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. 1983 May;80(10):2985–2989. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.10.2985

When does the good of the group override the advantage of the individual?

Egbert Giles Leigh Jr 1,*
PMCID: PMC393958  PMID: 16593312

Abstract

In a system of N populations of n reproductive individuals apiece, in which each population has constant variance v2 and lasts L generations, group selection on a quantitative character has a reasonable chance of overriding selection within populations if (and only if) the populations never exchange migrants, each population is founded by colonists from a single parent population, and the number of populations exceeds the effective number of reproductive individuals per population. If each population derives from a single parent population, then the exchange of a single successful migrant per population per L generations can triple the strength of group selection required to overcome a given selection within populations. If populations exchange no migrants, then the derivation of one in every N populations from two equally represented parents (while the others all derive from a single parent) doubles the strength of group selection required to prevail. Group selection is accordingly likely to be effective only in certain categories of parasites.

Keywords: population genetics, quantitative inheritance, group selection, mutualism, species selection

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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