To date, studies on the evolution of cooperation have centered on interactions between two individuals. The proposed work expands the study of the evolution of cooperation to groups of any size, not just groups of size two. Two approaches are used. 1. Mathematical models will allow predictions of the amount of cooperation displayed in groups of various sizes. 2. A biological system which involves anti-predator behavior groups will be used to test the mathematical models. In some species of fish, a small group of individuals move away from the school they belong to and cooperatively investigate potentially dangerous predators. This system will allow manipulation of the costs and benefits associated with being cooperative. Subsequent testing will show whether the degree of cooperation predicted by mathematical models is, in fact, displayed in nature.
