Abstract
Species differ widely with regard to parental investment strategies and mechanisms underlying those strategies. The passing of benefits to likely genetic offspring can be mediated through a number of different computational and behavioral systems. We report results from an agent-based model in which offspring maintain proximity with parents and parents transmit benefits to offspring without the capacity of either parent or offspring to "recognize" one another. Instead, parents follow a simple rule to emit benefits after reproducing and offspring follow a simple rule of moving in the direction of positive benefit gradients. This model differs from previous models of spatial kin-based altruism in that individuals are modeled as having different behavioral rules at different life stages and benefits are transmitted unidirectionally from parents to offspring. High rates of correctly directed parental investment occur when mobility and sociality are low and parental investment occurs over a short period of time. We suggest that strategies based on recognition and bonding/attachment might serve to increase rates of correctly directed parental investment under parameters that are shown here to otherwise lead to high rates of misdirected and wasted parental investment.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1079-1091 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2011 |
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Keywords
- Agent-based model
- Conditional movement
- Kin recognition
- Parental care
- Parental investment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology
Cite this
Parental investment without kin recognition : Simple conditional rules for parent-offspring behavior. / Aktipis, C Athena; Fernandez-Duque, Eduardo.
In: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Vol. 65, No. 5, 05.2011, p. 1079-1091.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Parental investment without kin recognition
T2 - Simple conditional rules for parent-offspring behavior
AU - Aktipis, C Athena
AU - Fernandez-Duque, Eduardo
PY - 2011/5
Y1 - 2011/5
N2 - Species differ widely with regard to parental investment strategies and mechanisms underlying those strategies. The passing of benefits to likely genetic offspring can be mediated through a number of different computational and behavioral systems. We report results from an agent-based model in which offspring maintain proximity with parents and parents transmit benefits to offspring without the capacity of either parent or offspring to "recognize" one another. Instead, parents follow a simple rule to emit benefits after reproducing and offspring follow a simple rule of moving in the direction of positive benefit gradients. This model differs from previous models of spatial kin-based altruism in that individuals are modeled as having different behavioral rules at different life stages and benefits are transmitted unidirectionally from parents to offspring. High rates of correctly directed parental investment occur when mobility and sociality are low and parental investment occurs over a short period of time. We suggest that strategies based on recognition and bonding/attachment might serve to increase rates of correctly directed parental investment under parameters that are shown here to otherwise lead to high rates of misdirected and wasted parental investment.
AB - Species differ widely with regard to parental investment strategies and mechanisms underlying those strategies. The passing of benefits to likely genetic offspring can be mediated through a number of different computational and behavioral systems. We report results from an agent-based model in which offspring maintain proximity with parents and parents transmit benefits to offspring without the capacity of either parent or offspring to "recognize" one another. Instead, parents follow a simple rule to emit benefits after reproducing and offspring follow a simple rule of moving in the direction of positive benefit gradients. This model differs from previous models of spatial kin-based altruism in that individuals are modeled as having different behavioral rules at different life stages and benefits are transmitted unidirectionally from parents to offspring. High rates of correctly directed parental investment occur when mobility and sociality are low and parental investment occurs over a short period of time. We suggest that strategies based on recognition and bonding/attachment might serve to increase rates of correctly directed parental investment under parameters that are shown here to otherwise lead to high rates of misdirected and wasted parental investment.
KW - Agent-based model
KW - Conditional movement
KW - Kin recognition
KW - Parental care
KW - Parental investment
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U2 - 10.1007/s00265-010-1115-9
DO - 10.1007/s00265-010-1115-9
M3 - Article
VL - 65
SP - 1079
EP - 1091
JO - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
JF - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
SN - 0340-5443
IS - 5
ER -