Coevolution

Natural systems subject to coevolutionary interaction may become enmeshed in the Red Queen dilemma of Alice in Wonderland, in that they must undergo constant evolutionary change in order to avoid extirpation (Van Valen, 1973). They must constantly run just to stay in the same place. An example would be a competitive arms race between predator and prey. Each evolutionary advance in predation must be met with a coevolutionary adaptation which allows the prey to avoid the more efficient predator. Otherwise the system cannot persist, since a highly specialized predator can literally eat itself to extinction. Similarly, each prey defense must be matched by predator adaptation.