When multiple populations follow identical dynamical laws but diverge into distinct clades, the process follows symmetry-breaking mathematics. The model uses a fifth-order polynomial with trait-based coupling, and the steady states—stable configurations where populations remain separated—depend on the coupling strength. The counterintuitive result: stronger coupling reduces the number of stable states. Tighter binding between populations means fewer possible outcomes, not more.
This inverts the usual intuition that interaction creates diversity. Here, interaction constrains it. When populations are weakly coupled, many three-clade configurations can persist. As coupling increases, fewer configurations remain stable. The populations are more influenced by each other, and that influence narrows what's possible. The symmetry-breaking events that lead to speciation are themselves constrained by how much the populations interact.
Larger population sizes increase the likelihood of achieving three-clade distributions, but coupling strength sets the bound on which distributions are stable. You can have more individuals, but if they're tightly coupled, the possible stable configurations shrink. Size provides opportunity; coupling provides constraint.
This recurs in organizational design, ecosystem management, and distributed systems. Tighter coordination between components doesn't enable more diverse steady states—it limits them. Modularity with weak interfaces allows more variation than integration with strong interfaces. The symmetry breaks, but stronger coupling means fewer ways it can break stably. The outcome space is smaller precisely when the components are more tightly bound. Interaction doesn't create diversity here; it collapses it. The fewer the constraints, the more ways the system can settle.