Primate behavior explained by compute... (ends to be more fighting although it is ...)

Primate behavior explained by computer 'agents'

Date:9/11/2007

ends to be more fighting, although it is less violent, than in despotic groups.

Primatologists noticed that egalitarian groups tend to spend more time preening and hugging each other after fighting, leading them to speculate that the two different types of society evolved following the development of some groups ability to reconcile.

Agent-based modelling techniques let us invent and remove behaviours to test the explanations of what we see in nature, said Dr Bryson, from the Universitys Department of Computer Science.

Using modelling you can vary the external environmental factors to see if they have any effect on behaviour. You can do this for many generations in a few hours and see whether new behaviour is adaptive.

More recent work by Dr Bryson and graduate student Hagen Lehmann has shown a new explanation for the theory they had previously overturned.

By changing the amount of space between troop members, you can create models of despotic and egalitarian groups of agents, said Dr Bryson.

Then you can show that the despotic agents do better in the conditions we find despotic macaques in the wild. The same holds for egalitarian macaques

The violence and lack of reconciliation in despotic groups comes down to the fact that they dont like living on top of each other.

This creates more space for the troop so they can find more food.

But by hugging and making up after fights, the egalitarians spend more time close to each other. This makes them safer in environments where there are predators.

This is a simple explanation for what we see in the wild, and it explains why some groups have a different range of behaviours than another.

'/>"/>

Contact: Andrew McLaughlin
a.mclaughlin@bath.ac.uk
44-079-663-22357
University of Bath
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Transplantation Of Monkey Embryonic Stem Cells Reverses Parkinson Disease In Primates
2. Primates on the brink
3. Scientists track stealth DNA elements in primate evolution
4. Ethical guidelines suggested for research that would put human stem cells in primates
5. Primate virus jumps species barrier to humans for first time in Asia
6. Ancient DNA confirms single origin of Malagasy primates
7. Primates harvest bee nests in Ugandan reserve
8. Diabetes researchers pioneer islet cell xenotransplantation in primate studies
9. Experimental vaccine protects nonhuman primates when given after exposure to Marburg virus
10. Gene-specific Ebola therapies protect non-human primates from lethal disease
11. Ancient global warming drove early primates dispersal

Post Your Comments:

Primate behavior explained by compute...(ends to be more fighting although it is ...)