IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v11y2020i1d10.1038_s41467-020-16088-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evolution of cooperation on temporal networks

Author

Listed:
  • Aming Li

    (College of Engineering, Peking University
    University of Oxford
    Northeastern University)

  • Lei Zhou

    (College of Engineering, Peking University
    Princeton University)

  • Qi Su

    (College of Engineering, Peking University
    University of Pennsylvania)

  • Sean P. Cornelius

    (Northeastern University
    Ryerson University
    Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School)

  • Yang-Yu Liu

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
    Dana-Farber Cancer Institute)

  • Long Wang

    (College of Engineering, Peking University)

  • Simon A. Levin

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

Population structure is a key determinant in fostering cooperation among naturally self-interested individuals in microbial populations, social insect groups, and human societies. Traditional research has focused on static structures, and yet most real interactions are finite in duration and changing in time, forming a temporal network. This raises the question of whether cooperation can emerge and persist despite an intrinsically fragmented population structure. Here we develop a framework to study the evolution of cooperation on temporal networks. Surprisingly, we find that network temporality actually enhances the evolution of cooperation relative to comparable static networks, despite the fact that bursty interaction patterns generally impede cooperation. We resolve this tension by proposing a measure to quantify the amount of temporality in a network, revealing an intermediate level that maximally boosts cooperation. Our results open a new avenue for investigating the evolution of cooperation and other emergent behaviours in more realistic structured populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Aming Li & Lei Zhou & Qi Su & Sean P. Cornelius & Yang-Yu Liu & Long Wang & Simon A. Levin, 2020. "Evolution of cooperation on temporal networks," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-16088-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16088-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16088-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-020-16088-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-16088-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.