Spatial emergence of genotypical tribes in an animat simulation model

We observe the spontaneous emergence of spatial tribes in an animat agent model where simple genetic inheritance is supported. Our predator-prey model simulates a flat-world of animat agents which breed, move, eat and predate according to priorities encoded in their genotype. Initialising a random mixture of all possible priority list genotypes, we find not only that only a small fraction of possible genotypes are favoured for survival, but that distinct spatial patterns of different tribes emerge. We report on the emergent macroscopic features in our model and discuss their correspondent mapping to microscopic animat rules and genotypes. Even a simple gene-reordering mechanism gives rise to complex emergent behaviour.