In a situation where one relative helps another, the fitness benefit to the recipient of the altruistic act is 10 and the fitness cost to the performer is 2.According to Hamilton's rule, it would be least adaptive to help which relative?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Hamilton's rule, an altruistic act is most adaptive when the benefit to the recipient multiplied by their degree of relatedness is greater than the cost to the performer. In this scenario, the benefit is 10 and the cost is 2, resulting in a net benefit of 8.

For a full sibling or identical twin, the degree of relatedness is 0.5 or 1, respectively, and so the net benefit is at least 4 or 8, depending on the degree of relatedness. For a parent or grandparent, the degree of relatedness is 0.5 or 0.25, respectively, resulting in a net benefit of at least 16 or 32, respectively.

However, for a first cousin, the degree of relatedness is only 0.125, resulting in a net benefit of only 1, which is not as adaptive as the other options. Therefore, it would be least adaptive to help a first cousin in this scenario.

In a Situation Where One Relative Helps Another, the Fitness