
Understanding Evolution - Coevolution
Berkeley, California - United StatesThe term coevolution is used to describe cases where two (or more) species reciprocally affect each other's evolution. So for example, an evolutionary change in the morphology of a plant, might affect the morphology of an herbivore that eats the plant, which in turn might affect the evolution of the plant, which might affect the evolution of the herbivore...and so on.
Coevolution is likely to happen when different species have close ecological interactions with one another. These ecological relationships include:
Predator/prey and parasite/host
Competitive species
Mutualistic species
Plants and insects represent a classic case of coevolution one that is often, but not always, mutualistic. Many plants and their pollinators are so reliant on one another and their relationships are so exclusive that biologists have good reason to think that the "match" between the two is the result of a coevolutionary process.
But we can see exclusive "matches" between plants and insects even when pollination is not involved. Some Central American Acacia species have hollow thorns and pores at the bases of their leaves that secrete nectar (see image at right). These hollow thorns are the exclusive nest-site of some species of ant that drink the nectar. But the ants are not just taking advantage of the plant they also defend their acacia plant against herbivores.
This system is probably the product of coevolution: the plants would not have evolved hollow thorns or nectar pores unless their evolution had been affected by the ants, and the ants would not have evolved herbivore defense behaviors unless their evolution had been affected by the plants.
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Coevolution - Plant - Evolution - Morphology


Describes cases where two (or more) species reciprocally affect each other's evolution.
- Category:
- Evolution
- Coevolution


Collection of essays, interviews, and video clips addressing how organisms effect one another.
- Category:
- Evolution
- Coevolution


Short introduction from the American Museum of Natural History.
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- Systematics and Taxonomy
- Cladistics


Explores human health and the genome. From The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California.
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- Genetics
- Human Genetics


Discusses coevelution, a change in the genetic composition of one species in response to a genetic change in another.
- Category:
- Evolution
- Coevolution


Process by which food is broken down by the body's cells to produce energy in the form of ATP molecules.
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- Cell Biology
- Cellular Respiration


Provides numerous examples coevolution (the mutual evolutionary influence between two species that are totally dependent on each other) between plants and their insect or bird pollinators.
- Category:
- Evolution
- Coevolution