Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!cica!iuvax!bionet!PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU!T80SMS1%NIU
From: T80SMS1%NIU@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU
Newsgroups: bionet.population-bio
Subject: Re: Revisiting Kin Selection
Message-ID: <9010261818.AA07434@genbank.bio.net>
Date: 26 Oct 90 14:02:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@genbank.bio.net
Lines: 22

xia writes:

>I think this is quite misleading. When an altruistic mutant
>arises in a non-altruistic population, the genetic relatedness
>of this altruistic mutant to its kins has nothing to do with the
>inclusive fitness of this particular altruistic gene because
>this mutated gene is not identical by descent to any other genes
>in the population. So the gene suffers no matter how much
>benefit the altruist can bring to its relatives.

Aha!! You have rediscovered the boundary conditions problem of
group selection models.  There was an extensive discussion of
this (reams of papers) in the 70's dealing specificly with
kin selection models.  More generally, Wright's shifting
balance models deal with this problem.  See 2 papers by
D. S. Wilson (Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 14:159-187; Evolution
41:1059).  The second in particular deals with conditions
necessary for establishment of an altruistic allele.

Sam Scheiner
Northern Illinois University
t80sms1@niu.bitnet