Would it benefit you more to help your half-sister or your cousin raise their ch

Question

Would it benefit you more to help your half-sister or your cousin raise their child? Why?

Explain the concept of inclusive fitness.

What is Hamilton’s Rule? Use this rule (equation) to explain the circumstances under which alleles for (apparently) altruistic behavior can spread in a population. What units would “benefit” and “cost” have or be in?

Explain the unusual sex-determining system of eusocial insects like ants and bees. Why does this system favor the evolution of a non-reproductive worker caste? Why are workers all female? Why do workers sacrifice their own reproductive success to help the queen?

Explain why a queen bee produces equal numbers of sons and daughters, but workers favor a 3:1 ratio of daughters to sons among the queen’s offspring.

Under what conditions can behavior for reciprocal altruism (individuals helping each other) evolve between non-relatives? What does such a system depend upon?

(think about the Prisoner’s Dilemma, or ‘Friend or Foe’ game: what strategies work or fail in the long run?)

Explanation / Answer

1)

The Hamilton's rule is as follows.

r x B > C

r = genetic relatedness

B = Benefit received by the recipient in terms of offspring equivalent

C = Cost borne by the altruist in terms of offspring equivalent

We see from this formula that altruistic benefit is proportional to closeness in kinship or in other words degree of genetic similarity. Thus helping one's half-sister raise her child will be beneficial over helping one's cousin in the same.

2)

Inclusive fitness is defined as number of individuals or offspring equivalents an individual supports or rears through its behaviour. Inclusive fitness helps a species increase the chances of survival. In other words, it helps a population in natural selection through supporting their kins.

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