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Emily L. Dolson
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Proceedings Papers
. alif2016, ALIFE 2016, the Fifteenth International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems434-441, (July 4–6, 2016) 10.1162/978-0-262-33936-0-ch071
Abstract
View Papertitled, The Effects of Evolution and Spatial Structure on Diversity in Biological Reserves
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for content titled, The Effects of Evolution and Spatial Structure on Diversity in Biological Reserves
Conservation ecologists have long argued over the best way of placing reserves across an environment to maximize population diversity. Many have studied the effect of protecting many small regions of an ecosystem vs. a single large region, with varied results. However, this research tends to ignore evolutionary dynamics under the rationale that the spatiotemporal scale required is prohibitive. We used the Avida digital evolution research platform to overcome this barrier and study the response of phenotypic diversity to eight different reserve placement configurations. The capacity for mutation, and therefore evolution, substantially altered the dynamics of diversity in the population. When mutations were allowed, reserve configurations involving a greater number of consequently smaller reserves were substantially more effective at maintaining existing diversity and generating new diversity. However, when mutations were disallowed, reserve configuration had little effect on diversity generation and maintenance. While further research is necessary before translating these results into policy decisions, this study demonstrates the importance of considering evolution when making such decisions and suggests that a larger number of smaller reserves may have evolutionary benefits.
Proceedings Papers
. alif2016, ALIFE 2016, the Fifteenth International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems408-415, (July 4–6, 2016) 10.1162/978-0-262-33936-0-ch068
Abstract
View Papertitled, The Prisoners Dilemma, Memory, and the Early Evolution of Intelligence
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for content titled, The Prisoners Dilemma, Memory, and the Early Evolution of Intelligence
Memory is an essential component of intelligence as it enables an individual to make informed decisions based on past experiences. In the context of biological systems, however, what selective conditions promote the evolution of memory? Given that reliable memory is likely to be associated with costs, how much is it actually worth in different contexts? We use a genetic algorithm to measure the evolutionary importance of memory in the context of the Iterated Prisoners Dilemma, a game in which players receive a short-term gain for defection, but may obtain greater long- term benefits with cooperation. However, cooperation requires trust; cooperating when an opponent defects is the worst possible outcome. Memory allows a player to recall an opponents previous actions to determine how trustworthy that opponent is. While a player can earn a high payout by defecting, it will likely lose the trust of an opponent with memory, yielding a lower long-term payout. We determined the value of memory in the Iterated Prisoners Dilemma under various conditions. When memory is costly, players reduce their available memory and use short-term greedy strategies, such as Always Defect. Alternatively, when memory is inexpensive, players use well-known cooperative strategies, such as Tit-for-Tat. Our findings indicate that organisms playing against a static opponent evolve memory as expected. However, memory is much more challenging to evolve in coevolutionary scenarios where its value is uneven.