Coevolution

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/coevolution

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the core mechanism?Reciprocal natural selection between interacting species
2. What is the key theoretical framework?Geographic mosaic theory of coevolution
3. How do plants and pollinators help each other grow?Plants give flowers that fit pollinators, and pollinators bring pollen to new flowers, so both become better at doing their jobs.
4. Why do some animals and plants have matching shapes?When a plant's flower shape matches a pollinator's body, it makes it easier for the pollinator to collect pollen, and the plant gets its pollen spread—this special fit is a result of coevolution.

Reciprocal Selective Pressure: When the evolutionary changes in one species directly cause evolutionary changes in another species, and vice versa.
Evolutionary Arms Race: A continuous cycle of adaptation and counter-adaptation between interacting species, often antagonistic.
Diffuse Coevolution: Coevolutionary processes involving multiple species interacting within a community or guild.