Department of Economics, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HX, UK.
J Theor Biol. 2012 Sep 7;308:88-95. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2012.05.007. Epub 2012 May 18.
In this paper we present a new approach to modelling group coordination, based on dyadic synchronisation in a non-panmictic, structured network (a problem that applies widely to all species that live in medium to large groups). Using this approach, we present three models with three new theoretical results. (1) Multi-layered networks are optimal for groups that face costs associated with maintaining relationships among the members, combined with costs associated with information flows. (2) The presence of a social hierarchy can be an adaptive feature of the community: the steeper the optimal social hierarchy is, the fewer relationships group members need to have. (3) Falling communication costs lead to a less steep optimal social hierarchy in communities in which socially useful information is evenly distributed, but to an even steeper social hierarchy in groups in which socially useful information is uneven. Thus we show how, when communication is costly, cooperation can give rise to communities that are socially highly structured.
本文提出了一种新的群体协调建模方法，基于非弥漫、结构化网络中的对偶同步（这是一个广泛适用于生活在中型和大型群体中的所有物种的问题）。使用这种方法，我们提出了三个模型，并得出了三个新的理论结果。（1）对于那些面临与成员之间关系维护相关成本，以及与信息流相关成本的群体来说，多层次网络是最优的。（2）社会等级制度的存在可能是社区的一种适应性特征：最优社会等级制度越陡峭，群体成员需要建立的关系就越少。（3）在社会有用信息均匀分布的社区中，随着通信成本的降低，最优社会等级制度会变得不那么陡峭，但在社会有用信息不均匀的群体中，社会等级制度会变得更加陡峭。因此，我们展示了当通信成本较高时，合作如何会导致社会高度结构化的社区。
