scholarly journals Multilevel Selection Theory and the Evolutionary Functions of Transposable Elements: Fig. 1.—

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 2445-2457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler D.P. Brunet ◽  
W. Ford Doolittle
Keyword(s):  
Transposable Elements ◽  
Multilevel Selection ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Multilevel Selection Theory

scholarly journals Kin and group selection are both flawed but useful data analysis tools

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
jeff smith ◽  
R. Fredrik Inglis
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Multilevel Selection ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
Data Driven Approach ◽  
Biological Interpretation ◽  
Multilevel Selection Theory ◽  
Microbial Systems ◽  
Analytical Tools

AbstractFor understanding the evolution of social behavior in microbes, mathematical theory can aid empirical research but is often only used as a qualitative heuristic. How to properly formulate social evolution theory has also been contentious. Here we evaluate kin and multilevel selection theory as tools for analyzing microbial data. We reanalyze published datasets that share a common experimental design and evaluate these theories in terms of data visualization, statistical performance, biological interpretation, and quantitative comparison across systems. We find that the canonical formulations of both kin and multilevel selection are almost always poor analytical tools because they use statistical regressions that are poorly specified for the strong selection and nonadditive fitness effects common in microbial systems. Analyzing both individual and group fitness outcomes helps clarify the biology of selection. We also identify analytical practices in empirical research that suggest how theory might better handle the challenges of microbial data. A quantitative, data-driven approach thus shows how kin and multilevel selection theory both have substantial room for improvement as tools for understanding social evolution in all branches of life.

scholarly journals Identifying Causes of Social Evolution: Contextual Analysis, the Price Approach, and Multilevel Selection

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Thies ◽  
Richard A. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Causal Structure ◽  
Multilevel Selection ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Price Equation ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Multilevel Selection Theory ◽  
The Individual

Kin selection theory and multilevel selection theory are distinct approaches to explaining the evolution of social traits. The latter claims that it is useful to regard selection as a process that can occur on multiple levels of organisation such as the level of individuals and the level of groups. This is reflected in a decomposition of fitness into an individual component and a group component. This multilevel view is central to understanding and characterising evolutionary transitions in individuality, e.g., from unicellular life to multicellular organisms, but currently suffers from the lack of a consistent, quantifiable measure. Specifically, the two major statistical tools to determine the coefficients of such a decomposition, the multilevel Price equation and contextual analysis, are inconsistent and may disagree on whether group selection is present. Here we show that the reason for the discrepancies is that underlying the multilevel Price equation and contextual analysis are two non-equivalent causal models for the generation of individual fitness effects (thus leaving different “remainders” explained by group effects). While the multilevel Price equation assumes that the individual effect of a trait determines an individual's relative success within a group, contextual analysis posits that the individual effect is context-independent. Since these different assumptions reflect claims about the causal structure of the system, the correct approach cannot be determined on general theoretical or statistical grounds but must be identified by experimental intervention. We outline interventions that reveal the underlying causal structure and thus facilitate choosing the appropriate approach. We note that kin selection theory with its focus on the individual is immune to such inconsistency because it does not address causal structure with respect to levels of organisation. In contrast, our analysis of the two approaches to measuring group selection demonstrates that multilevel selection theory adds meaningful (falsifiable) causal structure to explain the sources of individual fitness and thereby constitutes a proper refinement of kin selection theory. Taking such refined causal structure into account seems indispensable for studying evolutionary transitions in individuality because these transitions are characterised by changes in the selection pressures that act on the respective levels.

The music and social bonding hypothesis does require multilevel selection

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin Eirdosh ◽  
Susan Hanisch
Keyword(s):  
Group Selection ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Multilevel Selection ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Target Article ◽  
Bonding Hypothesis ◽  
Multilevel Selection Theory

Abstract Is musicality an individual level adaptation? The authors of this target article reject the need for group selection within their model, yet their arguments do not fulfill the conceptual requirements for justifying such a rejection. Further analysis can highlight the explanatory value of embracing multilevel selection theory as a foundational element of the music and social bonding (MSB) hypothesis.

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