What is required to scientifically identify the process of coevolution?
Answer
Demonstrating reciprocal selective pressure where A influences B and B influences A.
To confirm coevolution, researchers must prove that the selective agent influences the evolution of the selected species, and that the resulting evolutionary changes in the selected species impose a new selection pressure back onto the original agent.
Related Questions
What precisely defines coevolution?Who is credited with formally recognizing and naming the concept of coevolution?What is required to scientifically identify the process of coevolution?What are the two broad categories into which coevolutionary interactions generally fall?Which type of interaction involves one participant gaining a fitness advantage at the expense of the other?What defines a mutualistic relationship in the context of coevolution?What concept describes the most dramatic escalation seen in antagonistic coevolution?What real-world example illustrates an escalating evolutionary arms race involving toxins?What textbook case demonstrates profound specialization resulting from mutualistic coevolution involving reproduction?What inherent vulnerability does high specialization introduce into an ecosystem?What is the primary scientific technique used to identify a signal of coevolution across different locales?