Sibling fig wasps fight more than they cooperate. Beth Tyler 05.14.01 Biologists who study the behavior of animals have noticed that related individuals are more likely to help each other than non-related individuals. Because an organism's relatives share some of the same genes, helping out a sibling or parent is partially helping out itself. Scientists call this process of cooperation among relatives 'kin selection'. Recently, however, scientists have found some limitations to kin selection in fig wasps (Blastophaga psenes). A female fig wasp lays her eggs inside a fig fruit and all the brothers and sisters hatch together. The wasps are stuck inside the fig. Because the fig has limited resources and the wasps can't go anywhere, competition results. Rather than help each other out as kin selection would predict, these fig wasps fight and hurt each other. This doesn't mean that the theory of kin selection is wrong, but it does mean that competition for resources is sometimes a stronger force on organisms than cooperation among kin. Hary, Ian C. W., and James M. Cook. 2001. Vicious fig wasps in viscous populations. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16(5): 224. ©2001 The Aurora Collection, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Site Development by: Interactive Multimedia. Inc.