the evolution of complementary adaptations in two or more species of organisms because of a special relationship that exists between them, as in insect-pollinated plants and their insect pollinators
coevolution in American English
(ˌkouevəˈluːʃən, esp Brit -ivə-)
noun
evolution involving a series of reciprocal changes in two or more noninterbreeding populations that have a close ecological relationship and act as agents of natural selection for each other, as the succession of adaptations of a predator for pursuing and of its prey for fleeing or evading
Derived forms
coevolutionary
adjective
Word origin
[1960–65; co- + evolution]This word is first recorded in the period 1960–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: deinstitutionalize, go-go, power play, proxemics, zip codeco- is a prefix meaning “with,” “together,” “in association,” sometimes with the derivedsense “auxiliary, subsidiary” (coenzyme; copilot), and, in mathematics and astronomy, with the sense “complement” (codeclination)
Examples of 'coevolution' in a sentence
coevolution
This phenomenon is known as 'gene-culture coevolution' or 'niche construction'.