scholarly journals Nepotism and brood reliability in the suppression of worker reproduction in the eusocial Hymenoptera

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Nonacs
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Worker Reproduction ◽  
Male Offspring ◽  
Worker Policing ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Group Efficiency ◽  
Male Brood ◽  
Relative Viability ◽  
Worker Behaviour

In many eusocial Hymenoptera, workers prevent each other from producing male offspring by destroying worker-laid eggs. Kin selection theory predicts that such ‘worker policing’ behaviour can evolve by increasing the average relatedness between workers and their male brood. Alternatively, if worker-laid eggs are of low relative viability, their replacement would increase the developmental reliability of the brood. Less colony investment in terms of time and resources would be lost on poor males. This gain is independent of the relatedness of the males. Unfortunately, both nepotistic and group efficiency benefits can simultaneously accrue with the replacement of worker-laid eggs. Therefore, worker behaviour towards eggs cannot completely resolve whether both processes have been equally evolutionarily important. Adequate resolution requires the presentation of worker-produced brood of various ages. The stage at which brood are replaced can discriminate whether worker policing occurs owing to a preference for closer genetic kin, a preference for the more reliable brood or both.

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 Lengthy leader male tenure delays male offspring dispersal in a primate multilevel society

Behaviour ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 156 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 1371-1391
Author(s):  
Gu Fang ◽  
Xiao-Min Gao ◽  
Dong Zhang ◽  
Derek Dunn ◽  
Ruliang Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
World Monkey ◽  
Male Offspring ◽  
Monkey Species ◽  
Male Dispersal ◽  
Multilevel Society

Abstract Natal dispersals are male-biased in most Old World monkey species, especially those that are polygynous. We examined patterns of male dispersal in golden snub-nosed monkeys, in which male offspring mainly disperse as juveniles from their natal one-male units (OMUs) to a bachelor group. However, out of a total of 112 male dispersals from 2001–2016, we documented six cases in which male offspring remained in their natal OMU until sub-adulthood. Based on monitoring of dispersal dynamics, we found that male offspring were more likely to delay dispersal if the tenure of leader males was lengthy. Social network analysis showed male offspring who delayed dispersal exhibited strong social relationships with each other and their OMU leader male but not with the females of their OMU. Our results suggest that the length of leader male tenure may affect natal male dispersal due to benefits to leader males accrued via intrasexual competition and kin selection.

scholarly journals The validity and value of inclusive fitness theory

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1723) ◽  
pp. 3313-3320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew F. G. Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Evolution Of Eusociality ◽  
Natural Selection Theory

Social evolution is a central topic in evolutionary biology, with the evolution of eusociality (societies with altruistic, non-reproductive helpers) representing a long-standing evolutionary conundrum. Recent critiques have questioned the validity of the leading theory for explaining social evolution and eusociality, namely inclusive fitness (kin selection) theory. I review recent and past literature to argue that these critiques do not succeed. Inclusive fitness theory has added fundamental insights to natural selection theory. These are the realization that selection on a gene for social behaviour depends on its effects on co-bearers, the explanation of social behaviours as unalike as altruism and selfishness using the same underlying parameters, and the explanation of within-group conflict in terms of non-coinciding inclusive fitness optima. A proposed alternative theory for eusocial evolution assumes mistakenly that workers' interests are subordinate to the queen's, contains no new elements and fails to make novel predictions. The haplodiploidy hypothesis has yet to be rigorously tested and positive relatedness within diploid eusocial societies supports inclusive fitness theory. The theory has made unique, falsifiable predictions that have been confirmed, and its evidence base is extensive and robust. Hence, inclusive fitness theory deserves to keep its position as the leading theory for social evolution.

The Homeopathy of Kin Selection: An Evaluation of van den Berghe's Sociobiological Approach to Ethnic Nepotism

2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Brigandt
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Explanation ◽  
Present Discussion ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Ethnic Boundaries ◽  
Behavioral Mechanism ◽  
Starting Point

The present discussion of sociobiological approaches to ethnic nepotism takes Pierre van den Berghe's theory as a starting point. Two points, which have not been addressed in former analyses, are considered to be of particular importance. It is argued that the behavioral mechanism of ethnic nepotism—as understood by van den Berghe—cannot explain ethnic boundaries and attitudes. In addition, I show that van den Berghe's central premise concerning ethnic nepotism is in contradiction to Hamilton's formula, the essential principle of kin selection theory. It is further discussed how other approaches that make reference to ethnic nepotism are related to van den Berghe's account and its problems. I conclude with remarks on the evolutionary explanation of ethnic phenomena.

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.

Male relatedness, lekking behavior patterns, and the potential for kin selection in a Neotropical hummingbird

The Auk ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clementina González ◽  
Juan Francisco Ornelas
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Behavior Patterns ◽  
Song Type ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Gain Access

AbstractSeveral models have been proposed to explain the evolution of leks, both in terms of direct or indirect fitness benefits, and in survival. According to kin selection theory, male skewed reproductive success leads unsuccessful males to join successful relatives to increase their inclusive fitness, because their genes would be transmitted indirectly to the next generation. Wedge-tailed Sabrewing (Campylopterus curvipennis) is a hummingbird species whose males congregate at leks, in which spatially clustered males sing a particular song with marked differences among neighboring males (song neighborhoods). The maintenance of song neighborhoods presumably depends on juvenile newcomers copying the song type of their neighbors when they establish within a lek, and their acceptance could be more likely if a relative has already settled down in a territory, which in turn could offer fitness benefits explained by kin selection theory. To investigate the potential for kin selection in this species, we genotyped 126 hummingbirds at 10 microsatellite loci and estimated pairwise relatedness among males at 6 leks and in 4 song neighborhoods within 1 focal lek. Within leks, most males were unrelated and only a few were relatives. Moreover, even though relatedness within leks was higher than between leks, it was not higher than 0, which is likely due to isolation by distance. Our results do not support the idea of kin selection as an important force acting on the formation of leks in this species. Additionally, we found no evidence for kin clustering within song neighborhoods, suggesting that juveniles attempting to settle in a lek have to learn the song of the neighborhood (regardless of their kinship) to gain access to territories.

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