Destinations

Explore key concepts and research through these links to additional web resources.

11.1 Kin Selection and the Evolution of Altruism

Evolution of Cooperative Behavior
Game theory is at the heart of much of our thinking about the evolution of behavior in general, and social interactions in particular. The University of Toronto provides this excellent tutorial.
Keywords: cooperative behavior, game theory, evolution

11.2 Evolution of Eusociality

Eusocial Insects
A number of sites offer excellent resources on eusocial insects. The Social Insects Web is provided by the American Museum of Natural History and provides links to a wide variety of resources.
Keywords: eusociality, insects, evolution
Myrmecology
Mrymecology, the scientific study of ants is a useful website for understanding ants and social behavior.
Keywords: eusociality, myrmecology, social behavior
Polistine Wasps
Teachers should investigate Social Behavior of Polistine Wasps that includes an on-line data set and suggestions for student projects based on those data.
Keywords: polistine wasps, social behavior, research

11.3 Parent-Offspring Conflict

Parent-Offspring Conflict
This excerpt by David Buss reviews the interesting concept of parent-offspring conflict and how it relates to genetic value and social interaction.
Keywords: parent-offspring conflict, evolutionary theory, kin selection

11.4 Reciprocal Altruism

Game Theory
For a nice history and discussion of the philosophy and applications of game theory, Stanford University offers Game Theory.
Keywords: game theory, altruism, strategies

Chapter 11: Kin Selection and Social Behavior