Social structure modulates the evolutionary consequences of social plasticity: A social network perspective on interacting phenotypes.

ABSTRACT: Organisms express phenotypic plasticity during social interactions. Interacting phenotype theory has explored the consequences of social plasticity for evolution, but it is unclear how this theory applies to complex social structures. We adapt interacting phenotype models to general social structures to explore how the number of social connections between individuals and preference for phenotypically similar social partners affect phenotypic variation and evolution. We derive an analytical model that ignores phenotypic feedback and use simulations to test the predictions of this model. We find that adapting previous models to more general social structures does not alter their general conclusions but generates insights into the effect of social plasticity and social structure on the mainte

SUBMITTER: Montiglio PO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5792542 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature