coevolution

[ koh-ev-uh-loo-shuhnor, especially British, -ee-vuh- ]

noun

1. evolution involving a series of reciprocal changes in two or more noninterbreeding populations that have a close ecological relationship and act as agents of natural selection for each other, as the succession of adaptations of a predator for pursuing and of its prey for fleeing or evading.

coevolution

/ kəʊˌiːvəˈluːʃən /

noun

1. the evolution of complementary adaptations in two or more species of organisms because of a special relationship that exists between them, as in insect-pollinated plants and their insect pollinators

coevolution

/ kō′ĕv-ə-lo̅o̅′shən /

1. The evolution of two or more species that interact closely with one another, with each species adapting to changes in the other. The mutually beneficial development of flowering plants and insects such as bees and butterflies that pollinate them is an example of coevolution, as is the mutually antagonistic development of prey and predator species in which defensive adaptations in the one are matched by counteradaptations in the other aimed at neutralizing or overcoming them.

coevolution

1. The process that occurs when two species influence each other during evolution . For example, an insect may evolve specialized parts that allow it to feed on a specific flower, whereas the flower evolves to facilitate pollination by that particular insect.

Other Words From

• coev·o·lution·ar·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coevolution¹

First recorded in 1960–65; co- + evolution

Example Sentences

Dr Shumon T. Hussain from the University of Cologne and Dr Chris Baumann from the University of Tübingen come to this conclusion in their recent article 'The human side of biodiversity: coevolution of the human niche, paleo-synanthropy and ecosystem complexity in the deep human past' published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

From Science Daily

Their findings are published in a coauthored paper, "Intergenomic signatures of coevolution between Tasmanian devils and an infectious cancer," in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

From Science Daily

According to research published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, this introduced predator is “stealing” the defensive chemical from an invasive insect species—even though the two creatures have no history of coevolution.

From Science Magazine

Now, new research has shown that C. montrouzieri larvae “steal” their carminic acid from an invasive bug that came to Spain from the Americas—even though the two creatures have no history of coevolution.

From Science Magazine

How will such a predator-prey coevolution pan out?

From National Geographic