Cooperation: Kin Selection
Explaining
cooperation remains one
of the greatest problems for evolutionary biology. The problem is
why should an individual carry out an altruistic behaviour that helps
others at a cost to itself. A possible explanation is that individuals
are helping relatives, and so helping to pass on its genes indirectly.
We are investigating the importance of kin selection in a range of
organisms from bacteria to mammals.
Our main findings include showing that:
- Kin selection can help explain
the production of iron scavenging molecules (siderophores) in bacteria.
The production of siderophores is a relatively cooperative trait,
which is metabolically costly to the individual to produce, but provide
a local (group) benefit. We have investigated this theoretically (West
& Buckling 2003 Proc. Roy. Soc.)
and experimentally (Griffin et al 2004 Nature; Ross-Gillespie et al 2007 Am
Nat).
- The importance of kin selection can
be reduced and even totally negated by (local) competition between
relatives (West et al. 2002 Science).
We have shown this with comparative studies on fighting in fig wasps
(West et al. 2001 Nature;
photo above left shows a fighting male of Sycoscaptor autsralis,
kindly provided by James Cook) and experimental studies on bacteria
(Griffin et al. 2004 Nature; Kümmerli
et al. 2009 Evolution).
- Kin selection plays a role in explaining
cooperative breeding in vertebrates, but its importance varies across
species, as predicted by Hamilton's rule. Specifically, individuals are more likely to
preferentially help kin when the benefits of helping are larger
(Griffin & West 2003 Science).
Greater benefits
of helping also lead to individuals being more likley to adjust their
offspring sex ratio, preferentially producing the helping sex (Griffin
et al. 2005 Am Nat).
The bacteria experiments and vertebrate comparative
studies are led by Ashleigh
Griffin.
The bacteria work involves collaboration with Angus Buckling
(Oxford, UK), and the fig wasp work with James Cook
(Imperial College at Silwood Park) & Allen
Herre (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute).
Related Publications
- Kümmerli, R., Gardner, A., West, S.A. & Griffin, A.S.
(2009) Limited dispersal,
budding dispersal, and cooperation: an experimental study. Evolution 63, 939-949.
- Ross-Gillespie, A., Gardner, A., West, S.A. &
Griffin, A.S. (2007) Frequency
dependence and cooperation: theory and a test with bacteria. American
Naturalist, 170, 331-342.
- Lehmann, L., Keller, L., West, S.A. & Roze, D. (2007) Group selection and kin selection. Two
concepts but one process. Proceedings of the National Academy
of Science, USA, 104, 6736-6739.
- West, S.A., Griffin, A.S. & Gardner, A. (2007) Social semantics: altruism, cooperation,
mutualism, strong reciprocity and group selection. Journal of
Evolutionary Biology 20, 415-432.
- Gardner, A. & West, S.A. (2006) Demography, altruism, and the benefits
of budding. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19, 1707-1716.
- West, S.A., Gardner, A., & Griffin, A.S. (2006) Altruism. Current Biology
16, R482-R483.
- West, S.A., Griffin, A.S., Gardner, A. & Diggle, S.P. (2006) Social evolution theory for microbes.
Nature Reviews Microbiology 4, 597-607.
- Griffin, A.S., Sheldon, B.C. & West, S.A. (2005) Cooperative
breeders adjust offspring sex ratios to produce helpful helpers. American
Naturalist 166, 628-632. {PDF}
- Griffin, A.S., West, S.A. & Buckling, A. (2004) Cooperation
and competition in pathogenic bacteria. Nature, 430, 1024-1027.
{PDF} {Nature News & Views} {Science perspective} {Media}
- Griffin, A.S. & West, S.A. (2003) Kin discrimination and the
benefit of helping in cooperatively breeding vertebrates. Science,
302, 634-636. {PDF} {Media}
- West, S.A. & Buckling, A. (2003) Cooperation, virulence and
siderophore production in bacterial parasites. Proceedings of the
Royal Society London Series B 270, 37-44. {PDF}
- Griffin, A.S. & West, S.A. (2002) Kin selection: fact and
fiction. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 17, 15-21. {PDF}
- West, S.A., Pen, I. Griffin, A.S. (2002) Cooperation and
competition between relatives. Science, 296, 72-75. {PDF} {Supplementary Information}
- West, S.A., Kiers, E.T., Simms, E.L. & Denison, R.F. (2002)
Sanctions and mutualism stability: why do rhizobia
fix Nitrogen? Proceedings of the Royal Society London Series B,
269, 685-694. {PDF}
- West, S.A., Murray, M.G, Machado, C., Griffin, A.S. & Herre,
E.A. (2001) Testing Hamilton’s rule with competition between relatives.
Nature, 409, 510-513. {PDF}
{PDF of TREE commentary} {Media}
BACK TO SOCIAL
EVOLUTION PAGE BACK TO WEST
GROUP HOME PAGE