The Evolution of Division of Labor

摘要

We use digital evolution to study the division of labor among heterogeneous organisms under multiple levels of selection. Although division of labor is practiced by many social organisms, the labor roles are typically associated with different individual fitness effects. This fitness variation raises the question of why an individual organism would select a less desirable role. For this study, we provide organisms with varying rewards for labor roles and impose a group-level pressure for division of labor. We demonstrate that a group selection pressure acting on a heterogeneous population is sufficient to ensure role diversity regardless of individual selection pressures, be they beneficial or detrimental.