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Option E - exagerrated traits and altruism


kentpop

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Hey

Feels like I'm starting a new topic here everyday but you guys are much help.

I have small questions regarding the exagerrated traits and altruism.

Regarding the traits.. (lets talk about the peacock's tail), is the problem that the tail becomes too large or is the problem that very many of the peacock's get this large tail because they inherit it from the male which mates the most because the females are attracted to the large tail?

The altruism question...I don't need help with the examples, but I don't really understand if "kin selection" and "reciprocal altruism" are types of altruism or the explanation of why altruism occurs.

How would you start the answer if the question comes in the exams? (don't mind the examples). This is what I have so far on general information of altruism and to narrow it down to begin explaining the examples, but I don't know what to write more;

"Altruism is unselfish behavior (actions that increase another individual’s lifetime number of offspring at a cost to the altruists own survival and reproduction)"

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Regarding the exaggerated traits, I'd say the large tail is a bigger issue for the male peacock because it endangers their chances of survival. The large tail is a necessity for most male peacocks to mate with female peacocks as to maintain their species and pass on the alleles necessary.

You shouldn't say unselfish, it's very unscientific... Altruism is lowering one's chances of survival by using up energy to increase another individual's chances of survival. These individuals can be members of one's own species or from another. Examples include vampire bats or naked mole rats. In doing such actions, they usually increase the rate of survival of their species. Natural selection will then allow these advantaged individuals to pass on genes to the future generation. Altruism could be said to be an advantaged behavior for the population because if it wasn't, it might have disappeared due to negative effects produced. (No species would want negative effects)

Regarding kin selection and reciprocal altruism, they are types of altruism.

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