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Diminishing returns in social evolution: the not-so-tragic commons
Authors:Foster K R
Affiliation:Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA. krfoster@rice.edu
Abstract:A challenge for evolutionary theory is to understand how cooperation can occur in the presence of competition and cheating, a problem known as the tragedy of commons. Here I examine how varying the fitness returns from reproductive competition or cooperation affects the negative impact of competition on a social group. Varying linear returns does not affect the impact of competition. However, diminishing returns, where additional investments in either competition or cooperation give smaller and smaller rewards, reduce the effects of competition on the group. I show that diminishing returns are common in many systems, including social vertebrates, microbes, social insects and mutualisms among species. This suggests that the tragedy of the commons is not so tragic and that the disruptive effects of competition upon social life will often be minor.
Keywords:Dictyostelium discoideum  freeloader's paradox  multilevel selection  N‐person prisoner's dilemma  sentinels  social insects  tragedy of the commons  vampire bats
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