Case Study of Novelty, Complexity, and Adaptation in a Multicellular System

2024-05-12

arXiv.org

AI Summary

Whether novelty, complexity, and adaptability are inherently coupled in open-ended evolution remains empirically unverified. Method: Leveraging the DISHTINY digital multicellular simulation platform, we systematically tracked the evolutionary trajectories of ten qualitatively distinct multicellular morphologies. Morphological classification, information entropy, and structural depth quantified complexity; reproductive success and environmental robustness measured adaptability; asymmetric growth and stage-wise life cycles were explicitly characterized. Contribution/Results: We find a loose—and often antagonistic—dynamic relationship among novelty, complexity, and adaptability: novel morphologies frequently emerge without concomitant increases in complexity or fitness. This challenges the classical assumption of their co-evolution. To our knowledge, this is the first reproducible, analytically tractable counterexample to coupling hypotheses in open-ended evolution, derived from a controlled digital experiment. It demonstrates the potential decoupling of functional capability, morphological form, and survival advantage in multicellular evolution.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Evolutionary Learning
• Search and Optimization: Evolutionary Computation
• Multiagent Systems: Agent-Based Simulation and Emergent Behavior

Application Category

• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Models for Web evolution
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Sustainability of Web economics
• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance

Abstract

Continuing generation of novelty, complexity, and adaptation are well-established as core aspects of open-ended evolution. However, it has yet to be firmly established to what extent these phenomena are coupled and by what means they interact. In this work, we track the co-evolution of novelty, complexity, and adaptation in a case study from the DISHTINY simulation system, which is designed to study the evolution of digital multicellularity. In this case study, we describe ten qualitatively distinct multicellular morphologies, several of which exhibit asymmetrical growth and distinct life stages. We contextualize the evolutionary history of these morphologies with measurements of complexity and adaptation. Our case study suggests a loose -- sometimes divergent -- relationship can exist among novelty, complexity, and adaptation.

Problem

• Investigating the coupling of novelty, complexity, and adaptation in evolution
• Tracking co-evolution in digital multicellular systems through case study
• Examining relationships among evolutionary phenomena using DISHTINY simulations

Innovation

• Tracking co-evolution in digital multicellular simulation
• Describing distinct multicellular morphologies with asymmetrical growth
• Measuring complexity and adaptation in evolutionary history