Species must constantly evolve just to keep pace with coevolving enemies such as parasites.
Named after the Red Queen in Through the Looking-Glass: you must run to stay in place. Parasites evolve quickly and track common host genotypes, favouring rare ones, which may explain the advantage of sexual reproduction in generating new genotypes.
Species must constantly evolve just to keep pace with coevolving enemies such as parasites.
Red Queen Hypothesis is one of the 53 topics in Evolution. It is rated Advanced, so it suits learners who want specialist depth. Related topics in this area include Evolution of Sex, Evolutionary Trade-offs, Allopatric Speciation.
New Zealand snails (Potamopyrgus) are more often sexual where parasite levels are high.
Work through the Beginner topics in Evolution first, such as Evolution, Natural Selection, Charles Darwin, then return to Red Queen Hypothesis. Advanced topics assume the Intermediate vocabulary.
The closest topics to Red Queen Hypothesis are Evolution of Sex, Evolutionary Trade-offs, Allopatric Speciation, Charles Darwin. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Red Queen Hypothesis. To practise the whole of Evolution, use the Evolution quiz.
Red Queen Hypothesis: Species must constantly evolve just to keep pace with coevolving enemies such as parasites. Evolution of Sex: Hypotheses explain why sexual reproduction persists despite its costs, including the Red Queen and mutation clearance. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Evolution of Sex and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Evolution quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Hypotheses explain why sexual reproduction persists despite its costs, including the Red Queen and mutation clearance.
🦎 EvolutionImproving one trait often costs another, constraining which adaptations can evolve.
🦎 EvolutionSpeciation after a geographic barrier separates populations, as with Darwin's finches on separate islands.
🦎 EvolutionThe naturalist who proposed natural selection in On the Origin of Species in 1859 after the Beagle voyage.
🦎 Evolution