Computer simulation of the evolution of foraging strategies: application to the ichnological record

The ichnological record can provide invaluable insight into the evolution of behaviour. Much of the current work in so-called "artificial life" and artificial neural networks is applicable to ethological paleobiology. Some preliminary experiments in this direction are presented here. A computer generated community of detritus feeders was simulated with the individuals in each generation being subjected to selection based on the success of their feeding strategies. Mutation and sexual reproduction are also simulated, resulting in an evolutionary process that produces increasingly more advanced simulated neural control systems. The resulting "virtual trace fossils" can be compared with well-known, naturally occurring trace fossils and the fossil record of behavioural evolution. Though this study is not intended as an exact replication of natural processes, such simulations may aid theory formation, and can be a useful educational tool.