This is because relatives have a high chance of possessing and sharing a gene and fitness is measured by the number of copies of a gene passed on through generations. There are two ways in which they can increase their fitness; by mating and directly passing on genes to their offspring, or indirectly by helping other individuals, who are likely to carry the same gene, reproduce successfully. This indirect and direct fitness is known as inclusive fitness and allows for altruism to develop natural selection if the behaviours allows for a genetic relative to successfully reproduce more of a gene than the individual performing the …show more content…
Mothers can always be certain of their genetic contribution to their child, while Fathers have to go with the assumption that they are their offspring’s father. It has been suggested that a males’ investment to the offspring is related to the cues of fidelity and resemblance of their child (Cartwright). Apicella and Marlowe conducted a questionnaire for men, asking them about their investment, the resemblance of their child and their assumption on their partners’ faithfulness. They found a correlation on the men who reported greater investment in their child, had a greater perceived resemblance and they perceived the child’s mother to be