Natural selection at multiple scales

Abstract

Natural selection acts on traits at different scales, often with opposing consequences. This article identifies the particular forces that act at each scale and how those forces combine to determine the overall evolutionary outcome. A series of extended models derive from the tragedy of the commons, illustrating opposing forces at different scales. Examples include the primary tension between conflict and cooperation and the evolution of virulence, sex ratios, dispersal, and evolvability. The unified analysis subsumes interactions within and between species by generalizing multitrait interactions. Expanded notions of recombination and cotransmission arise. The core theoretical approach isolates the fundamental forces of selection, including marginal valuation, correlation between interacting entities, and reproductive value. Those fundamental forces act as partial causes that combine at different temporal and spatial scales. Modeling focuses on statics, in the sense of how different forces at various scales tend to oppose each other, ultimately combining to shape traits. That type of static analysis emphasizes explanation rather than the calculation of dynamics. The article builds on the duality between explanation versus calculation in terms of statics versus dynamics. The literature often poses that duality as a controversy, whereas this article develops the pair as complementary tools that together provide deeper understanding. Along the way, the unified approach clarifies the subtle distinctions between kin selection, multilevel selection, and inclusive fitness, subsuming these topics into the broader perspectives of fundamental forces and multiple scales.