Common language or Tower of Babel? On the evolutionary dynamics of signals and their meanings.
We investigate how the evolution of communication strategies affects signal credibility when there is common interest as well as a conflict between communicating individuals. Taking alarm calls as an example, we show that if the temptation to cheat is low, a single signal is used in the population. If the temptation increases cheaters will erode the credibility of a signal, and an honest mutant using a different signal ('a private code') will be very successful until this, in turn, is cracked by cheaters. In such a system, signal use fluctuates in time and space and hence the meaning of a given signal is not constant. When the temptation to cheat is too large, no honest communication can maintain itself in a Tower of Babel of many signals. We discuss our analysis in the light of the Green Beard mechanism for the evolution of altruism.
van Baalen
Minus
M
Institut d'Ecologie, UMR 7625, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Bât. A, 7ème Etage CC237, 7 quai St Bernard, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France. mvbaalen@snv.jussieu.fr
Jansen
Vincent A A
VA
D000533:Altruism; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics; D014828:Vocalization, Animal