Re: Underestimating 'r'

"Perplexed in Peoria" (jimmenegay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) writes:
> Well, if it is species-level selection we are talking about, and either
> cheetahs or lions have to go because this niche ain't big enough for both,
> then I don't see why the higher degree of cheetah inbreeding would lead
> to greater cheetah solidarity than lion solidarity.

Maybe it would!! I'll have to think about this some more!

In the case of ants and bees: apparently it's their unusual
genetic situation, where an individual is more closely related
to its siblings than to its own offspring, that causes the
cooperative social structure. The social structure could,
in turn, cause the overall success of the species (as compared
to other species who can't get their act together because
they're always bickering with each other, trying to get
ahead as individuals.) And the overall success could
cause the fact that ants and bees are around today and
in enough numbers to be noticed by scientists and to have
their unusual genetic structure studied, as opposed to
that unusual genetic structure having been something that
appeared briefly in the past and died out long ago.
If so, then in a sense, their unusual genetic structure
is caused by the advantages of social living, and also
in a sense their habit of social living is caused by
the advantages of social living (though it is also
always caused more proximately by the genetic structure).
This is the sort of thing I mean when I talk about
characteristics that can't evolve quickly.

A cheetah-like species which usually lives in small inbred groups
could develop a strong, complex set of cooperative
behaviours which could then easily be applied (in modified,
weaker form) to all members of the species. A competing
species which ranges widely and doesn't tend
to inbreed might just not happen to develop
the cooperative behaviours at all, since there is less pressure to
do so (in effect, they don't think of it, or they
don't develop a lifestyle that includes a lot of opportunities
to choose between cooperation and not-cooperation.)
--
Cathy Woodgold
http://www.ncf.ca/~an588/par_home.html
We are all Iraqis now.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Underestimating r
    ... >>> third cousin if every other cheetah is a third cousin. ... If the cheetah species is in competition ... > to greater cheetah solidarity than lion solidarity. ... relatedness between two cheetahs is *not* higher than the ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
  • Re: "Ancient Astronauts" in SF
    ... we are the same species." ... how a puma became a puma, and a cheetah became a cheetah. ... But modern humans didn't have a long period of time to change to us ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
Loading