Which is NOT a likely explanation for apparent altruism between different species?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The prompt asks to identify which statement is NOT a likely explanation for apparent altruism between different species, and it provides a specific candidate as the answer.
However, the problem as given includes no list of answer choices beyond the single stated option, so there is no complete set of alternatives to analyze against. This makes a thorough option-by-option comparison incomplete.
Nonetheless, I can discuss the context and why the provided statement is plausible as a NOT-explanation, while also outlining what kinds of explanations are typically considered plausible for cross-species altruism.
First, consider what would count as an explanation for apparent altruism between species. Often, explanations include:
- Mutualism: both species benefit from the interaction, so what looks like altruism serves a cooperative purpose.
- Reciprocal altruism (inter-species): one species benefits another now with the expectation of future reciprocal benefits, even across species boundaries.
- By-product or incidental benefit: the altruistic behavior may have arisen as a side effect of a different adaptive trait that benefits the actor more directly.
- Misreading or misattribution: the recipient benefits in ways that the actor did not intend or anticipate, leading to apparent altruism without a shared cooperative intent.
- Population-level or by-stander effects: behaviors that help others inadvertently increase the actor’s own fitness because of ecological or social dynamics.
Now, focusing on the provided option: 'The altruist is actually competing for resources in the interaction.'
This statement posits that the behavior labeled as altruism is instead a strategic competition for resources. In standard interpretations, true altruism is characterized by costs to the actor and benefits to the recipient, with no immediate payoff to the actor. If the interaction is primarily about competition for resources, we would expect the behavior to be driven by self-interest aimed at securing resources, rather than by any benefit conferred to the other party.
So, why might this be NOT a likely explanation for apparent altruism between species? Because competition for resources is generally associated with self-serving, resource-maximizing behavior, not with acts that appear to help another species at a cost to oneself. Unless the competing interaction yields an indirect future payoff or a broader ecological benefit, labeling resource competition as altruism is conceptually inconsistent.
On the other hand, there are caveats. In some contexts, what looks like altruism could be a misinterpretation of resource-mediated strategies that also incidentally help others, or a wider ecological payoff where competing interests nonetheless produce net benefits to both parties under certain conditions.
In summary, the statement asserting that the altruistic-looking behavior is actually competition for resources challenges the idea of altruism itself. If the behavior truly reduces the actor’s own fitness without any compensating gain, it would not fit standard explanations for apparent altruism, making it a plausible NOT-explanation. Yet without the full set of answer choices, we cannot systematically evaluate each alternative against the criterion of ‘not likely.’

BIOL 1001 (090-095) Unit 2.3 Learning Quiz - evolution of cooperation

Which is NOT a likely explanation for apparent altruism between different species?

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