Abstract

Hamilton's theory of inclusive fitness revolutionized our understanding of the evolution of social interactions. Surprisingly, an incorporation of Hamilton's perspective into the quantitative genetic theory of phenotypic evolution has been slow, despite the popularity of quantitative genetics in evolutionary studies. Here, we discuss several versions of Hamilton's rule for social evolution from a quantitative genetic perspective, emphasizing its utility in empirical applications. Although evolutionary quantitative genetics offers methods to measure each of the critical parameters of Hamilton's rule, empirical work has lagged behind theory. In particular, we lack studies of selection on altruistic traits in the wild. Fitness costs and benefits of altruism can be estimated using a simple extension of phenotypic selection analysis that incorporates the traits of social interactants. We also discuss the importance of considering the genetic influence of the social environment, or indirect genetic effects (IGEs), in the context of Hamilton's rule. Research in social evolution has generated an extensive body of empirical work focusing—with good reason—almost solely on relatedness. We argue that quantifying the roles of social and non-social components of selection and IGEs, in addition to relatedness, is now timely and should provide unique additional insights into social evolution.

Highlights

  • Fifty years ago, Hamilton [1,2,3] published a series of papers that showed how genetic changes in a population should occur when relatives affect one another’s fitness

  • We argue that quantifying the roles of social and non-social components of selection and indirect genetic effects (IGEs), in addition to relatedness, is timely and should provide unique additional insights into social evolution

  • Using a population genetic model, Hamilton showed how seemingly costly traits could be favoured; second, he showed that a quantity he called ‘inclusive fitness’ was maximized; and third, he showed that inclusive fitness maximization could occur when interacting with any form of relative

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Summary

Introduction

Hamilton [1,2,3] published a series of papers that showed how genetic changes in a population should occur when relatives affect one another’s fitness. These papers developed three important concepts that changed our view of evolution. The most influential aspect of this work was the development of a simple rule for the evolution of altruistic behaviour: altruism should evolve when the fitness costs to the altruist are outweighed by the benefits to its recipients, weighted by the relatedness of the two individuals [1,2]. Throughout, we use the term altruism to indicate a trait that is costly to the individual but beneficial to others and cooperation to indicate a trait that evolves based on its benefit to others, regardless of individual cost [27]

Parallels between social evolution and quantitative genetics
Quantitative genetics and Hamilton’s rule
Empirical applications
Conclusion
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