Biological Science: Kin Selection and Altruism

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to kin selection, altruism, and biological concepts discussed in the course.

Kin Selection

A form of natural selection that favors traits that increase the survival or reproduction of an individual's kin at the expense of the individual.

Altruism

Acting to increase another individual’s lifetime number of offspring at a cost to one’s own survival and reproduction.

Reciprocal Altruism

Altruistic behavior that is exchanged between a pair of unrelated individuals at different times, balancing costs with future benefits.

Hamilton’s Rule

A formula explaining under what conditions altruistic behaviors will be favored by natural selection: Br > C, where B is the benefit to the recipient, r is the relatedness, and C is the cost to the altruist.

Inclusive Fitness

The combination of offspring production via direct fitness (own offspring) and indirect fitness (offspring produced by relatives due to assistance provided by an individual).

Biological Fitness

An individual's ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment.

Coefficient of Relatedness (r)

A measure of how closely related two individuals are, indicating the probability that an allele in two individuals is inherited from a shared ancestor.

Mutualism

A form of cooperation between different species that is beneficial to both parties.

Proximate Cause

The immediate, mechanistic cause of a phenomenon (how it happens).

Ultimate Cause

The broader evolutionary reason that a trait or phenomenon is thought to have evolved; the adaptive advantage of that trait.