Evolution of migration

In a metapopulation, direct interactions between individuals are performed only within patches - smaller subpopulations. Still, these patches are not isolated as individuals migrate between them. Think of an archipelago of islands as an example. The intensity and the character of migration have an influence on which traits can evolve in such a scenario. I investigated how various migration modes affect the evolution of cooperation in the metapopulation setting.

Paper:

How does the migration mode affects the evolution of cooperation: Modes of migration and multilevel selection in evolutionary multiplayer games. Pichugin, Y., Gokhale, C. S., Garcia, J., Traulsen, A., and Rainey, P. B. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2015. (link)

Could multicellularity evolve through optimization of its spatial positioning, rather than a growth advantage: Direct benefits are not necessary for the evolution of multicellularity. Jorge, D., Staps, M., Pichugin, Y., and Tarnita, C., Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2026 (link)