Natural selection and biological fitness

Question 1

what is meant by a genotype’s fitness

Answer 1

the ability to survive, find a mate, produce offspring and ultimately leave its genes in the next generation

Question 2

true or false- only the strongest and healthiest individuals in a population will survive to produce

Answer 2

FALSE - they just need to be slightly better than the rest

Question 3

what level does natural selection work at

Answer 3

evolution operates at a genetic and individual level as individual evolve faster than a population

Question 4

what was William Hamilton’s idea of the selfish heard

Answer 4

that when faced with a threat individuals position themselves in the centre of a heard so another individual is between them and the threat and in harms way instead, therefore maximising chances of survival

Question 5

what is the theory of inclusive fitness/kin selection

Answer 5

the evolutionary strategy that favours reproductive success of an organisms relatives
= cooperative behaviours between individuals who are related in some way

Question 6

when is kin selection completed

Answer 6

predicts that helping behaviour will be favoured by selection if the costs of performing the behaviour is less than the benefits to the receiver

Question 7

what was the conceptual equation outlining kin selection proposed by Hamilton

Answer 7

C<b*r
c= the fitness cost to the actor
b= the sum benefits to recipients affected by the behaviour
r= the average coefficient of relatedness between the actor and recipients

Question 8

how have cooperative behaviours evolved in individuals who are unrelated

Answer 8

over time groups of individuals in which one calls a threat perform better than groups which don’t therefore are selected for

Question 9

true or false every evolved behaviour found in nature is good and should be applied

Answer 9

false= the naturalistic fallacy is the idea that what is found in nature is good

Question 10

give an example of a ‘bad’ behaviour exhibited in nature

Answer 10

infanticide = killing young

Question 11

outline why infanticide occurs in langur monkey populations

Answer 11

the groups have one male and multiple single females. Other males from outside the group often take over and kill the existing young to free up the females for reproduction

Question 12

how has infanticide been selected for in evolution

Answer 12

there are higher rates of conception in groups following a takeover and infanticide therefore individuals who exhibit this behaviour are selected for and pass on their genetics