Ho Huu Tho
Senior Member
#2.9
“Arms Races”
Individuals and species must “track” their environments in ecological and evolutionary time, adapting and evolving as their environments change. Natural selection acting on natural enemies (prey, parasites, and predators) will always result in a deterioration of an organism’s biotic environment, diminishing fitness. Every prey-predator or host-parasite interaction constitutes an escalating “arms race,” in which moves alternate with countermoves.
“Arms Races”
Individuals and species must “track” their environments in ecological and evolutionary time, adapting and evolving as their environments change. Natural selection acting on natural enemies (prey, parasites, and predators) will always result in a deterioration of an organism’s biotic environment, diminishing fitness. Every prey-predator or host-parasite interaction constitutes an escalating “arms race,” in which moves alternate with countermoves.