Don’t ask “when is it coevolution?” — ask “how?”

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Authors

Jeremy B. Yoder 

Abstract

Coevolution is widely defined as specific, simultaneous, reciprocal adaptation by pairs of interacting species. This strict-sense definition arose from a desire for conceptual clarity, but it has never reflected the much wider diversity of ways in which interacting species may shape each other's evolution. As a result, much of the literature on the evolutionary consequences of species interactions pays homage to the strict-sense definition while addressing some other form of coevolution. This tension suggests we should re-frame the key question in coevolution research from ''when is it coevolution?'' to, rather, ''how is it coevolution?''. This re-framing shifts our focus from identifying case studies for a single, narrowly defined process to describing the many ways — specific and diffuse, simultaneous and stepwise, adaptive and non-adaptive — in which species evolve together.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32942/X2S917

Subjects

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences

Keywords

coevolution, Species Interactions, escape-and-radiate, ecological opportunity

Dates

Published: 2024-12-09 00:15

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License

CC-BY Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Additional Metadata

Language:
English

Conflict of interest statement:
None

Data and Code Availability Statement:
Not applicable