Question

biology

1. You are marooned on a deserted island with a group of people. A boat is available but it can only take three people to safety. The people remaining on the island are doomed to starvation. As the person in charge, you get to choose the people who can board the boat. Would Hamilton’s rule be satisfied if you decide not to take a space yourself but select your half-brother, your first cousin, and your best friend as the three chosen ones? Show your calculations.

Answer 1

According to Hamilton rule rb> C

Where r = genetic relatedness or the percentage of gene shared

b = benefit

C= cost

Given , the relation we have is half brother ( step brother ) , first cousin and best friend .

So according to the question we have the value of r . For half brother r = 0.25 or 25 percent

For first cousin ,r is again 0.125 or 12. 5 percent

But for best friend the value of genetic relatedness is zero .

So for half sibling (0.25) b>c then b/c >4

For first cousin (0.125)b>c .then b/c >8

So Hamilton’s rule can't be satisfied if the person in charge decide not to take a space for himself but select his half-brother, his  first cousin, and his best friend . Because the contribution of self is 100 percent but the contribution of half sibling and first cousin is 0.25 and 0.125 respectively .