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Study Questions for Social Evolution
1. Distinguish between kin altruism
(selection) and true altruism. What are the critical conditions for the
evolution of true altruism?
2. What is the prisoner's dilemma.
A payoff matrix or a discussion of the rewards and punishments involved
is essential.
3. What is reciprocal altruism?
What conditions favor the evolution of reciprocal altruism based on a consideration
of iterated tit-for-tat and the prisoners's dilemma?
4. Describe two biological examples
of tit-for-tat, and describe how each example satisifies the critical conditions
for altruism listed in number 1.
5. Distinugish between social and
eusocial associations. How are naked mole rats similar to eusocial insects?
What controls the caste development in ants
and bees? What
controls caste development in the naked mole rat?
6. Why is it difficult to explain the evolution of cooperation in animals?
(By "cooperation" I mean
an act that occurs between two unrelated individuals that is mutally beneficial).
Discuss your answer in terms of the
levels of selection. Which theory
explains the evolution of cooperation and why is it a satisfactory explanation?
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