemma where spatial dynamics complicate the relationship between cooperation and population growth.