Skill learning and the evolution of social learning mechanisms
| Autor: | Kevin N. Laland, Daniel J. van der Post, Mathias Franz |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | University of St Andrews. School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences, University of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution, University of St Andrews. Centre for Biological Diversity |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Self-organization
0106 biological sciences 0301 basic medicine Agent-based model Group foragers QH301 Biology Foraging Functional approach Environment Biology Stimulus (physiology) Models Biological 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences QH301 03 medical and health sciences Mechanism specificity Information parasitism Multi-scale approach Animals Observational learning Herbivory Social Behavior Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Copying Social learning Biological Evolution Social Learning 030104 developmental biology Evolutionary biology Research Article Cognitive psychology |
| Zdroj: | BMC Evolutionary Biology BMC evolutionary biology, 16:166 |
| ISSN: | 1471-2148 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12862-016-0742-9 |
| Popis: | Background Social learning is potentially advantageous, but evolutionary theory predicts that (i) its benefits may be self-limiting because social learning can lead to information parasitism, and (ii) these limitations can be mitigated via forms of selective copying. However, these findings arise from a functional approach in which learning mechanisms are not specified, and which assumes that social learning avoids the costs of asocial learning but does not produce information about the environment. Whether these findings generalize to all kinds of social learning remains to be established. Using a detailed multi-scale evolutionary model, we investigate the payoffs and information production processes of specific social learning mechanisms (including local enhancement, stimulus enhancement and observational learning) and their evolutionary consequences in the context of skill learning in foraging groups. Results We find that local enhancement does not benefit foraging success, but could evolve as a side-effect of grouping. In contrast, stimulus enhancement and observational learning can be beneficial across a wide range of environmental conditions because they generate opportunities for new learning outcomes. Conclusions In contrast to much existing theory, we find that the functional outcomes of social learning are mechanism specific. Social learning nearly always produces information about the environment, and does not always avoid the costs of asocial learning or support information parasitism. Our study supports work emphasizing the value of incorporating mechanistic detail in functional analyses. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0742-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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