Practice question · True or false
Under the Red Queen hypothesis, a prey species that stops evolving new defences will hold its ground as long as the predator does not improve.
Hints
- Is the environment holding still?
- Running to stay in the same place.
Show the answer
False
Why
False. The point of the metaphor is that competitors and parasites keep evolving, so standing still means falling behind, you must run to stay in the same place. It is the leading explanation for why sexual reproduction persists despite its twofold cost.
Practise Predator-Prey Interactions
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