The influence of interspecific interactions on the evolutionary dynamics of cooperation

Abstract

Understanding how the cooperation between individuals evolved and which factors influence its evolution are major questions in Evolutionary Biology. Theoretical studies show that ecological interactions may be one of these factors, since individuals which cooperate among themselves may be better able to defend against predators and compete against other individuals. However, it is still necessary to understand how differences in the Biology of species, such as variations in cooperative behavior and group size may influence this scenario. Another factor which might influence the evolution of cooperation is the spatial structuring of the populations. In this project, I will develop theoretical models to understand what is the contribution of interspecific interactions, group size and spatial structuring of populations on the evolution of cooperation. The project will have three parts. In the first one, I will develop mathematical models based on evolutionary game theory in order to understand if and how cooperation may evolve in a scenario of competition between species with different competitive abilities and cooperative behavior. Preliminary results show that interspecific interactions may be a key selective pressure to the evolution of cooperation in this scenario. In the second part of the project, group size will be incorporated into this scenario, in order to understand if this characteristic may suffer selective pressure from competition between species and if it may influence the evolutionary dynamics of cooperation. In the third part, spatial structuring of the population will be incorporated to the dynamics described by the mathematical models through computational simulations. (AU)