Praxis II Biology

Answer: B, The practice of female workers assisting the mother in producing new offspring is best described as kin selection.

Key Takeaway: Kin selection refers to changes in gene frequency across generations that are driven in part by social interactions between individuals. Some organisms tend to exhibit behavior that works to help other members of the population, even to the survival and reproductive detriment of themselves. This principle works in direct contrast to natural selection. Examples of this type of behavior include alarm calling in squirrels, sterile worker castes in honey bees, and helpers at the nest in scrub jays.