  We present an agent-based model inspired by the Evolutionary Minority Game
(EMG), albeit strongly adapted to the case of competition for limited resources
in ecology. The agents in this game become able, after some time, to predict
the a priori best option as a result of an evolution-driven learning process.
We show that a self-segregated social structure can emerge from this process,
i.e., extreme learning strategies are always favoured while intermediate
learning strategies tend to die out. This result may contribute to
understanding some levels of organization and cooperative behaviour in
ecological and social systems. We use the ideas and results reported here to
discuss an issue of current interest in ecology: the mistimings in egg laying
observed for some species of bird as a consequence of their slower rate of
adaptation to climate change in comparison with that shown by their prey. Our
model supports the hypothesis that habitat-specific constraints could explain
why different populations are adapting differently to this situation, in
agreement with recent experiments.
