Asked by armando
Read the scenario below and answer the question that follows.
Some ant colonies consist of a queen, who performs all reproductive duties for the colony, and worker ants, who perform all the labor that the colony needs to gather food, expand and defend territory, and survive. The worker ants are also able to—but do not—contribute reproductively to the colony. In a colony like this, the worker ants will give their lives to defend the queen.
What is the most likely explanation for the altruistic behavior of the worker ants?
A.
kin selection
B.
social exchange
C.
social responsibility
D.
reciprocity norm
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
A. kin selection
Worker ants help the queen because they share much of her genetic material; by aiding her reproduction they increase the propagation of their own genes (inclusive fitness). Social-exchange or reciprocity explanations apply to reciprocal human interactions, not sterile eusocial insect castes.
Worker ants help the queen because they share much of her genetic material; by aiding her reproduction they increase the propagation of their own genes (inclusive fitness). Social-exchange or reciprocity explanations apply to reciprocal human interactions, not sterile eusocial insect castes.
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