Question

"In a group of meerkats, a male gives a number of alarm calls that in total save the lives of two sisters as well as three offspring of another sibling. But by giving these alarm calls, the male is exposed to risk of attack from predators and eventually is killed by a hawk. As a result of a shortened life, he does not produce three surviving offspring that he otherwise would have had.

This meerkat's behavior was"
a. Selfish
b. Altruistic
c. Neutral
d. Unpredictable

Answer 1

The male meerkat exhibits altruistic behavior by giving alarm calls to save his relatives at the cost of his life, therefore sacrificing his own reproductive potential to increase theirs.

Step-by-step explanation:

The behavior of the male meerkat in question is best described as altruistic. Altruistic behaviors are actions that lower the individual's fitness but increase the fitness of other individuals within the population. In this case, the male meerkat's alarm calls save the lives of two sisters and three other offspring at the cost of its own life. By sacrificing himself, the meerkat increases the survival chances of his relatives, thereby potentially ensuring the continuation of shared genetic material despite the loss of his own reproductive opportunities.