Wahl L M
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, USA.
J Theor Biol. 2002 Dec 7;219(3):371-88. doi: 10.1006/jtbi.2002.3133.
The evolutionary dynamics of specialization, in the context of the division of labour, are investigated. Individuals associate in groups in which benefits are shared and costs borne individually; each individual is either a generalist who can perform all the necessary tasks, a specialist who performs a sub-set of the necessary tasks, or a parasite who contributes nothing to the group. The implications of the model are explored analytically and through both numerical and Monte Carlo methods. These methods demonstrate the evolution of populations towards stable arrangements of specialists and generalists. The fittest populations are those that divide tasks fairly and associate in large, highly specialized groups. Generalists have a distinct advantage in small groups, but the presence of generalists, ironically, lowers group fitness. Parasites are able to invade both specialized and non-specialized populations. A basic model for the continuous division of labour is also presented, demonstrating a tendency for populations to evolve increasingly unfair divisions of labour. This last result implies that an evolutionary ratchet favours disparity between the workload of specialist populations.
我们研究了分工背景下专业化的进化动态。个体以群体形式聚集，在群体中利益共享而成本各自承担；每个个体要么是能执行所有必要任务的通才，要么是执行部分必要任务的专才，要么是对群体毫无贡献的寄生虫。我们通过解析以及数值和蒙特卡罗方法来探究该模型的含义。这些方法证明了种群向专才和通才的稳定组合进化。最适应的种群是那些公平分配任务并在大型、高度专业化群体中聚集的种群。通才在小群体中有明显优势，但具有讽刺意味的是，通才的存在会降低群体适应性。寄生虫能够侵入专业化和非专业化种群。我们还提出了一个连续分工的基本模型，证明了种群有进化出越来越不公平分工的趋势。最后这个结果意味着一种进化棘轮效应有利于专家种群工作量之间的差异。
