Running with the Red Queen: the role of biotic conflicts in evolution

Brockhurst, Michael A., Chapman, Tracey, King, Kayla C., Mank, Judith E., Paterson, Steve and Hurst, Gregory D. D. (2014) Running with the Red Queen: the role of biotic conflicts in evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281 (1797). ISSN 0962-8452

Preview

PDF (Published manuscript) - Published Version Download (626kB) | Preview

Abstract

What are the causes of natural selection? Over 40 years ago, Van Valen proposed the Red Queen hypothesis, which emphasized the primacy of biotic conflict over abiotic forces in driving selection. Species must continually evolve to survive in the face of their evolving enemies, yet on average their fitness remains unchanged. We define three modes of Red Queen coevolution to unify both fluctuating and directional selection within the Red Queen framework. Empirical evidence from natural interspecific antagonisms provides support for each of these modes of coevolution and suggests that they often operate simultaneously. We argue that understanding the evolutionary forces associated with interspecific interactions requires incorporation of a community framework, in which new interactions occur frequently. During their early phases, these newly established interactions are likely to drive fast evolution of both parties. We further argue that a more complete synthesis of Red Queen forces requires incorporation of the evolutionary conflicts within species that arise from sexual reproduction. Reciprocally, taking the Red Queen's perspective advances our understanding of the evolution of these intraspecific conflicts.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2014 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2015 22:50
Last Modified:	17 May 2023 07:32
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/53724
DOI:	10.1098/rspb.2014.1382

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item