Rodrigues, Antonio M M, Barker, Jessica and Robinson, Elva Joan Hilda orcid.org/0000-0003-4914-9327 (2023) The Evolution of Intergroup Cooperation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 20220074. ISSN 1471-2970
Abstract
Sociality is widespread among animals, and involves complex relationships within and between social groups. While intra-group interactions are often cooperative, intergroup interactions typically involve conflict, or at best tolerance. Active cooperation between members of distinct, separate groups occurs very rarely, predominantly in some primate and ant species. Here we ask why intergroup cooperation is so rare, and what conditions favour its evolution. We present a model incorporating intra- and intergroup relationships and local and long-distance dispersal. We show that dispersal modes play a pivotal role in the evolution of intergroup interactions. Both long-distance and local dispersal processes drive population social structure, and the costs and benefits of intergroup conflict, tolerance and cooperation. Overall, the evolution of multi-group interaction patterns including both intergroup aggression and intergroup tolerance, or even altruism, is more likely with mostly localised dispersal. However, the evolution of these intergroup relationships may have significant ecological impacts, and this feedback may alter the ecological conditions that favour its own evolution. These results show that the evolution of intergroup cooperation is favoured by a specific set of conditions, and may not be evolutionarily stable. We discuss how our results relate to empirical evidence of intergroup cooperation in ants and primates.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. |
Keywords: | evolution,cooperation,conflict,intergroup conflict,intergroup cooperation,spatial ecology,evolutionary model,kin selection,primates,social insects,ants,inclusive fitness,altruism,tolerance,dispersal,population viscosity |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Biology (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 18 Jan 2023 12:50 |
Last Modified: | 09 Feb 2025 00:10 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0074 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1098/rstb.2022.0074 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:195431 |
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