The Red Queen Hypothesis: Adaptation in Competitive Environments
A model of evolution suggesting constant adaptation to maintain the status quo due to the continuously evolving competitive environment
The Red Queen Hypothesis, named after the Red Queen from 'Through the Looking-Glass', suggests that organisms must continually adapt and evolve in order to simply survive owing to the constant evolution of the other organisms and environmental conditions around them. The hypothesis is used to explain two phenomena: the advantage of sexual reproduction at the level of individuals and the constant evolutionary arms race between competing species. A classic example of this is the predator-prey dynamics, where both are constantly adapting to outsmart the other.
'Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.' - Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There
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