Final answer:
Inclusive fitness refers to an individual's total impact on the gene pool, including genes passed on directly and indirectly through relatives. This concept is exemplified by kin selection, a form of natural selection that favours behaviours that help relatives pass on shared genes.
Step-by-step explanation:
A measure of the reproductive fitness of genetic relatives resulting from the actions of an individual is called inclusive fitness. This term encompasses both direct fitness, which involves the genes an individual directly passes to its offspring, and indirect fitness, which is derived from helping relatives pass on their genes. These relatives typically share common genes with the individual, and by assisting them, the individual indirectly ensures that shared genes proliferate.
In the realm of natural selection, this behavior often surfaces through what scientists call kin selection. This is a strategy that favours the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Social insects like bees and ants display this, where sterile workers support the fertile queen. Although they may not reproduce themselves, they are ensuring that their genes persist in future generations by supporting a closely related queen who shares their genes.