Bioeconomic foundations of eusociality

Doklady Bashkirskogo Universiteta. 2021. Volume 6. No. 3. pp. 178-181.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33184/dokbsu-2021.3.6

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Eusociality, in which some individuals reduce their vital reproductive potential in order to raise the offspring of others, underlies the most developed forms of social organization and the ecologically dominant role of social insects and humans. It is known that one of the constant mysteries of biology and social sciences is the origin and constancy of intraspecific cooperation and altruism in living things. The mystery of such selfless behavior is that evolution is based on rather fierce competition among animals, humans, and, therefore, natural selection should only encourage selfish behavior.