Kin Selection and Altruism in Social Insects and Primates

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts discussed in the lecture regarding kin selection, social behavior, and evolutionary biology.

Kin Selection

A concept in evolutionary biology that explains how natural selection favors altruistic behaviors towards close relatives, increasing the likelihood of gene propagation.

Primary Sex Ratio

The sex ratio of offspring produced by a female, typically determined by the number of male and female eggs she lays.

Secondary Sex Ratio

The sex ratio of the offspring that survives to maturity, which may be influenced by environmental factors and behaviors of caretakers.

Inclusive Fitness

The overall fitness of an individual, which includes their own reproductive success as well as the success of their relatives, influencing altruistic behavior.

Reciprocal Altruism

A behavior in which one individual provides a benefit to another with the expectation that the favor will be returned in the future.

Altruistic Behavior

Behavior that benefits another individual at a cost to oneself, often observed in social species.

Coalitionary Aggression

Aggressive behavior towards members of another group, carried out in partnership with other members of the group.

Morphological Characteristics

Structural features of an organism that can be used to identify and classify species, particularly in paleontology.

Honing Complex

A dental arrangement in some primates where the upper canines are sharpened against the lower canines, useful for fighting.

Social Thermoregulation

The behavior in which animals share body heat and maintain warmth; seen in social species like vampire bats.

Food Sharing

The act of one individual providing food to another, often seen among social animals, particularly in times of scarcity.

Alomatering

A behavior observed in vampire bats where females feed the pups of other females to ensure the survival of the group.

Chemical Communication

A mode of communication that uses chemical signals to convey information, important in social insects and other animals.