Chapter 2: behavioral ecology & the evolution of altruism

Question 1

eusocial

Answer 1

refers to species in which colonies contain specialized nonreproducing castes that work for the reproductive members of the group

Question 2

altruism

Answer 2

helpful behavior that lowers the helper’s reproductive success while increasing the reproductive success of the individual being helped

Question 3

group selection

Answer 3

the process that occurs when groups differ in their collective attributes and the differences affect the survival chances of the groups

Question 4

coefficient of relatednesss

Answer 4

the probability that an allele present in one individual will be present in a close relative; the proportion of the total genotype of one individual present in another, as a result of shared ancestry

Question 5

indirect selection/kin selection

Answer 5

the process that occurs when hereditarily distinctive individuals differ in the number of nondescendant relatives they help survive to reproduce

Question 6

direct selection

Answer 6

process of natural selection that occurs when hereditarily distinctive individuals differ in the number of surviving offspring they produce or number of genes they pass on to subsequent generations

Question 7

indirect fitness

Answer 7

a measure of the genetic success of an altruistic individual based on the number of relatives (or genetically similar individuals) that the altruist helps reproduce that would not otherwise have survived to do so

Question 8

inclusive fitness

Answer 8

a total measure of an individual’s contribution of genes to the next generation by direct and/or indirect selection

Question 9

direct fitness

Answer 9

a measure of the reproductive or genetic success of an individual based on the number of its offspring that live to reproduce

Question 10

behavioral strategies

Answer 10

an inherited behavior pattern that is in competition with other hereditarily different behavior patterns in ways that have the potential to affect an individual’s inclusive fitness. ex: willingness of individuals to assist close relatives even though their help reduces their direct fitness

Question 11

Hamilton’s rule

Answer 11

altruism can spread through a population where rB > C (relatedness times benefit outweighs the cost so altruism spreads)