Science·Animals of the World·conceptual
The Red Queen Hypothesis
Introduce the Red Queen hypothesis — species must keep evolving just to maintain fitness relative to co-evolving partners; describe predator-prey arms races (cheetah speed vs gazelle speed, bat echolocation vs moth hearing jamming) and parasite-host co-evolution (myxomatosis in rabbits); explain Darwin's hawk moth and orchid as a classic example of mutualistic co-evolution predicting an unknown species; understand that co-evolution is a major driver of biological diversification
Suggested ages 11–12
Evidence of understanding
No evidence statements are recorded.
Assessment prompt
Can The Red Queen Hypothesis explain the idea of an evolutionary arms race — how a predator and its prey keep evolving better attack and defence strategies in response to each other, never quite getting ahead?
Standards alignment
No external standards are linked to this topic.