concept

Coevolution

The process by which two species act as selective forces on each other, each adaptation on one side driving a counter on the other across deep time. In the predator-prey arms race, faster prey select for faster hunters, which select for faster prey still; toxic prey select for toxin-resistant predators, which select for more toxic prey. The cheetah and the gazelle ran each other into the fastest legs on the plain. On Pandora the same race shows in the viperwolf's pack tactics answered by the hexapede's senses and fan. Neither side ever wins - the race itself is the equilibrium.