Altruism & Kin Selection
(a) Many animals live in social groups and have behaviours that are adapted to group living such as social hierarchy or cooperative hunting and defence.
(b) Altruism and kin selection and its influence on survival. An altruistic behaviour harms the donor individual but benefits the recipient. Behaviour that appears to be altruistic can be common between a donor and a recipient if they are related (kin). The donor will benefit in terms of the increased chances of survival of shared genes in the recipient’s offspring or future offspring.
(c) Social insects, the structure of their society and their ecological importance –
evolution of the societies of insects such as bees, wasps, ants and termites, in which only some individuals contribute reproductively. Most members of the colony are workers who cooperate with close relatives to raise relatives.
Ecological importance — social insects are often keystone species within their ecosystems. Some species are of economic importance to humans providing ecosystem services such as pollination and pest control.
