Lecture: #7 (Kindness to our kin)

Question 1

Inclusive fitness

Answer 1

Direct fitness + Indirect fitness

captures the two ways an allele can increase its frequency in a population

Question 2

Hamilton’s rule

Answer 2

Offers an equation to understand the conditions under which natural selection favors acts of kindness or altruistic behaviors.

r ∗ B > C

Question 3

Direct Fitness

Answer 3

Enhances personal reproductive success

ex)
Higher sperm count/better eggs
Improved immune system
Efficient energy utilization
Camouflage from predators
Enhanced competitive ability

Question 4

Indirect Fitness

Answer 4

Boosts the reproductive success of kin (success of genetically related individuals) (Transmission of shared alleles)

Question 5

Kin selection

Answer 5

“Kindness” toward close relatives, which may evolve as apparently altruistic behavior toward them, but which in fact is beneficial to the fitness of the individual performing the behavior.”

from the midterm

Kin selection is a process by which apparently altruistic behavior can be favored by natural selection. It occurs when an individual assists a genetic relative in a way that compensates for its own decrease in direct fitness by helping increase the relative’s fitness.

Apparent altruism due to kin selection will be more or less likely, depending on:
* the two individuals’ coefficient of relatedness
* the relative costs (to the actor) and benefits (to the recipient) of the act

Question 6

reciprocal altruism

Answer 6

Costly behavior directed toward another individual that benefits the recipient, with the expectation that, at some later time, the recipient will behave in a similar manner, “returning the favor.”

from the midterm

This is a process by which apparently altruistic behavior can be favored by natural selection. It occurs when alleles in an individual cause that individual to act in such a way that they help other individuals who will return the favor, thereby benefitting the alleles (and its carrier).

Apparent altruism due to reciprocal altruism will be more or less likely, depending on:
* the extent to which individuals have repeated interactions
* the occurrence of signals showing likelihood of reciprocation (including reputation)
* the relative costs (to the actor) and benefits (to the recipient) of the action
* an ability to recognize and punish cheaters

Question 7

altruistic behaviors

Answer 7

“A behavior that comes at a cost to the individual performing it and benefits another.”

Question 8

evolutionary mismatch

Answer 8

“The phenomenon of organisms finding themselves in a situation where the environment they are in differs from the environment to which they are evolutionarily adapted. If this occurs, we expect (and See) behaviors that appear to be (and are) not evolutionarily adaptive.”