Cooperation and Death in Evolutionary Biology

These flashcards cover key concepts about cooperation, altruism, and social behavior in evolutionary biology as discussed in the lecture.

Cooperation

A mutualistic interaction with fitness benefits to all parties.

Altruism

When one party sacrifices fitness for the benefit of others.

Selfishness

When one party takes at the expense of others.

Spite

Behaviour that results in fitness loss to all parties.

Inclusive Fitness

A concept where selfless acts that favor the survival or reproduction of close relatives may be selected, as genes shared with relatives extend the individual’s success.

Hamilton's Rule

A principle stating that altruism will occur when the benefit to recipients multiplied by the coefficient of relatedness is greater than the cost to the altruist (Br > C).

Coefficient of Relatedness (r)

A measure of how closely related two individuals are; calculations include parent-offspring (1/2), grandparent-offspring (1/4), and cousin-cousin (1/8).

Kin Selection

A process by which evolution selects for individuals who cooperate with their relatives.

Alarm Calling

A behavior in which individuals signal the presence of predators, often putting themselves at risk, particularly noted in Belding’s ground squirrels.

Cannibalistic Morph

A specific form of certain species, such as the Ambystoma tigrinum, that consumes other individuals of its species instead of typical food, which can be beneficial under certain conditions.

Prisoner's Dilemma

A situation in which two players can either cooperate or defect; the outcome for each depends on the choice of the other.

Tit-for-Tat Strategy

A strategy in the iterative Prisoner's Dilemma where an individual starts by cooperating and then mimics the opponent's last move.

Antagonistic Pleiotropy

A hypothesis suggesting that genes having beneficial effects on one trait can lead to detrimental effects on another trait, influencing reproductive strategies.

Mutation Accumulation Hypothesis

The theory that genes causing late-onset disorders are inefficiently purged from the population due to the late age at which they exert their effects.

Eusociality

A social structure in which individuals cooperate in caring for offspring, often with a division of labor and sterile castes.

Haplodiploid System

A sex-determination system where males develop from unfertilized eggs (haploid) and females develop from fertilized eggs (diploid), influencing relatedness in social behavior.