Darwin and the Coevolving Entangled Bank

 
John N Thompson

University of California, Santa Cruz, USA 

Darwin introduced the concept of coevolution in the first edition of the Origin of Species, using a hypothetical example of how natural selection might shape the traits of interacting species. In the decades following publication of the Origin, studies in coevolution were among the greatest tests of the theory of natural selection. Much of that research, however, came to a halt early in the twentieth century as evolutionary biologists began to focus on the genetic mechanisms of evolutionary change and ecologists began to focus on the proximate factors driving population dynamics, the physiological tolerances of organisms, and the organization of communities. As ecology and evolutionary biology have reunited in recent decades, we are learning that coevolution is a pervasive ecological and evolutionary process. It links not only pairs of species but also networks of species, creating complex “entangled banks”. The coevolutionary process also generates ever-changing geographic mosaics in how species interact with one another. Collectively, these studies are suggesting that coevolution may be one of the major processes driving the diversification of life.

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