Altruism and Kin Selection Flashcards
refers to a behavior in which an individual helps another individual at a cost to itself (in terms of energy, resources, or risk)
Altruism
Worker ants that sacrifice their ability to reproduce in order to help the colony by taking care of the queen’s offspring
Example of Altruism
Vervet monkeys giving alarm calls to warn the group of approaching predators, even though it increases the risk of being attacked for the individual making the call.
Example of Altruism
is a form of natural selection that explains altruistic behaviors by focusing on the genetic relatedness between individuals
Kin Selection
According to the theory of Kin Selection…
Individuals are more likely to exhibit altruistic behavior toward relatives (kin) because doing so increases the chances of passing on shared genes to future generations.
Kin selection is best explained by ____________ ________, formulated by evolutionary biologist William D. Hamilton in 1964. The rule is expressed as:
𝑟 ⋅ 𝐵 > 𝐶
Hamilton’s Rule
“r” in Hamilton’s Rule represents:
the genetic relatedness between the actor and the recipient (the probability that a gene in the actor is also present in the recipient due to common ancestry).
“B” in Hamilton’s Rule represents:
the benefit to the recipient (how many extra offspring are produced as a result of the altruistic act).
“C” in Hamilton’s Rule represents
the cost to the actor (the number of offspring the actor could have produced but sacrificed by performing the altruistic act).
Parent-offspring
0.5
Full Siblings
0.5
Half-Siblings
0.25
Grandparent-Grandchild
0.25
Aunt/Uncle-Niece and Nephew
0.25
First Cousins
0.125
