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Related Concept Videos

Altruism01:03

Altruism

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Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
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Egoism and Altruism01:55

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Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?
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What is Natural Selection?01:32

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Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.
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Antibiotic Selection00:57

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Overview
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Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

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Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
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Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

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When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
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Related Experiment Video

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Primer-Free Aptamer Selection Using A Random DNA Library
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Primer-Free Aptamer Selection Using A Random DNA Library

Published on: July 26, 2010

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Kin selection and altruism.

Tomas Kay1, Laurent Lehmann1, Laurent Keller1

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Current Biology : CB
|June 5, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Organisms often face a struggle for existence, suggesting selfish behavior is favored by natural selection. However, the evolution of altruism, where individuals help others at a fitness cost, presents a paradox.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Behavioral Ecology

Background:

  • Natural selection favors traits that enhance survival and reproduction.
  • The 'struggle for existence' implies that organisms should act selfishly to maximize their own fitness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the apparent paradox between the struggle for existence and the evolution of altruistic behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical modeling of allele frequency changes.
  • Analysis of fitness costs and benefits in social interactions.

Main Results:

  • Alleles promoting altruism, which decrease actor fitness while increasing recipient fitness, are expected to decrease in frequency.
  • This suggests a challenge to understanding the persistence of cooperative behaviors in nature.

Conclusions:

  • The principles of natural selection appear to contradict the existence of altruism.
  • Further research is needed to reconcile evolutionary theory with observed cooperative behaviors.