Lecture 17: Sexual Selection continued; Cooperation and Conflict

Selection is inherently competitive, yet cooperation is widespread. This class looks at how "altruistic"
behaviour can be favoured by selection, and why conflicts can arise even between close relatives.

Independent study outcomes

1. Identify the meanings of kin selection, altruism, reciprocal altruism, eusocial

Kin selection: Individual should be more likely to help close relatives because increasing a close
relatives fitness means that the individual is helping to propagate some of its own alleles.
Altruism: doing something that enhances the situation of another individual, however, Hamiltons
kin selection theory demonstrates why parental behavior (helping parents raise siblings) is
genetically selfish, not altruistic (everyone always wants something in return.)
Reciprocal altruism: individuals will help nonrelatives if they are likely to return the favor in the
future because each member of the partnership can potentially benefit from the relationship. And
the ones who do not reciprocate (the ones who slack off) will be denied future aid.
Eusocial: thousands of genetically related individuals, most of them sterile workers, live and
work together for the reproductive benefit of one individual, a single queen and her mates. (The
extreme feminist)

2. Calculate degree of relatedness between two individuals, given the type of

relationship (parent-offspring, cousins, etc)
The degrees of relatedness:

Parent to off springs: 0.5 (50% chance)

Half siblings: 0.25 (0.5 0.5)
Full Siblings: 0.5 (0.25+0.25)
Aunts/uncles to nephews/nieces: 0.25 (0.5 0.5)
First cousins: 0.125 (0.50.50.5) 0.125
0.25

3. Identify why haplodiploidy can favour high levels of cooperation in social

insects
Haplodiploidy: females are diploid, males are haploid. (more like brainless boy-toys.)
Females receive a set of chromosomes from each parent (2n)
Males (drones) hatch from unfertilized eggs (one set of chromosomes) (1n)
This affects the level of genetic relationship among females. (Since the set of allele from their dad
is all the same (0.5), and then theres a possibility of (0.25) to get similar ones from the mother.
That makes worker bees are related to each other (0.75=0.5+0.25)
The high degree of relatedness among workers in some colonies of eusocial insects may explain
their exceptional level of cooperation.
The workers devote their lives caring for their siblings children, because a few of those who
carrying 75% of the workers allele will be SPECIAL and become future queens. (which is highly
reproductive, thus favored in the population of bees.
Relationship between parental investment and sexual selection
 Lecture outcomes

Relationship between parental investment and sexual selection

Anisogamy ( unequal gamete size) sperm is cheap, egg is expensive)
Female usually invest more in the offspring. Female usually choosing, male usually competing.
The Sex invest more gets to be choosy, the other one has to compete.

Direct versus indirect benefits of mating with attractive males

Direct benefits of mating with attractive male: attractive males are good dads (the good guys)
nuptial gifts
access to territory
Parental care.

Indirect benefits of mating with attractive males.: attractive males have good genes (the douches)
Improve viability or attractiveness of offspring.
Facial& body symmetry may indicate disease resistance. ( the theory of how we find certain
traits attractive) (SO mating with good-looking gals will make your future child healthier.)

Sexual role reversal:

Red phalaropes: females competing for the access to males and lays eggs, males take care of
them.
Seahorses: males are investing more than females; dads take care of the babies.

When both sexs are investing equally heavy to the offspring, both sexs are competitive and
choosy at the same time. (ITs a fair game.) (example: human)

Human sex differences in long- versus short-term mating strategies

Male look for Female look for

Long term fertility: Athletic ability
Age: younger the better Territory (house)
Big butts: (Kim Kardashians Wealth/ambition/career (resource holding
magazine shenanigans: ) potential)
Loyalty/ Purity:
Girl-next-door vs. Sluts
Short term Males don't care as much Females dont do short terms, or they care
more than the males.

Why some traits in a potential mate are more important to one sex than the other
Male humans can continue to reproduce around old age ( sperm is cheap and always in making)
Females are hard to reproduce pass a certain age. (egg is pre-made and expensive)
Female seek protection in the long term due to the vulnerability during pregnancy.
Males hate being betrayed sexually: have risk providing care for a child thats not their own.
 Females hate being betrayed emotionally: Risk of the male withdrawing parental care.

Examples of cooperation, competition, spite and altruism

Cooperation: wolves, elephants and bloob of fishes.
(common)
Competition: a lot of them
Spite: Non-exist in the natural world. (maybe in a
human society (suicide bomber) (not favored)
Altruism: Adult squirrels will call to alert young ones
to hide from danger even though he is going to expose himself.

Why "altruistic" behavior is challenging to reconcile with natural selection

Because altruistic behavior is reducing the actors lifetime reproductive success (fitness).
How can natural selection favor that?
More to fitness than direct descendants. ( more than one way to ensure fitness of own genes)
Check the direct/ indirect/ inclusive fitness

How kin selection theory explains the persistence of helpful behavior

If benefit to indirect fitness outweighs cost to direct fitness, behavior favored by kin selection
Kin selection dont reduce the fitness of the actors
Kin election is kind of cooperation/ not altruism. Also it is selfish, because you are looking after
your genes.

Direct versus indirect versus inclusive fitness

Direct fitness: (personal reproductions)
Indirect fitness: Additional reproduction by relatives, due to your help
Direct+ indirect fitness= inclusive fitness

How reciprocal altruism explains the persistence of helpful behavior, and

conditions under which it is likely to be important
You help the others selflessly because you expect to be helped in the future.
You are likely to be altruistic in this sense, (reciprocal altruism) because you are expecting the
future benefits to outweigh the cost that you pay now.
It will appear to be altruism, but not actually

Hamiltons rule : Altruistic behavior would be favored if rb>c

Benefit to the actors relatives b
Weighted by degree of relationship, r
Does this outweigh cost c to actors direct fitness?
I would lay down my life to save two of my brothers or eight of my cousins.
(According to this rule, Identical twins should exhibit more self-sacrificing behavior toward each
other)
(Its not altruism; you are still helping your fitness, the inclusive fitness.)
Why interests of parents may conflict with interests of offspring
Individuals have overlapping, but not identical genetic interests with relatives.
Asymmetry in relatedness, disagree over when helpful behavior is appropriate
To you, your siblings offspring are half as valuable as your own, you should help your sibling
only if b>2c
(We would only be helpful to others when the benefits outweigh the cost)
To the parents, your siblings offspring and your offspring are equally valuable parent wants
you to help your sibling if b>c
To your sibling, their offspring are twice as valuable as yours wants you to help whenever
b>C/2