Reciprocity and the Trade-Off Between Associate Quality and Relatedness

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The inclusive fitness gains that individuals receive from associating with one another depend on their relatedness and abilities to provide one another with aid which is termed their associate qualities, and the degree to which they provide aid. How these variables trade off to influence choice of social partners is shown. Preferential association between distant kin can be naturally selected when their associate qualities to one another are only slightly greater than that between close kin. Conditions under which such associate quality differences are most likely to arise are described. Results from an empirical investigation of some predictions from this model on female yellow baboons at Mikumi National Park, Tanzania, are summarized.