Sociobiology

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/sociobiology

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the interdisciplinary connections?Integrates zoology, anthropology, psychology, genetics, and ethology
2. What is the scientific controversy?Sparked debate regarding the role of genes versus environment in human behavior
3. How do animals help each other?Animals cooperate, share tasks, and sometimes sacrifice themselves for family or friends, which helps their genes spread.
4. Why do some animals act like heroes?Heroic actions can help them survive or aid relatives, giving their shared genes a better chance to pass on.

Inclusive Fitness: The sum of an individual's own reproductive success plus that of its close relatives, weighted by genetic relatedness.
Reciprocal Altruism: Cooperative behavior among unrelated individuals, based on the expectation of future mutual benefit.
Natural Selection: The differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype, leading to the evolution of adaptive traits.
Kin Selection: A type of natural selection in which an animal's or plant's own reproductive success is increased by helping close relatives who share genes.