Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
4-2009
Publication Source
Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
Volume
90
Issue
2
Start Page
218
Last Page
221
DOI
10.1890/0012-9623-90.2.218
Abstract
One of the most fascinating topics in evolutionary biology is how and why organisms cooperate with each other. Natural selection works through competition between alleles for representation in the next generation. Yet one sees everywhere organisms actually helping each other, from mutualisms between ants and plants to the altruistic acts of firefighters storming into burning buildings to rescue people. But how can natural selection lead to cooperation? This, of course, is not a new question, and a tremendous amount of work in evolutionary theory in the last 40 years has shown that helping others can frequently be the winning strategy in the struggle for existence. We have a sophisticated theory of social evolution, dealing not only with helping behaviors, but also other behaviors such as policing, spiteful harm-doing, and so on.
Copyright/Permission Statement
Copyright by the Ecological Society of America.
Recommended Citation
Akçay, E. (2009). New Approaches to the Evolution of Social Behavior. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 90 (2), 218-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9623-90.2.218
Included in
Behavior and Ethology Commons, Biology Commons, Evolution Commons, Population Biology Commons
Date Posted: 30 September 2015
This document has been peer reviewed.
Comments
At the time of publication, author Erol Akçay was affiliated with Stanford University. Currently, he is a faculty member at the Department of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania.