Evolutionary Arms Race Article Index for
Evolutionary
Shopping
Evolutionary
Website Links For
Evolutionary
 

Information About

Evolutionary Arms Race




Arms races may be classified as either symmetrical (e.g. trees growing taller as a result of competition for light) or asymmetrical (such as the case of predation or parasitism).Dawkins, R. 1996. '' The Blind Watchmaker '' New York: W. W. Norton, p. 230-236.

Co-evolution itself is not necessarily an arms race; for example Mutualism , may drive co-operative adaptations in a pair of species. When one species has not been subject to an arms race previously however, such as the Introduction Of A New Species to a foreign habitat, one may be at a severe disadvantage and face Extinction well before it could ever hope to adapt to a new predator, competitor etc. This should not seem surprising, one species may have been in evolutionary struggles for millions of years while the other might never have faced such pressures in its history.


REFERENCES


General
  • Dawkins, R. & Krebs, J.R. (1979). Arms races between and within species. ''Proceedings of the Royal society of London'', B 205:489-511.

  • Vermeij, G. J. (1987). ''Evolution and escalation: An ecological history of life''. Princeton University Press.