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Sensitivity-driven migration and the evolution of cooperation in multiplayer games on structured populations
1King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Department of Mathematics, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Physical Review. E
|November 18, 2025
Summary
Conditional migration, where cooperators move away from defectors, promotes cooperation in structured populations. This strategy helps cooperators form beneficial groups, enhancing the evolution of cooperation.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Game Theory
- Computational Social Science
Background:
- Cooperation relies on avoiding exploitation and favoring interactions with other cooperators.
- Spatially structured populations present unique challenges and opportunities for the evolution of cooperation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how context-dependent migration influences the evolution of cooperation in spatially structured populations.
- To understand the role of behavioral asymmetry in dispersal strategies on cooperative dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Simulated public goods games within small groups in a spatially structured population.
- Modeled individuals reproducing with possible dispersal, incorporating conditional migration strategies.
- Analyzed the impact of varying migration rates, group sizes, and environmental sensitivity.
Main Results:
- Cooperators exhibit higher migration rates when in environments with defectors, unlike defectors who disperse uniformly.
- This conditional migration allows cooperators to escape unfavorable environments and aggregate, fostering cooperative clusters.
- Cooperation is promoted under specific parameter ranges, even in conditions typically unfavorable for its evolution.
Conclusions:
- Behavioral plasticity in migration, coupled with dispersal strategies, can significantly support the emergence and maintenance of cooperation.
- Context-dependent migration acts as a crucial mechanism for cooperators to overcome exploitation and enhance group success.
- Findings highlight the interplay between individual behavior, population structure, and evolutionary dynamics in promoting cooperation.
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