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Kin altruism is the tendency to behave in such a way as to provide benefit to a close relative at personal cost. One might think of sharing food, or calling out when a predator approaches. Natural selection is the differential replicative success of alleles. If one considers altruistic behaviour as (influenced by) the expression of a complex of alleles, then it is easy to see how aiding organisms that share most of your alleles (ie. relatives) would cause those alleles to spread throughout the population gene pool at an increased rate. In this manner, altruism could evolve as a result of natural selection acting on 'selfishly' replicating genes.

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When will natural selection favor altruism?

Altruism is basically when a member sacrifices itself for the well being of the population. If the population that was protected has favorable traits, they will be naturally selected for and over generations become dominant in the population. If they weren't protected, the population could die out.


What other reasons besides kin selection might favor group living?

Group living can provide benefits such as increased protection from predators through collective defense, improved foraging efficiency by pooling resources and information, and enhanced ability to compete for access to mates and resources. Additionally, it can allow for division of labor and specialization, increasing overall group productivity.


Who has the right for a deceased body?

Typically, the next of kin or appointed legal representative has the right to make decisions regarding the deceased body, such as burial or cremation. If there is no next of kin, local laws and regulations may determine who has the authority to make decisions.


What is cenels land?

"Cenel" refers to a term used in Irish history to describe a political kin group or kindred. "Cenel land" likely refers to land controlled or owned by such a group in ancient Ireland.


What happens to a body at the morgue?

At the morgue, a body is received and identified, then undergoes an autopsy if required. The body is typically stored in a refrigerated unit to preserve it. Forensic examinations may be conducted to determine the cause of death, and the body is eventually released to the next of kin for funeral arrangements.

Related Questions

Complex behavioral patterns such as altruism can evolve in a species as the result of natural selection?

Yes, altruism can evolve through natural selection when it provides benefits to the survival and reproduction of individuals who share the same genes. This can occur through kin selection, reciprocal altruism, or group selection, where behaviors that benefit others increase the inclusive fitness of individuals over time.


When will natural selection favor altruism?

Altruism is basically when a member sacrifices itself for the well being of the population. If the population that was protected has favorable traits, they will be naturally selected for and over generations become dominant in the population. If they weren't protected, the population could die out.


What is the relationship between kin selection and altruism in the context of evolutionary biology?

Kin selection is a theory in evolutionary biology that explains how altruistic behavior, where an individual helps others at a cost to itself, can evolve. Altruism towards close relatives, who share genes, can increase the chances of those genes being passed on, benefiting the overall genetic fitness of the family. This relationship between kin selection and altruism helps explain the evolution of selfless behavior in organisms.


What does the term altrusim mean and how does it relate to kin selection?

Hamilton (1964) outlined two ways in which kin selection altruism could be favoured. Firstly, if individuals have the capacity to recognize kin (kin recognition) and to adjust their behaviour on the basis of kinship (kin discrimination), then the average relatedness of the recipients of altruism could be high enough for this to be favoured. Because of the facultative nature of this mechanism, it is generally regarded that kin recognition and discrimination are unimportant except among 'higher' forms of life (although there is some evidence for this mechanism among protozoa). A special case of the kin recognition/discrimination mechanism is the hypothetical 'green beard', where a gene for social behaviour also causes a distinctive phenotype that can be recognised by other carriers of the gene. Hamilton's discussion of greenbeard altruism serves as an illustration that relatedness is a matter of genetic similarity and that this similarity is not necessarily caused by genealogical closeness (kinship). Secondly, even indiscriminate altruism may be favoured in so-called viscous populations, i.e. those characterized by low rates or short ranges of dispersal. Here, social partners are typically genealogically-close kin, and so altruism may be able to flourish even in the absence of kin recognition and kin discrimination faculties. This suggests a rather general explanation for altruism. Directional selection will always favor those with higher rates of fecundity within a certain population. Social individuals can often ensure the survival their own kin by participating in, and following the rules of a group. from the web page encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Kin+selection


How do altruistic traits evolve?

Altruistic traits evolve through mechanisms like kin selection and reciprocal altruism. Kin selection suggests that individuals are more likely to help relatives, as this increases the survival of shared genes. Reciprocal altruism occurs when individuals provide help to others with the expectation of receiving help in return, fostering cooperation within social groups. Over time, these behaviors can enhance the fitness of individuals within a population, leading to the persistence of altruistic traits.


What is the definition of behavioral altruism?

Behavorial altruism is any action that benefits others. It does not concern intentions as psychological altruism does. When pertaining to animal behavior, biological altruism (a form a behavorial altruism) refers to any behavior that reduces the fitness of the organism performing it and increases the fitness of another organism. An example of this would be eusocial organisms such as bees. Bees sacrifice their own lives in order to protect the lives of their kin. They don't do this out of the "goodness of their hearts" (bees certainly aren't that noble of organisms) - it is in their genetic code. Why would an organism go against natural selection and kill themselves for the good of another? In "The Selfish Gene" Richard Dawkins theorizes that it is the genes, not the individual that is trying to stay alive. Bees exhibit haplodiploidy, which means that the genetic relationship between kin are strikingly similar. (more so than diploid organisms) Thus, a gene will tell the bee to kill itself in order to preserve its copies in other related organisms. Altruism is rooted in selfishness.


Explain the evolutionary adaptation of kin selection?

Kin selection is W.D. Hamilton's famous theory that explains altruism in nature. The theory is that the closer you are genetically related to someone the more altruistic you will be towards them. The ultimate goal in life is to pass down as many of your genes as possible and insuring that those genes survive to reproduce and pass them on to the next generation. What kin selection says is that you are more likely to be altruistic to you children (who share 50% of your DNA) than you are to be altruistic to you nieces or nephews (who only share 25% of your genes) and even less likely to be altruistic towards a stranger who shares 0% of your genes.


How does altruism works?

Altruism, which is a behavior that benefits the recipient at a cost to the actor, only works between non-kin if it is reciprocal. If altruism is not reciprocal the actor will soon stop being altruistic. For example, if I always ask to borrow your car, but never do anything for you in return soon you will stop lending me your car. Robert Trivers was the first person to theorize about reciprocal altruism and why it works. He says that all reciprocal altruistic species must be highly social, long lived and smart. The first two requirements are so that there are plenty of opportunities and you must be smart in order to keep track of favors and detect cheaters. This is why you generally see altruism in primates.


What is the definition of behavioralism?

Behavorial altruism is any action that benefits others. It does not concern intentions as psychological altruism does. When pertaining to animal behavior, biological altruism (a form a behavorial altruism) refers to any behavior that reduces the fitness of the organism performing it and increases the fitness of another organism. An example of this would be eusocial organisms such as bees. Bees sacrifice their own lives in order to protect the lives of their kin. They don't do this out of the "goodness of their hearts" (bees certainly aren't that noble of organisms) - it is in their genetic code. Why would an organism go against natural selection and kill themselves for the good of another? In "The Selfish Gene" Richard Dawkins theorizes that it is the genes, not the individual that is trying to stay alive. Bees exhibit haplodiploidy, which means that the genetic relationship between kin are strikingly similar. (more so than diploid organisms) Thus, a gene will tell the bee to kill itself in order to preserve its copies in other related organisms. Altruism is rooted in selfishness.


If I'm kin to someone does that me I'm an kin to the rest of their family?

No, It merely means that your kin is from your mother"s or father's side and whom he/related too.


Can you contest next of kin?

No. 'Next of kin' is a legal category. See related question link below.


What is the role of genes in kin recognition?

Answer 1Hard to answer as this is not settled in evolutionary biology. Some call this the " green beard effect, " where one organism's kin recognizes the organism by some physiological marker that is reflective of the genetic relatedness. Still, the evidence for this concept is rather thin, so we do not know if we are seeing such an effect, or one is just seeing the result of organisms being raised in close proximity.Answer 2There are various ways for genes to affect the recognition of kin. For instance, genes may affect pheromone production, giving the family member a recognizable scent. Genes might affect fur patterning, or bird-song. Certainly humans are often able to distinguish relatives by their facial features, even if they had not met these relatives before.Note that there is much still to be learned about the role of such genes in kin altruism, and that the mechanisms of kin altruism may not even need to rely on such outward markers. The subjects of kin recognition and kin altruism should, to some extent, be studied individually.