Copy parents blindly, it could help!

London: Blindly copying your parents, no matter how stupid it may seem, could be the best bet for long-term survival.

Seemingly mindless strategies, such as long-distance migration of many animals to breed at their birthplace, may not be as impractical as they appear.

Using mathematical models, researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol compared the evolutionary success of copying strategies with that of more dynamic approaches that focused on adapting to new information to make key lifestyle decisions.

Sasha Dall, from Exeter's Centre for Ecology and Conservation, said: "From an individual perspective, sometimes sticking to what your parents did may seem a ridiculously stupid thing to do... (but) what we actually found is, in certain circumstances, it can be a more effective method of ensuring long-term survival of your genes than more nuanced strategies."

The conclusion hinges on what they are calling the "multiplier effect." This states that if you are in exactly the right environment for your genotype, you will thrive and breed.

Those in the wrong place will not do well and others who behave like them will leave fewer and fewer descendents - leaving those being born in the right places to dominate the population, according to an Exeter and Bristol statement.

John McNamara from the Bristol's School of Maths added: "The sheer fact that you are alive is a big clue, because your parents must have got it right. If you follow their lead, you should get it right too.