Adaptive long-range migration promotes cooperation under tempting conditions

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that adaptive long-range migration significantly enhances cooperation in populations, especially under high temptation to defect, challenging previous assumptions that long-range migration hinders cooperation.

Contribution

It introduces the concept that adaptive long-range migration can promote cooperation, contrasting with prior focus on local migration effects.

Findings

Adaptive long-range migration promotes cooperation.

It is especially effective under high temptation to defect.

Migration behavior influences cooperation dynamics significantly.

Abstract

Migration is a fundamental trait in humans and animals. Recent studies investigated the effect of migration on the evolution of cooperation, showing that contingent migration favors cooperation in spatial structures. In those studies, only local migration to immediate neighbors was considered, while long-range migration has not been considered yet, partly because the long-range migration has been generally regarded as harmful for cooperation as it would bring the population to a well-mixed state that favors defection. Here, we studied the effects of adaptive long-range migration on the evolution of cooperation through agent-based simulations of a spatial Prisoner's Dilemma game where individuals can jump to a farther site if they are surrounded by more defectors. Our results show that adaptive long-range migration strongly promotes cooperation, especially under conditions where the temptation to defect is considerably high. These findings demonstrate the significance of adaptive long-range migration for the evolution of cooperation.