R. A. Fisher and Social Insects: The Fisher-Darwin Model of the Evolution of Eusociality

Fisher recognized that the evolution of social insect colonies needed explaining, a point which Charles Darwin had avoided discussing in detail. Fisher, in his 1930 book The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection , outlined in detail how eusociality could evolve, and developed a verbal model by conne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological theory 2014-09, Vol.9 (3), p.347-356
Main Author: Owen, Robin E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive Psychology
Education
Evolutionary Biology
Historical Essay
Philosophy
Philosophy of Biology
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Summary:Fisher recognized that the evolution of social insect colonies needed explaining, a point which Charles Darwin had avoided discussing in detail. Fisher, in his 1930 book The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection , outlined in detail how eusociality could evolve, and developed a verbal model by connecting selection on fecundity with the sterility of workers. Fisher saw social insect colonies as harmonious units, in contrast to human societies that exhibit intra-communal conflict. Fisher’s development of the model was strongly influenced by his correspondence with Leonard Darwin, and so I call it the Fisher-Darwin model. However, Fisher was not influenced by Lamarckian views on the evolution of social insects that were common at that time. The Fisher-Darwin model presages almost exactly the mathematical model recently proposed by Nowak and colleagues.
ISSN:1555-5542
1555-5550
DOI:10.1007/s13752-014-0168-9