Editing Behavioral ecology (section)

===Kin selection===
{{Main|Kin selection}}

Kin selection refers to evolutionary strategies where an individual acts to favor the [[reproductive success]] of relatives, or [[Kinship|kin]], even if the action incurs some cost to the organism's own survival and ability to [[procreate]].<ref name="Davies_SocialBehavior">{{cite book|last1=Davies |last2=Krebs |last3=West |first1=Nicholas B.|first2= John R. |first3=Stuart A.|title=An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology|year=2012|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|location=West Sussex, UK|isbn=978-1-4051-1416-5|pages=307–333}}</ref> [[John Maynard Smith]] coined the term in 1964,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=J. M. |year=1964 |title=Group Selection and Kin Selection |journal=Nature |volume=201 |issue=4924 |pages=1145–1147 |doi=10.1038/2011145a0 |bibcode = 1964Natur.201.1145S |s2cid=4177102 }}</ref> although the concept was referred to by [[Charles Darwin]] who cited that helping relatives would be favored by [[group selection]]. Mathematical descriptions of kin selection were initially offered by [[R. A. Fisher]] in 1930<ref>{{cite book |title=The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection |last=Fisher |first=R. A. |year=1930 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.221869}}</ref> and [[J. B. S. Haldane]] in 1932.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Causes of Evolution |last=Haldane |first=J.B.S. |year=1932 |publisher= Longmans, Green & Co |location= London |url=https://archive.org/details/causesofevolutio00hald_0}}</ref> and 1955.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Haldane |first=J. B. S. |year=1955 |title=Population Genetics |journal=New Biology |volume=18 |pages=34–51 }}</ref> [[W. D. Hamilton]] popularized the concept later, including the mathematical treatment by [[George R. Price|George Price]] in 1963 and 1964.<ref name=Ham63>{{cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=W. D. |year=1963 |title=The evolution of altruistic behavior |journal=[[American Naturalist]] |volume=97 |issue= 896|pages=354–356 |doi=10.1086/497114 |s2cid=84216415 }}</ref><ref name=Ham64>{{cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=W. D. |year=1964 |title=The Genetical Evolution of Social Behavior |journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1016/0022-5193(64)90038-4 |pmid=5875341|title-link=The Genetical Evolution of Social Behavior |bibcode=1964JThBi...7....1H |s2cid=5310280 }}</ref>

Kin selection predicts that individuals will harbor personal costs in favor of one or multiple individuals because this can maximize their genetic contribution to future generations. For example, an organism may be inclined to expend great time and energy in [[parental investment]] to [[Parenting|rear]] [[offspring]] since this future generation may be better suited for propagating genes that are highly shared between the parent and offspring.<ref name="Davies_SocialBehavior"/> Ultimately, the initial actor performs apparent [[altruistic]] actions for kin to enhance its own reproductive [[Fitness (biology)|fitness]]. In particular, organisms are hypothesized to act in favor of kin depending on their genetic [[Coefficient of relationship|relatedness]].<ref name=Ham63 /><ref name=Ham64 /> So, individuals are inclined to act altruistically for siblings, grandparents, cousins, and other relatives, but to differing degrees.<ref name="Davies_SocialBehavior"/>

====Inclusive fitness====
[[Inclusive fitness]] describes the component of reproductive success in both a focal individual and their relatives.<ref name="Davies_SocialBehavior"/> Importantly, the measure embodies the sum of direct and indirect fitness and the change in their reproductive success based on the actor's behavior.<ref name=West_etal2007b>{{cite journal |last1=West |last2=Griffin |last3=Gardner|first1=S.A. |first2=A.S. |first3=A.|title=Social semantics: altruism, cooperation, mutualism, strong reciprocity and group selection|journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |year=2007b|volume=20|issue=2|pages=415–432|doi=10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01258.x |pmid=17305808|s2cid=1792464 |doi-access=free}}</ref> That is, the effect an individual's behaviors have on: being personally better-suited to reproduce offspring, and aiding descendant and non-descendant relatives in their reproductive efforts.<ref name="Davies_SocialBehavior"/> [[Natural selection]] is predicted to push individuals to behave in ways that maximize their inclusive fitness. Studying inclusive fitness is often done using predictions from Hamilton's rule.