Definition
Reproductive value is defined as the contribution of an individual to the future gene pool of a population. Because reproductive value mediates the fitness costs and benefits of social behavior, it plays a key role in the adaptive value of aggression.
Introduction
Most populations are structured into classes. Classes are features of organisms and their environment that influence the portion of their lifetime reproductive success that is not directly ascribed to the action of genes associated with the trait of interest. In such populations, individuals can transition between different classes over the course of their lifespan, and, while in each class, they generate fitness that contributes to their lifetime reproductive success (Frank 1998). The relative weight of each class on the lifetime reproductive success of an organism is given by its reproductive value, which measures...
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Rodrigues, A.M.M. (2021). Reproductive Value and the Evolution of Aggression. In: Shackelford, T.K., Weekes-Shackelford, V.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_1792
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