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The process over which predator and prey exhibit physical and behavioral changes in response to selection pressures from one another is .

Question

The process over which predator and prey exhibit physical and behavioral changes in response to selection pressures from one another is .

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Solution

The process over which predator and prey exhibit physical and behavioral changes in response to selection pressures from one another is known as coevolution.

Here are the steps that explain this process:

  1. Initial Interaction: The process begins when a predator and its prey start interacting. The predator needs to eat the prey to survive, and the prey needs to avoid being eaten to survive.

  2. Selection Pressure: This interaction creates a selection pressure on both species. The predator is under pressure to become better at catching the prey, and the prey is under pressure to become better at avoiding the predator.

  3. Adaptation: In response to this selection pressure, individuals in both species that have traits that give them an advantage in this interaction are more likely to survive and reproduce. Over time, these advantageous traits become more common in the population.

  4. Counter Adaptation: However, as one species becomes better at its role, this increases the selection pressure on the other species to catch up. This leads to a cycle of adaptation and counter-adaptation that can result in significant physical and behavioral changes in both species.

  5. Resulting Coevolution: This ongoing cycle of reciprocal adaptation is known as coevolution. It can lead to a close match between the traits of the predator and the defenses of the prey.

This process of coevolution can lead to a variety of outcomes, including an arms race where predator and prey continually evolve to outdo each other, or to a stable situation where both predator and prey are perfectly adapted to each other.

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