In evolutionary biology, group selection is a theory that alleles can become fixed or spread in a population because of the benefits they bestow on groups. This theory proposes a causal mechanism for traits that cannot be attributed to the agency of natural selection acting on individual alleles or the fitness of individuals within that group.
Group selection was used as a popular explanation for adaptations, especially by V. C. Wynne-Edwards. For several decades, however, critiques, particularly by George C. Williams, John Maynard Smith and C.M. Perrins (1964), cast serious doubt on group selection as a major mechanism of evolution, and though some scientists have pursued the idea over the last few decades, only recently have group selection models seen a resurgence.
Read more about Group Selection: Overview, The Haystack Model and Trait Groups, Multilevel Selection Theory, Group Selection Indicated By Gene-culture Coevolution, Group Selection Due To Differing ESSs, Criticism
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