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Giphy. (n.d.). Meerkat GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY. GIPHY. Retrieved: from https://media.giphy.com/
media/KvK67EaFbq5ry/giphy.gif.
Meerkat. (2018). San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants. San Diego Zoo. Retrieved from: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/index.php/animals/meerkat
Okasha, Samir (3 Jun. 2003.). Biological Altruism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/altruism-biological/
P.J. Darlington Jr. (January 1978). Altruism: Its characteristics and evolution.PubMed Central (PMC). Retrieved from https://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC411253/
[National Geographic]. (2010, August 18). Meerkat Mischief | National Geographic [Video File]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4og8g_X22o

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Personally, I think that this behavior is not simply displayed in meerkats, but also within humans. This social behavior is a very beneficial and necessary part of a surviving species. This is because if everyone fended for themselves and remained selfish, they would not be able to last long. If they were able to, they would never be able to organize and collaborate.

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How is altruistic behavior an adaptation?

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How is altruistic behavior an adaptation?

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Adaptation is the effect of natural selection acting on a species over several generations. Therefore, altruism can be a learned behavior that is passed on through generations. The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that the older generation must teach the younger to learn to watch out for the young. So, after hundreds ,if not thousands, of years with this altruism being passed down, the trait to do so eventually became an adaptation to environment and conditions.

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As defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "In evolutionary biology, an organism is said to behave altruistically when its behaviour benefits other organisms, at a cost to itself" (Biological Altruism, 2018). In human terms, it is the act of putting yourself before others. The characteristics of altruism include:
-possibly reciprocated
-profitable to the altruist and the recipients
- determinable by the environment
(P.J. Darlington Jr., 1978)

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According to the San Diego Zoo, "The guard climbs to the highest rock, termite mound, or bush he or she can find, stands upright on two legs, and then announces the beginning of guard duty with a specialized call. A low, constant peeping, known as the watchman's song, is made when all is well" (San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants, 2018). This is similar to how in a military base, there are scouts and guards constantly on the watch to stay prepared in case of an attack. The meerkat who goes out and keeps watch demonstrates altruistic behavior as he is completing a selfless act to protect the younger and female meerkats.

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A suricata suricatta or a meerkat demonstrates one of the important aspects of adaptive behavior, altruism.

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This is just a small extra video clip that I found interesting on National Geographic. This further emphasizes the altruistic behavior they demonstrate.