Author:

Keywords:

kin selection, inclusive fitness theory, social insects, eusociality, social evolution, Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, EVOLUTION, BEHAVIOR, Altruism, Animals, Biological Evolution, Cooperative Behavior, Female, Game Theory, Genetic Fitness, Genetics, Population, Heredity, Humans, Male, Models, Biological, Phenotype, Reproducibility of Results, Selection, Genetic, Sex Ratio, General Science & Technology

Abstract:

Nowak et al. argue that inclusive fitness theory has been of little value in explaining the natural world, and that it has led to negligible progress in explaining the evolution of eusociality. However, we believe that their arguments are based upon a misunderstanding of evolutionary theory and a misrepresentation of the empirical literature. We will focus our comments on three general issues.