More Than Kin and Less Than Kind – The Evolution of Family Conflict - Hardcover

Mock, Douglas W

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674012852 ISBN 13: 9780674012851

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2004

Synopsis

Sibling rivalry and intergenerational conflict are not limited to human beings. Among seals and piglets, storks and burying beetles, in bird nests and beehives, from apples to humans, family conflicts can be deadly serious, determining who will survive and who will perish. When offspring compete for scarce resources, sibling rivalry kicks in automatically. Parents sometimes play favourites or even kill their young. In More Than Kin and Less Than Kind, Douglas Mock tells us what scientists have discovered about this disturbing side of family dynamics in the natural world. Natural selection operates primarily for the benefit of individuals (and their genes). Thus a family member may profit directly, by producing its own offspring, or indirectly, by helping close kin to reproduce. Much of the biology of family behaviour rests on a simple mathematical relationship called Hamilton's rule, which links the benefits and costs of seemingly altruistic or selfish behaviour to the degree of relatedness between individuals. Blending natural history and theoretical biology, Mock shows how Hamilton's rule illuminates the study of family strife by throwing a spotlight on the two powerful forces - cooperation and competition - that shape all interaction in the family arena. In More Than Kin and Less Than Kind, he offers a rare perspective on the family as testing ground for the evolutionary limits of selfishness. When budgets are tight, close kin are often deadly rivals.

About this title

Review

'Mock's monograph demonstrates triumphantly that field studies are still a vibrant part of evolutionary biology.' -- Times Higher Education Supplement, April 22, 2005

About the Author

Douglas W. Mock is Professor in the Department of Zoology at University of Oklahoma. He is the co-author of The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674012852
• ISBN 13: 9780674012851
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352