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85-411: Sociobiology investigates social behaviors such as mating patterns , territorial fights , pack hunting , and the hive society of social insects . It argues that just as selection pressure led to animals evolving useful ways of interacting with the natural environment , so also it led to the genetic evolution of advantageous social behavior. While the term "sociobiology" originated at least as early as

170-562: A "Section of Animal Behavior and Sociobiology" of the Ecological Society of America was created in 1956, which became a Division of Animal Behavior of the American Society of Zoology in 1958. In 1956, E. O. Wilson came in contact with this emerging sociobiology through his PhD student Stuart A. Altmann, who had been in close relation with the participants to the 1948 conference. Altmann developed his own brand of sociobiology to study

255-470: A sheep population might encourage the expansion of a wolf population, an expansion of altruistic traits within a gene pool may also encourage increasing numbers of individuals with dependent traits. Studies of human behavior genetics have generally found behavioral traits such as creativity, extroversion, aggressiveness, and IQ have high heritability . The researchers who carry out those studies are careful to point out that heritability does not constrain

340-492: A bacterium to bind, take up and recombine donor DNA into its own chromosome, it must first enter a special physiological state termed natural competence . In Bacillus subtilis about 40 genes are required for the development of competence and DNA uptake. The length of DNA transferred during B. subtilis transformation can be as much as a third and up to the whole chromosome. Transformation appears to be common among bacterial species, and at least 60 species are known to have

425-548: A chemist looking into the characteristics of plutonium-235 . Between 1946 and 1948, he was an instructor in chemistry at Harvard University and consultant to Argonne National Laboratory . Later, he took a position at Bell Laboratories to work on the chemistry of transistors. He then worked as a research associate in medicine at the University of Minnesota , working on, among other things, fluorescence microscopy and liver perfusion . In 1955 and 1956, he published two papers in

510-404: A co-authored 1973 paper with John Maynard Smith. Furthermore, Price reasoned that in the same way as an organism may sacrifice itself and further its genes ( altruism ) an organism may sacrifice itself to eliminate others of the same species if it enabled closely related organisms to better propagate their related genes. This negative altruism was described in a paper published by W. D. Hamilton and

595-457: A construction project in the area, making him unhappy because he could no longer provide housing for the homeless. He moved to various squats in the North London area, and became depressed over Christmas, 1974. Possibly due to the long-term complications of his thyroid treatment, Price committed suicide on January 6, 1975, by cutting his carotid artery with a pair of nail scissors. His body

680-470: A core set of genes that function in meiosis and that are widely present among sexual eukaryotes. These results suggested that G. intestinalis is capable of meiosis and thus mating and sexual reproduction. Furthermore, direct evidence for meiotic recombination, indicative of mating and sexual reproduction, was also found in G. intestinalis . Other protists for which evidence of mating and sexual reproduction has recently been described are parasitic protozoa of

765-492: A correlation between the gene frequencies predicted by the strategy, and those expressed in a population. Altruism between social insects and littermates has been explained in such a way. Altruistic behavior, behavior that increases the reproductive fitness of others at the apparent expense of the altruist, in some animals has been correlated to the degree of genome shared between altruistic individuals. A quantitative description of infanticide by male harem-mating animals when

850-483: A degree in chemistry from University of Chicago in 1943 and received his doctorate in the subject from the same institution in 1946. In 1947 he married Julia Madigan, but their relationship was contentious as George was a strong atheist while his wife was a practicing Roman Catholic . They divorced in 1955, having had two daughters, Annamarie and Kathleen. Price was a member of the Manhattan Project as

935-402: A different mother or father. This reduces the potential harm done by inbreeding, as siblings will be less closely related and more genetically diverse. Additionally, because of the increased genetic diversity among generations, the levels of reproductive fitness are also more variable, and so it is easier to select for positive traits more quickly, as the difference in fitness between members of

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1020-566: A fear of biological determinism , accusing among others Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin of being "radical scientists", whose stance on human nature is influenced by politics rather than science, while Lewontin, Steven Rose and Leon Kamin , who drew a distinction between the politics and history of an idea and its scientific validity, argue that sociobiology fails on scientific grounds. Gould grouped sociobiology with eugenics , criticizing both in his book The Mismeasure of Man . When Napoleon Chagnon scheduled sessions on sociobiology at

1105-464: A fellow soldier. This example raises the question of how altruistic genes can be passed on if this soldier dies without having any children. Within sociobiology, a social behavior is first explained as a sociobiological hypothesis by finding an evolutionarily stable strategy that matches the observed behavior. Stability of a strategy can be difficult to prove, but usually, it will predict gene frequencies. The hypothesis can be supported by establishing

1190-427: A greater chance of surviving and/or reproducing in the past are more likely to survive in present organisms. That inherited adaptive behaviors are present in nonhuman animal species has been multiply demonstrated by biologists, and it has become a foundation of evolutionary biology . However, there is continued resistance by some researchers over the application of evolutionary models to humans, particularly from within

1275-431: A history of intergroup conflict for resources between men have led to differences in violence and aggression between men and women. The novelist Elias Canetti also has noted applications of sociobiological theory to cultural practices such as slavery and autocracy. Genetic mouse mutants illustrate the power that genes exert on behavior. For example, the transcription factor FEV (aka Pet1), through its role in maintaining

1360-483: A male increasingly important. A high pathogen load also decreases the relative importance of sororal polygyny which may be because it becomes increasingly important to have genetic variability in the offspring (See Major histocompatibility complex and sexual selection ). Virtually all the terms used to describe animal mating systems were adopted from social anthropology , where they had been devised to describe systems of marriage . This shows that human sexual behavior

1445-431: A phylogenetic analysis, Dacks and Roger proposed that facultative sex was present in the common ancestor of all eukaryotes. However, to many biologists it seemed unlikely until recently, that mating and sex could be a primordial and fundamental characteristic of eukaryotes. A principal reason for this view was that mating and sex appeared to be lacking in certain pathogenic protists whose ancestors branched off early from

1530-574: A primitive form of sexual interaction similar to the more well-studied bacterial transformation systems that are also associated with species specific DNA transfer between cells leading to homologous recombinational repair of DNA damage. Protists are a large group of diverse eukaryotic microorganisms , mainly unicellular animals and plants, that do not form tissues . Eukaryotes emerged in evolution more than 1.5 billion years ago. The earliest eukaryotes were likely protists. Mating and sexual reproduction are widespread among extant eukaryotes. Based on

1615-481: A prominent introduction of monogamous behaviors in some populations of that species, showing the swift evolutionary effects different mating systems can have. Specifically, monogamous populations speciated up to 4.8 times faster and had lower extinction rates than non monogamous populations. Another way that monogamy has the potential to cause increased speciation is because individuals are more selective with partners and competition, causing different nearby populations of

1700-560: A religious experience and became an ardent scholar of the New Testament . He believed that there had been too many coincidences in his life. In particular, he wrote a lengthy essay titled The Twelve Days of Easter , arguing that the calendar of events surrounding Jesus of Nazareth 's death in Easter Week was actually slightly longer. Later he turned away from Biblical scholarship and instead dedicated his life to community work, helping

1785-431: A result of selective pressures in the history of a species. Thus, they are often interested in instinctive , or intuitive behavior, and in explaining the similarities, rather than the differences, between cultures. For example, mothers within many species of mammals – including humans – are very protective of their offspring . Sociobiologists reason that this protective behavior likely evolved over time because it helped

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1870-522: A short time and was not very thorough in publishing papers. This has changed in recent years. An article by James Schwartz published in 2000 was the beginning of the historical redress. In 2010, Oren Harman 's LA Times Book Prize winning biography, The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness was published, and has received major attention, finally bringing Price and his story to

1955-466: A similar mating system, suggesting an evolutionary basis. These differences in mating strategy can be traced back to a few significant alleles that affect behaviors that are heavily influential on mating system, such as the alleles responsible for the level of parental care, how animals choose their partner(s), and sexual competitiveness, among others, which are all at least partially influenced by genetics. While these genes may not perfectly correlate with

2040-481: A universal mechanism for the evolution of monogamy in vertebrates. While genetics is not the exclusive cause of mating systems within animals, it is influential in many animals, particularly rodents , which have been the most heavily researched. Certain rodents’ mating systems—monogamous, polygynous, or socially monogamous with frequent promiscuity—are correlated with suggested evolutionary phylogenies , where rodents more closely related genetically are more likely to use

2125-400: Is "natural" for human sexual behavior from observations of animal mating systems should be resisted: a socio-biologist observing the kinds of behavior shown by humans in any other species would conclude that all known mating systems were natural for that species, depending on the circumstances or on individual differences. As culture increasingly affects human mating choices, ascertaining what

2210-469: Is a way in which a group is structured in relation to sexual behaviour. The precise meaning depends upon the context. With respect to animals , the term describes which males and females mate under which circumstances. Recognised systems include monogamy , polygamy (which includes polygyny , polyandry , and polygynandry ), and promiscuity , all of which lead to different mate choice outcomes and thus these systems affect how sexual selection works in

2295-411: Is based on the resources they are able to acquire through reproduction rather than the quantity of offspring they produce. However, males are more likely to practice polygamy because their reproductive success is based on the amount of offspring they produce, rather than any kind of benefit from parental investment. Polygyny is associated with an increased sharing of subsistence provided by women. This

2380-669: Is commonly substituted for the term sociobiology in order to avoid the public controversy. Sociobiologists maintain that human behavior , as well as nonhuman animal behavior, can be partly explained as the outcome of natural selection. They contend that in order to fully understand behavior, it must be analyzed in terms of evolutionary considerations. Natural selection is fundamental to evolutionary theory. Variants of hereditary traits which increase an organism's ability to survive and reproduce will be more greatly represented in subsequent generations, i.e., they will be "selected for". Thus, inherited behavioral mechanisms that allowed an organism

2465-422: Is consistent with the theory that if women raise the children alone, men can concentrate on the mating effort. Polygyny is also associated with greater environmental variability in the form of variability of rainfall . This may increase the differences in the resources available to men. An important association is that polygyny is associated with a higher pathogen load in an area which may make having good genes in

2550-414: Is defined as "a concern for the welfare of others". If altruism is genetically determined, then altruistic individuals must reproduce their own altruistic genetic traits for altruism to survive, but when altruists lavish their resources on non-altruists at the expense of their own kind, the altruists tend to die out and the others tend to increase. An extreme example is a soldier losing his life trying to help

2635-500: Is likely because polygamous animals tend to move larger distances to find mates, contributing to a high level of gene flow , which can genetically homogenize many nearby subpopulations. Monogamous animals, on the other hand, tend to stay closer to their starting location, not dispersing as much. Because monogamous animals don’t migrate as far, monogamous populations which are geographically closer together tend to reproductively isolate from each other more easily, and thus each subpopulation

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2720-405: Is low; Monogamy has evolved multiple times in animals, with homologous brain structures predicting the mating and parental strategies used by them. These homologous structures were brought about by similar mechanisms. Even though there have been many different evolutionary pathways to get to monogamy, all the studied organisms express their genes very similarly in the fore and midbrain, implying

2805-437: Is mediated by an infecting virus (bacteriophage). The third method of DNA transfer is conjugation , in which a plasmid mediates transfer through direct cell contact between cells. Transformation, unlike transduction or conjugation, depends on numerous bacterial gene products that specifically interact to perform this complex process, and thus transformation is clearly a bacterial adaptation for DNA transfer. In order for

2890-676: Is more likely to diversify or speciate from the other nearby populations as compared to polygamous populations. In polygamous species, however, the male partner in polygynous species and female partner in polyandrous species often tend to spread further to look for mates, potentially to find more or better mates. The increased level of movement among populations leads to increased gene flow between populations, effectively making geographically distinct populations into genetically similar ones via interbreeding. This has been observed in some species of rodents, where generally promiscuous species were quickly differentiated into monogamous and polygamous taxa by

2975-415: Is rare, or there may be no parental care at all. These descriptions are idealized, and the social partnerships are often easier to observe than the mating relationships. In particular: Sexual conflict occurs between individuals of different sexes that have separate or conflicting requirements for optimal mating success. This conflict may lead to competitive adaptations and co-adaptations of one or both of

3060-468: Is termed Hamiltonian spite . Price's 'mathematical' theory of altruism reasons that organisms are more likely to show altruism toward each other as they become more genetically similar to each other. Thus, in a species that requires two parents to reproduce, an organism is most likely to show altruistic behavior to a biological parent, full sibling, or direct offspring. The reason for this is that each of these relatives' genetic makeup contains (on average in

3145-409: Is the 'natural' mating system of the human animal from a zoological perspective becomes increasingly difficult. Some clues can be taken from human anatomy, which is essentially unchanged from the prehistoric past: Some have suggested that these anatomical factors signify some degree of sperm competition , although others have provided anatomical evidence to suggest that sperm competition risk in humans

3230-464: Is therefore seen as an effort to preserve one's genes in the population. Inherent in sociobiological reasoning is the idea that certain genes or gene combinations that influence particular behavioral traits can be inherited from generation to generation. For example, newly dominant male lions often kill cubs in the pride that they did not sire. This behavior is adaptive because killing the cubs eliminates competition for their own offspring and causes

3315-435: Is unusually flexible since, in most animal species, one mating system dominates. While there are close analogies between animal mating systems and human marriage institutions, these analogies should not be pressed too far, because in human societies, marriages typically have to be recognized by the entire social group in some way, and there is no equivalent process in animal societies. The temptation to draw conclusions about what

3400-532: The Galton Laboratory , making three important contributions: first, rederiving W.D. Hamilton 's work on kin selection with the new Price equation that vindicated group selection ; second, introducing (with John Maynard Smith ) the concept of the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS), a central concept in game theory ; and third, formalizing Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection . Price converted to Christianity and gave all his possessions to

3485-413: The alpha male is displaced as well as rodent female infanticide and fetal resorption are active areas of study. In general, females with more bearing opportunities may value offspring less, and may also arrange bearing opportunities to maximize the food and protection from mates. An important concept in sociobiology is that temperament traits exist in an ecological balance. Just as an expansion of

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3570-953: The hyperthermophilic archaea Sulfolobus solfataricus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius are exposed to the DNA damaging agents UV irradiation, bleomycin or mitomycin C , species-specific cellular aggregation is induced. Aggregation in S. solfataricus could not be induced by other physical stressors, such as pH or temperature shift, suggesting that aggregation is induced specifically by DNA damage. Ajon et al. showed that UV-induced cellular aggregation mediates chromosomal marker exchange with high frequency in S. acidocaldarius . Recombination rates exceeded those of uninduced cultures by up to three orders of magnitude. Frols et al. and Ajon et al. hypothesized that cellular aggregation enhances species-specific DNA transfer between Sulfolobus cells in order to provide increased repair of damaged DNA by means of homologous recombination . This response appears to be

3655-428: The serotonergic system in the brain, is required for normal aggressive and anxiety -like behavior. Thus, when FEV is genetically deleted from the mouse genome, male mice will instantly attack other males, whereas their wild-type counterparts take significantly longer to initiate violent behavior. In addition, FEV has been shown to be required for correct maternal behavior in mice, such that offspring of mothers without

3740-464: The 1940s; the concept did not gain major recognition until the publication of E. O. Wilson 's book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis in 1975. The new field quickly became the subject of controversy . Critics, led by Richard Lewontin and Stephen Jay Gould , argued that genes played a role in human behavior, but that traits such as aggressiveness could be explained by social environment rather than by biology. Sociobiologists responded by pointing to

3825-516: The 1976 American Anthropological Association convention, other scholars attempted to cancel them with what Chagnon later described as "Impassioned accusations of racism, fascism and Nazism"; Margaret Mead 's support caused the sessions to occur as scheduled. Noam Chomsky has expressed views on sociobiology on several occasions. During a 1976 meeting of the Sociobiology Study Group , as reported by Ullica Segerstråle , Chomsky argued for

3910-449: The DNA level. Another manifestation of mating between viral genomes is multiplicity reactivation (MR). MR is the process by which at least two virus genomes, each containing inactivating genome damage, interact with each other in an infected cell to form viable progeny viruses. The genes required for MR in bacteriophage T4 are largely the same as the genes required for allelic recombination. Examples of MR in animal viruses are described in

3995-487: The FEV factor do not survive unless cross-fostered to other wild-type female mice. A genetic basis for instinctive behavioral traits among non-human species, such as in the above example, is commonly accepted among many biologists; however, attempting to use a genetic basis to explain complex behaviors in human societies has remained extremely controversial. Steven Pinker argues that critics have been overly swayed by politics and

4080-483: The Price equation, a covariance equation that generated the change in allele frequency of a population. Although the first part of the equation had previously been derived by Alan Robertson and C. C. Li , its second component allowed it to be applied to all levels of selection, meiotic drive , traditional natural selection with an extension into inclusive fitness and group selection . On 6 June 1970, Price had

4165-533: The articles Herpes simplex virus , Influenza A virus , Adenoviridae , Simian virus 40 , Vaccinia virus , and Reoviridae . George R. Price George Robert Price (October 16, 1922 – January 6, 1975) was an American population geneticist . Price is often noted for his formulation of the Price equation in 1967. Originally a physical chemist and later a science journalist , he moved to London in 1967, where he worked in theoretical biology at

4250-449: The attempt to explain the evolutionary mechanics behind social behaviors such as altruism , aggression , and nurturance, primarily in ants (Wilson's own research specialty) and other Hymenoptera , but also in other animals. However, the influence of evolution on behavior has been of interest to biologists and philosophers since soon after the discovery of evolution itself. Peter Kropotkin 's Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution , written in

4335-442: The case of siblings) 50% of the genes that are found in the original organism. So if the original organism dies as a result of an altruistic act it can still manage to propagate its full genetic heritage as long as two or more of these close relatives are saved. Consequently, an organism is less likely to show altruistic behavior to a biological grandparent, grandchild, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew or half-sibling (each carry one-fourth of

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4420-502: The complex relationship between nature and nurture . Among sociobiologists, the controversy between laying weight to different levels of selection was settled between D.S. Wilson and E.O. Wilson in 2007. E. O. Wilson defined sociobiology as "the extension of population biology and evolutionary theory to social organization". Sociobiology is based on the premise that some behaviors (social and individual) are at least partly inherited and can be affected by natural selection . It begins with

4505-568: The core of the research on animal social behavior and by drawing alliances with emerging research methodologies, at a time when "biology in the field" was threatened to be made old-fashioned by "modern" practices of science (laboratory studies, mathematical biology, molecular biology). Once a specialist term, "sociobiology" became widely known in 1975 when Wilson published his book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis , which sparked an intense controversy. Since then "sociobiology" has largely been equated with Wilson's vision. The book pioneered and popularized

4590-474: The early 1890s, is a popular example. The final chapter of the book is devoted to sociobiological explanations of human behavior, and Wilson later wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning book, On Human Nature , that addressed human behavior specifically. Edward H. Hagen writes in The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology that sociobiology is, despite the public controversy regarding the applications to humans, "one of

4675-407: The eukaryotic family tree. However, several of these protists are now known to be capable of, or to recently have had, the capability for meiosis and hence mating. To cite one example, the common intestinal parasite Giardia intestinalis was once considered to be a descendant of a protist lineage that predated the emergence of meiosis and sex. However, G. intestinalis was recently found to have

4760-595: The genes found in the original organism); and even less likely to show altruism to a first cousin (carrying one-eighth of the genes found in the original organism). The theory then asserts that the further genetically removed two organisms are from each other, the less likely they are to show altruism to each other. Price grew increasingly depressed by the implications of his equation. As part of an attempt to prove his theory right or wrong, he began showing an ever-increasing amount (in both quality and quantity) of random kindness to complete strangers. In this way, he dedicated

4845-506: The genus Leishmania , Trichomonas vaginalis , and acanthamoeba . Protists generally reproduce asexually under favorable environmental conditions, but tend to reproduce sexually under stressful conditions, such as starvation or heat shock. Both animal viruses and bacterial viruses ( bacteriophage ) are able to undergo mating. When a cell is mixedly infected by two genetically marked viruses, recombinant virus progeny are often observed indicating that mating interaction had occurred at

4930-422: The idea that behaviors have evolved over time, similar to the way that physical traits are thought to have evolved. It predicts that animals will act in ways that have proven to be evolutionarily successful over time. This can, among other things, result in the formation of complex social processes conducive to evolutionary fitness. The discipline seeks to explain behavior as a product of natural selection. Behavior

5015-401: The importance of a sociobiologically informed notion of human nature. Chomsky argued that human beings are biological organisms and ought to be studied as such, with his criticism of the " blank slate " doctrine in the social sciences (which would inspire a great deal of Steven Pinker's and others' work in evolutionary psychology), in his 1975 Reflections on Language . Chomsky further hinted at

5100-438: The influence that environmental or cultural factors may have on those traits. Various theorists have argued that in some environments criminal behavior might be adaptive. The evolutionary neuroandrogenic (ENA) theory , by sociologist/criminologist Lee Ellis , posits that female sexual selection has led to increased competitive behavior among men, sometimes resulting in criminality. In another theory, Mark van Vugt argues that

5185-586: The journal Science criticizing the pseudoscientific claims of extrasensory perception . Continuing with science journalism, Price tried to write a book titled No Easy Way about the United States ' Cold War with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China , but complained that "the world kept changing faster than I could write about it", and so the book was never finished. From 1961 to 1967, Price

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5270-545: The language of sociobiology readily slips from "is" to "ought", an instance of the naturalistic fallacy . Pinker has argued that opposition to stances considered anti-social, such as ethnic nepotism, is based on moral assumptions, meaning that such opposition is not falsifiable by scientific advances. The history of this debate, and others related to it, are covered in detail by Cronin (1993) , Segerstråle (2000) , and Alcock (2001) . Informational notes Citations Bibliography Mating system A mating system

5355-410: The latter part of his life to helping the homeless , often inviting homeless people to live in his house. Sometimes, when the people in his house became a distraction, he slept in his office at the Galton Laboratory . He also gave up everything to help alcoholics; yet as he helped them steal his belongings, he increasingly fell into depression. He was eventually evicted from his rented house owing to

5440-457: The mating system that animals use, genetics is one factor that may lead to a species or population reproducing using one mating system over another, or even potentially multiple at different locations or points in time. Mating systems can also have large impacts on the genetics of a population, strongly affecting natural selection and speciation. In plover populations, polygamous species tend to speciate more slowly than monogamous species do. This

5525-399: The mating systems generally recognized in animals: These mating relationships may or may not be associated with social relationships, in which the sexual partners stay together to become parenting partners. As the alternative term "pair bonding" implies, this is usual in monogamy. In many polyandrous systems, the males and the female stay together to rear the young. In polygynous systems where

5610-543: The natural ability to become competent for transformation. The development of competence in nature is usually associated with stressful environmental conditions, and seems to be an adaptation for facilitating repair of DNA damage in recipient cells. In several species of archaea , mating is mediated by formation of cellular aggregates. Halobacterium volcanii , an extreme halophilic archaeon, forms cytoplasmic bridges between cells that appear to be used for transfer of DNA from one cell to another in either direction. When

5695-433: The needy of North London . Price developed a new interpretation of Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection , the Price equation, which has now been accepted as the best interpretation of a formerly enigmatic result. He wrote what is still widely held to be the best mathematical, biological and evolutionary representation of altruism . He also pioneered the application of game theory to evolutionary biology, in

5780-409: The number of females paired with each male is low and the male will often stay with one female to help rear the young, while the other females rear their young on their own. In polygynandry, each of the males may assist one female; if all adults help rear all the young, the system is more usually called " communal breeding ". In highly polygynous systems, and in promiscuous systems, paternal care of young

5865-409: The nursing females to come into heat faster, thus allowing more of his genes to enter into the population. Sociobiologists would view this instinctual cub-killing behavior as being inherited through the genes of successfully reproducing male lions, whereas non-killing behavior may have died out as those lions were less successful in reproducing. The philosopher of biology Daniel Dennett suggested that

5950-626: The offspring of the individuals which had the characteristic to survive. This parental protection would increase in frequency in the population. The social behavior is believed to have evolved in a fashion similar to other types of nonbehavioral adaptations , such as a coat of fur, or the sense of smell. Individual genetic advantage fails to explain certain social behaviors as a result of gene-centred selection. E.O. Wilson argued that evolution may also act upon groups . The mechanisms responsible for group selection employ paradigms and population statistics borrowed from evolutionary game theory . Altruism

6035-458: The parameters of plant mating systems. The basic model is the mixed mating model , which is based on the assumption that every fertilisation is either self-fertilisation or completely random cross-fertilisation. More complex models relax this assumption; for example, the effective selfing model recognises that mating may be more common between pairs of closely related plants than between pairs of distantly related plants. The following are some of

6120-512: The political philosopher Thomas Hobbes was the first proto-sociobiologist, arguing that in his 1651 book Leviathan Hobbes had explained the origins of morals in human society from an amoral sociobiological perspective. The geneticist of animal behavior John Paul Scott coined the word sociobiology at a 1948 conference on genetics and social behavior, which called for a conjoint development of field and laboratory studies in animal behavior research. With John Paul Scott's organizational efforts,

6205-563: The poor. Struggling with a thyroid condition in conditions of great poverty, he grew increasingly depressed and committed suicide. Price was born in 1922 in the U.S. state of New York. His father, an electrician, died when Price was four. His mother was a former theater actress, and the family struggled through the Great Depression . Price attended Birch Wathen School followed by Stuyvesant High School in New York . He graduated with

6290-441: The possible reconciliation of his anarchist political views and sociobiology in a discussion of Peter Kropotkin 's Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution , which focused more on altruism than aggression, suggesting that anarchist societies were feasible because of an innate human tendency to cooperate. Wilson has claimed that he had never meant to imply what ought to be, only what is the case. However, some critics have argued that

6375-404: The same generation would be greater. When many males are actively mating, polyandry can decrease the risk of extinction as well, as it can increase the effective population size . Increased effective population sizes are more stable and less prone to accumulating deleterious mutations due to genetic drift. Mating in bacteria involves transfer of DNA from one cell to another and incorporation of

6460-410: The same species to stop interbreeding as much, leading to speciation down the road. Another potential effect of polyandry in particular is increasing the quality of offspring and reducing the probability of reproductive failure. There are many possible reasons for this, one of the possibilities being that there is greater genetic variation in families because most offspring in a family will have either

6545-427: The scientific triumphs of the twentieth century." "Sociobiology is now part of the core research and curriculum of virtually all biology departments, and it is a foundation of the work of almost all field biologists. " Sociobiological research on nonhuman organisms has increased dramatically and continuously in the world's top scientific journals such as Nature and Science . The more general term behavioral ecology

6630-545: The section about animals above), humans are in the intermediate group with moderate sex differences in body size but with relatively small testes, indicating relatively low sperm competition in socially monogamous and polygynous human societies. One estimate is that 83% of human societies are polygynous, 0.05% are polyandrous, and the rest are monogamous. Even the last group may at least in part be genetically polygynous. From an evolutionary standpoint, females are more prone to practice monogamy because their reproductive success

6715-546: The sexes to maintain mating processes that are beneficial to that sex. Intralocus sexual conflict and interlocus sexual conflict describe the genetic influence behind sexual conflict, and are presently recognized as the most basic forms of sexual conflict. Compared to other vertebrates , where a species usually has a single mating system, humans display great variety. Humans also differ by having formal marriages which in some cultures involve negotiation and arrangement between elder relatives. Regarding sexual dimorphism (see

6800-602: The social behavior of rhesus macaques, using statistics, and was hired as a "sociobiologist" at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in 1965. Wilson's sociobiology is different from John Paul Scott 's or Altmann's, insofar as he drew on mathematical models of social behavior centered on the maximization of the genetic fitness by W. D. Hamilton , Robert Trivers , John Maynard Smith , and George R. Price . The three sociobiologies by Scott, Altmann and Wilson have in common to place naturalist studies at

6885-564: The social sciences, where culture has long been assumed to be the predominant driver of behavior. Sociobiology is based upon two fundamental premises: Sociobiology uses Nikolaas Tinbergen 's four categories of questions and explanations of animal behavior. Two categories are at the species level; two, at the individual level. The species-level categories (often called "ultimate explanations") are The individual-level categories (often called "proximate explanations") are Sociobiologists are interested in how behavior can be explained logically as

6970-607: The species which practice them. In plants, the term refers to the degree and circumstances of outcrossing . In human sociobiology , the terms have been extended to encompass the formation of relationships such as marriage . The primary mating systems in plants are outcrossing (cross-fertilisation), autogamy (self-fertilisation) and apomixis (asexual reproduction without fertilization, but only when arising by modification of sexual function). Mixed mating systems , in which plants use two or even all three mating systems, are not uncommon. A number of models have been used to describe

7055-409: The transferred DNA into the recipient bacteria's genome by homologous recombination . Transfer of DNA between bacterial cells can occur in three main ways. First, a bacterium can take up exogenous DNA released into the intervening medium from another bacterium by a process called transformation . DNA can also be transferred from one bacterium to another by the process of transduction , which

7140-665: Was employed by IBM as a consultant on graphic data processing. In 1966, he was treated for thyroid cancer , but the operation to remove the tumour left his shoulder partially paralysed and left him reliant on thyroxine medication. With the money from his medical insurance , he moved to the United Kingdom to start a new life in November 1967. W.D. Hamilton failed to recall when Price first contacted him, but says Price had read Hamilton's 1964 papers on kin selection , and with no training in population genetics or statistics devised

7225-526: Was identified by his close colleague, W.D. Hamilton. A memorial service was held for Price in Euston . The only persons present from academia were Hamilton and Maynard Smith, the other few mourners being those who had come to know him through his community work. He is buried in St Pancras Cemetery . Price's contributions were largely overlooked for 20 years; he had worked in theoretical biology for only

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