title: Co-evolutionary dynamics of collective action with signaling for a quorum.
abstract: Collective signaling for a quorum is found in a wide range of organisms that face collective action problems whose successful solution requires the participation of some quorum of the individuals present. These range from humans, to social insects, to bacteria. The mechanisms involved, the quorum required, and the size of the group may vary. Here we address the general question of the evolution of collective signaling at a high level of abstraction. We investigate the evolutionary dynamics of a population engaging in a signaling N-person game theoretic model. Parameter settings allow for loners and cheaters, and for costly or costless signals. We find a rich dynamics, showing how natural selection, operating on a population of individuals endowed with the simplest strategies, is able to evolve a costly signaling system that allows individuals to respond appropriately to different states of Nature. Signaling robustly promotes cooperative collective action, in particular when coordinated action is most needed and difficult to achieve. Two different signaling systems may emerge depending on Nature's most prevalent states.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal; Departamento de Matemática e Aplicações, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal; ATP-Group, CMAF, Instituto para a Investigação Interdisciplinar, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Jorge M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pacheco
authors.affiliation: ATP-Group, CMAF, Instituto para a Investigação Interdisciplinar, Lisboa, Portugal; Centro de Física da Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal; INESC-ID and Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, IST-Taguspark, Porto Salvo, Portugal.
authors.forename: Vítor V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.affiliation: INESC-ID and Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, IST-Taguspark, Porto Salvo, Portugal; ATP-Group, CMAF, Instituto para a Investigação Interdisciplinar, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Francisco C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Logic and Philosophy of Science, School of Social Sciences, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Skyrms
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria; D003142:Communication; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D003657:Decision Making; D005716:Game Theory; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics; D053038:Quorum Sensing