Final answer:
The Hamilton's rule of altruism states that indirect fitness needs to be greater than direct fitness for altruism to occur. This means that an organism is more likely to engage in altruistic behavior if it can enhance the reproductive success of its close relatives, even at the expense of its own reproductive success.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Hamilton's rule of altruism states that indirect fitness needs to be greater than direct fitness for altruistic behavior to occur. This means that an organism is more likely to engage in altruistic behavior if it can enhance the reproductive success of its close relatives, even at the expense of its own reproductive success. In other words, the benefits gained by helping a relative reproduce outweigh the costs to the individual.
For example, in social insects like bees, the non-reproductive workers sacrifice their own reproduction to support the survival and reproduction of the queen, who shares a large portion of their genes. By doing so, the workers indirectly pass on their genes through the offspring of the queen, increasing their inclusive fitness.