Inclusive fitness

Inclusive fitness is like sharing your toys with your friends so they are happy and healthy.

Let's say you have a toy and your friend wants to play with it. You share it with them so they are happy and feel included. This helps your relationship with them and makes them more likely to share their toys with you in the future.

Now imagine that instead of toys, we are talking about passing on genes to the next generation. Inclusive fitness is the idea that organisms can increase their own genetic success not only by producing their own offspring, but also by helping relatives to produce offspring.

For example, if you help your sister take care of her children, you are increasing the likelihood that your shared genes will be passed on to the next generation. Even though you are not directly producing your own offspring, you are still helping your genetic lineage.

Similarly, animals in a herd or pack might cooperate with each other to provide protection, food, or other resources. By doing so, they help each other's offspring survive and increase their shared genetic success.

Inclusive fitness is important because it helps explain why some organisms exhibit actions that may seem selfless or altruistic. By helping others who share your genes, you are also helping yourself in the long run.