Asked by fernanda
What drives coevolution between parasites and hosts?
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Seasonal changes
Migration
Defense and attack adaptations
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Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Defense and attack adaptations.
Coevolution between parasites and hosts is driven by reciprocal selection: hosts evolve defenses (immune responses, resistance traits) and parasites evolve counter‑adaptations (immune evasion, increased infectivity or virulence). This ongoing arms race (Red Queen dynamics, frequency‑dependent selection) produces matched evolutionary changes in both. Seasonal changes or migration can influence the strength or pattern of selection (timing, gene flow, population mixing) but are not the primary cause of host–parasite coevolution.
Coevolution between parasites and hosts is driven by reciprocal selection: hosts evolve defenses (immune responses, resistance traits) and parasites evolve counter‑adaptations (immune evasion, increased infectivity or virulence). This ongoing arms race (Red Queen dynamics, frequency‑dependent selection) produces matched evolutionary changes in both. Seasonal changes or migration can influence the strength or pattern of selection (timing, gene flow, population mixing) but are not the primary cause of host–parasite coevolution.
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