Red Queen hypothesis
Coevolutionary treadmill theory
The Red Queen hypothesis proposes that organisms must constantly evolve just to maintain their relative fitness against co-evolving competitors, predators, and parasites.
Named for the character in Lewis Carroll's *Through the Looking-Glass* who tells Alice, "It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." The concept explains why sexual reproduction persists despite its costs—genetic shuffling helps species stay ahead of rapidly evolving parasites.
It's a Red Queen world: stand still and you fall behind.
Motorized walking platform
- zero-sumBalanced gains and losses
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
- SisypheanEndlessly, pointlessly laborious
- AliceCommon female name
Lewis Carroll · standing still · moving goalposts · rat race
Differential reproductive success
- fitnessGood physical shape
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- selective pressureInfluence favoring certain traits
genotype · survival · reproductive success · genetic variation · extinction · speciation
Ecological consumption relationship
- antagonisticActively opposed or hostile
- arms raceEscalating weapons accumulation between nations
- escalationProgressive increase in intensity
- mutualismTwo-way biological benefit
symbiosis · pathogen · resistance · virulence · interdependence · feedback loop · defense mechanisms
Stable interaction among organisms
- nicheRecessed wall space
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- environmental changeAlteration in natural systems
- extinction riskLikelihood of permanent disappearance
Breeding unrelated same-species individuals
- mate selectionChoosing a romantic partner
- genetic diversityAllelic variation within populations
- meiosisGamete-producing cell division
- crossoverGenre-blending work or transition
treadmill
Motorized walking platform
- zero-sumBalanced gains and losses
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
- SisypheanEndlessly, pointlessly laborious
Alice · Lewis Carroll · standing still · moving goalposts · rat race
natural selection
Differential reproductive success
- fitnessGood physical shape
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
selective pressure · genotype · survival · reproductive success · genetic variation · extinction · speciation
predator-prey
Ecological consumption relationship
- antagonisticActively opposed or hostile
- arms raceEscalating weapons accumulation between nations
- escalationProgressive increase in intensity
mutualism · symbiosis · pathogen · resistance · virulence · interdependence · feedback loop · defense mechanisms
ecosystem balance
Stable interaction among organisms
- nicheRecessed wall space
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- environmental changeAlteration in natural systems
outcrossing
Breeding unrelated same-species individuals
- mate selectionChoosing a romantic partner
- genetic diversityAllelic variation within populations
- meiosisGamete-producing cell division
- evolutionevolution, natural selection, mutation, adaptation, speciation
- coevolutioncoevolution, arms race, cospeciation, predator-prey, mutualism
Red Queen hypothesisconvergent evolution
Independent origin of similar features
redness, hypothesis, queenly, redder, reddest, reddening, hypothetical, hypothesize, Queens