Overlapping generations can promote altruistic behavior.
We use an inclusive fitness model to study the evolution of altruism in a patch-structured population in which there is positive probability of breeder survival from one generation to the next. We find first that breeder survival promotes altruism and second that there is a marked difference between benefits of fecundity and benefits of survival. Under the first altruism is more strongly favored, and under the second altruism is less strongly favored than in a randomly mixing population.
Taylor
P D
PD
Department of Mathematics and Statistic, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. taylorp@post.queensu.ca
Irwin
A J
AJ
D000533:Altruism; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005298:Fertility; D005716:Game Theory; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D011336:Probability; D012919:Social Behavior; D013534:Survival