Posted on 12/08/2008 11:48:00 AM PST by Soliton
Many studies of evolution focus on the benefits to the individual of competing successfully – those who survive produce the most offspring, in Darwin's classic 'survival of the fittest'. But how does this translate to the evolution of species?
A new article considers an aspect of the natural world that, like survival of the fittest individual, is explained by natural selection: namely, mutualism -- an interaction between species that has benefits for both. The work shows that some species of butterfly that live alongside one another have evolved in ways that, surprisingly, benefit both species.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
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