title: Parasites and altruism: converging roads.
abstract: W.D. Hamilton was most known for his work on two topics: social evolution and parasites. Although at first glance these seem to be disparate interests, they share many attributes and have logical connections within evolutionary biology. Nevertheless, Hamilton's contributions in these areas met with very different receptions, with his place in the field of social evolution assured, but his work on the role of parasites perceived as more specialized. We take an historical approach to examine the reasons for this difference.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, , St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zuk
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Borrello
mesh_terms: D000533:Altruism; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010271:Parasites / Q000502:physiology*; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Hamilton; parasites; social evolution