2,799 research outputs found
Emergence of heterogeneity and political organization in information exchange networks
We present a simple model of the emergence of the division of labor and the
development of a system of resource subsidy from an agent-based model of
directed resource production with variable degrees of trust between the agents.
The model has three distinct phases, corresponding to different forms of
societal organization: disconnected (independent agents), homogeneous
cooperative (collective state), and inhomogeneous cooperative (collective state
with a leader). Our results indicate that such levels of organization arise
generically as a collective effect from interacting agent dynamics, and may
have applications in a variety of systems including social insects and
microbial communities.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Ecological Modelling with the Calculus of Wrapped Compartments
The Calculus of Wrapped Compartments is a framework based on stochastic
multiset rewriting in a compartmentalised setting originally developed for the
modelling and analysis of biological interactions. In this paper, we propose to
use this calculus for the description of ecological systems and we provide the
modelling guidelines to encode within the calculus some of the main
interactions leading ecosystems evolution. As a case study, we model the
distribution of height of Croton wagneri, a shrub constituting the endemic
predominant species of the dry ecosystem in southern Ecuador. In particular, we
consider the plant at different altitude gradients (i.e. at different
temperature conditions), to study how it adapts under the effects of global
climate change.Comment: A preliminary version of this paper has been presented in CMC13 (LNCS
7762, pp 358-377, 2013
The morphological constraints of the settlement growth/degrowth processes. An interpretation of the concept of territorialisation cycle
In many geographical areas, the demographic transition has led to a situation of relative stability of urban and regional settlement. The phase of rapid population growth that generated the urbanization process has stabilized. In these conditions of stability, however, arise very complex dynamics in which growing paths alternate with decreasing periods and urban regions. In a context of strong competition between cities and urban regions, a general selective phenomenon of use /reuse / abandon is observed. Resuming the theories of territorialisation cycles (Muratori, Caniggia, Cataldi) it is possible to propose an interpretation of the history of the territory as a succession of cycles. Both the economic and geographic models and the morphological models allow us to grasp those interesting allometric relations between cities and urban systems that characterize the different development cycles. The aim of the paper is to analyze the long-term urban plan for the territory of Albenga area (Liguria, Italy. Settlements are analyzed together with the basic territorial structures that have generated them during the historic long period. The study starts from the diachronic reading of cycles of territorial development that have gradually formed the present settlement. An important role is played by the morphological conditions in which the growth/degrowth process takes place. Given that these dynamic change phenomena occur in territories where previous settlement development processes had determined specific morphological conditions, it is hypothesized that the role played by morphogenetic phenomena of selective reuse /abandon (studied through morphological models, such as cellular automata) is of great relevance
Toward major evolutionary transitions theory 2.0
The impressive body of work on the major evolutionary transitions in the last 20 y calls for a reconstruction of the theory although a 2D account (evolution of informational systems and transitions in individuality) remains. Significant advances include the concept of fraternal and egalitarian transitions (lower-level units like and unlike, respectively). Multilevel selection, first without, then with, the collectives in focus is an important explanatory mechanism. Transitions are decomposed into phases of origin, maintenance, and transformation (i.e., further evolution) of the higher level units, which helps reduce the number of transitions in the revised list by two so that it is less top-heavy. After the transition, units show strong cooperation and very limited realized conflict. The origins of cells, the emergence of the genetic code and translation, the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, multicellularity, and the origin of human groups with language are reconsidered in some detail in the light of new data and considerations. Arguments are given why sex is not in the revised list as a separate transition. Some of the transitions can be recursive (e.g., plastids, multicellularity) or limited (transitions that share the usual features of major transitions without a massive phylogenetic impact, such as the micro- and macronuclei in ciliates). During transitions, new units of reproduction emerge, and establishment of such units requires high fidelity of reproduction (as opposed to mere replication)
Red Queen Coevolution on Fitness Landscapes
Species do not merely evolve, they also coevolve with other organisms.
Coevolution is a major force driving interacting species to continuously evolve
ex- ploring their fitness landscapes. Coevolution involves the coupling of
species fit- ness landscapes, linking species genetic changes with their
inter-specific ecological interactions. Here we first introduce the Red Queen
hypothesis of evolution com- menting on some theoretical aspects and empirical
evidences. As an introduction to the fitness landscape concept, we review key
issues on evolution on simple and rugged fitness landscapes. Then we present
key modeling examples of coevolution on different fitness landscapes at
different scales, from RNA viruses to complex ecosystems and macroevolution.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures. To appear in "Recent Advances in the Theory and
Application of Fitness Landscapes" (H. Richter and A. Engelbrecht, eds.).
Springer Series in Emergence, Complexity, and Computation, 201
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