The evolution of coordination: a phylogenetic meta-analysis and systematic review

Abstract

To solve many cooperative problems, humans must have evolved the ability to solve physical problems in their environment by coordinating their actions. There have been many studies conducted across multiple different species regarding coordinating abilities. These studies aim to provide data which will help illuminate the evolutionary origins of cooperative problem solving and coordination. However, it is impossible to make firm conclusions about the evolutionary origins of coordinating abilities without a thorough comparative analysis of the existing data. Furthermore, there may be certain aspects of the literature that make it very difficult to confidently address evolutionary and meta-analytic questions. This study aimed to rectify this by using meta-analysis, phylogenetic analysis and systematic review to analyse the data already obtained across multiple studies, and to assess the reliability of this data. We found that many studies did not provide the information necessary for meta-analysis, or were not comparable enough to other studies to be included in analyses, meaning meta-analyses were underpowered or could not be conducted due to low samples of both studies and different species. Overall, we found that many studies reported small positive effects across studies, but the standard errors of these effects frequently traversed zero.