inclusive fitness

American  

noun

Biology.

1. the fitness of an individual organism as measured in terms of the survival and reproductive success of its kin, each relative being valued according to the probability of shared genetic information, an offspring or sibling having a value of 50 percent and a cousin 25 percent.

---

Example Sentences

The lowering of individual fitness to enhance the reproductive fitness of a relative and thus one’s inclusive fitness evolves through kin selection.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Richard Dawkins, a leading exponent of inclusive fitness, ruthlessly attacked Dr. Wilson in a review of “The Social Conquest of Earth,” which he said was full of “downright perverse misunderstandings.”

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2021

In this, Wilson is very much in the minority; Richard Dawkins has called his criticisms of inclusive fitness “downright perverse.”

From The New Yorker • Sep. 10, 2018

A school of thought known as inclusive fitness theory—or kin selection—sits at the center of the conflict.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2014

In the final analysis, multilevel selection is little more than a rebranding of Hamilton’s inclusive fitness.

From Scientific American • Jul. 9, 2012