Coevolution

Coevolution – the reciprocal evolutionary change due to selective pressures from ecological interactions – is one of the major forces shaping the astounding morphological diversity and patterns of speciation observed in nature. The ecological interactions driving the selective pressures can be positive, where all interacting partners gain fitness benefits, or negative, where at least one of the individuals interacting has a fitness cost. There is a myriad of coevolutionary dynamics that arises due to ecological interactions as red queen dynamics, arms race or escape-and-radiate, exemplifying negative interactions, or complementarity and convergence in positive interactions.