Kin recognition in social insects and other animals—A review of recent findings and a consideration of their relevance for the theory of kin selection

1985 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 587-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghavendra Gadagkar
Keyword(s):  
Social Insects ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Kin Recognition

scholarly journals Naive Juvenile Diamondback Terrapins: Kin Recognition in Controlled Encounter Experiments

Elements ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad Macdonald ◽  
Alexis Rife
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Diamondback Terrapin ◽  
Malaclemys Terrapin ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Boston College ◽  
Diamondback Terrapins ◽  
Existing Data

Northern diamondback terrapin (<span style="font-family: mceinline;"><em>malaclemys terrapin</em>) turtle </span>hatchlings raised as part of a laboratory headstarting program are the focus of kin recognition studies taking place at Boston College. Experiments examining basking behaviors in 13 trials of familiar kin and 11 trials of unfamiliar non-kin. Familiar kin averaged more aggressive engagements per trial (2.44 vs. 0.36), more displacements per trial (13.36 vs. 3.91), and more instances of climbing on one another (13.36 vs. 2.36). Familiar kin basked in congregations more frequently per trial than unfamiliar non-kin. These data suggest that diamondback terrapins treat each other differently based on either kinship or familiarity-or both. Further research will be conducted on familiar and unfamiliar kin and non-kin groupings to help elucidate the existing data by determining which variable has greater consequence and if Hamilton's kin selection theory can be applied to terrapin juvenile social behavior.

scholarly journals Does kin selection moderate sexual conflict in Drosophila ?

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1813) ◽  
pp. 20151417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam K. Chippindale ◽  
Meredith Berggren ◽  
Joshua H. M. Alpern ◽  
Robert Montgomerie
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Laboratory Populations ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Experimental Findings ◽  
Unrelated Male

Two recent studies provide provocative experimental findings about the potential influence of kin recognition and cooperation on the level of sexual conflict in Drosophila melanogaster . In both studies, male fruit flies apparently curbed their mate-harming behaviours in the presence of a few familiar or related males, suggesting some form of cooperation mediated by kin selection. In one study, the reduction in agonistic behaviour by brothers apparently rendered them vulnerable to dramatic loss of paternity share when competing with an unrelated male. If these results are robust and generalizable, fruit flies could be a major new focus for the experimental study of kin selection and social evolution. In our opinion, however, the restrictive conditions required for male cooperation to be adaptive in this species make it unlikely to evolve. We investigated these phenomena in two different populations of D. melanogaster using protocols very similar to those in the two previous studies. Our experiments show no evidence for a reduction in mate harm based upon either relatedness or familiarity between males, and no reduction in male reproductive success when two brothers are in the presence of an unfamiliar, unrelated, ‘foreign’ male. Thus, the reduction of sexual conflict owing to male cooperation does not appear to be a general feature of the species, at least under domestication, and these contrasting results call for further investigation: in new populations, in the field and in the laboratory populations in which these phenomena have been reported.

scholarly journals Dissecting ant recognition systems in the age of genomics

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 20130416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil D. Tsutsui
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
The Social ◽  
Colony Recognition ◽  
Recognition Systems

Hamilton is probably best known for his seminal work demonstrating the role of kin selection in social evolution. His work made it clear that, for individuals to direct their altruistic behaviours towards appropriate recipients (kin), mechanisms must exist for kin recognition. In the social insects, colonies are typically comprised of kin, and colony recognition cues are used as proxies for kinship cues. Recent years have brought rapid advances in our understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms that are used for this process. Here, I review some of the most notable advances, particularly the contributions from recent ant genome sequences and molecular biology.

Kin selection and the problem of sperm utilization in social insects

Nature ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 323 (6091) ◽  
pp. 798-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth G. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Social Insects ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Sperm Utilization

Kin Selection, Socialization, and Patriotism: An Integrating Theory

1986 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary R. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Socialization Process

Patriotism may be interpreted as one brand of human altruism. Contemporary evolutionary theory suggests that the roots of human altruism lie in kin selection. However, patriots in contemporary large-scale societies make their patriotic sacrifices on behalf of groups that are composed predominantly of non-kin. This fact appears to call into question the view that human altruism is founded on kin selection. This article attempts to resolve the problem by linking kin recognition cues to the socialization process. The result is a theory which integrates kin selection and socialization as foundations of human altruism. Since patriotism is a noteworthy example of human altruism, and one especially relevant for political science, the theory is applied to patriotism in order to generate hypotheses about the process of patriotic socialization.

scholarly journals Kin selection, genomics and caste-antagonistic pleiotropy

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 20130309 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Hall ◽  
Soojin V. Yi ◽  
Michael A. D. Goodisman
Keyword(s):  
Social Insects ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Multiple Mating ◽  
Genomic Data ◽  
Single Locus ◽  
Antagonistic Pleiotropy ◽  
Important Process ◽  
Caste Evolution ◽  
Worker Caste ◽  
Social Behaviours

Kin selection is a fundamentally important process that affects the evolution of social behaviours. The genomics revolution now provides the opportunity to test kin selection theory using genomic data. In this commentary, we discuss previous studies that explored the link between kin selection and patterns of variation within the genome. We then present a new theory aimed at understanding the evolution of genes involved in the development of social insects. Specifically, we investigate caste-antagonistic pleiotropy, which occurs when the phenotypes of distinct castes are optimized by different genotypes at a single locus. We find that caste-antagonistic pleiotropy leads to narrow regions where polymorphism can be maintained. Furthermore, multiple mating by queens reduces the region in which worker-favoured alleles fix, which suggests that multiple mating impedes worker caste evolution. We conclude by discussing ways to test these and other facets of kin selection using newly emerging genomic data.

Nepotism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Troisi
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Reciprocal Altruism ◽  
Fair Play ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Different Cultures

Nepotism is a social habit that is commonly condemned because it threatens our confidence in meritocracy and offends our sense of fair play. Yet, nepotism has been a common practice in different cultures throughout ancient, modern, and contemporary history. This chapter explores the biological bases of this powerful human inclination to help one’s own and to introduce the reader to those evolutionary theories that account for nepotistic behaviors: kin selection and reciprocal altruism. The chapter briefly reviews the physiological and psychological mechanisms that allow kin recognition and the cultural means that have been developed by human societies to expand the definition of kinship to include nongenetic relatives. The concluding reflection of the chapter is that nepotism was a driving force in human evolution but, in contemporary large-scale societies, its practice can have disrupting effects because it is incompatible with individual rights.

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