[Blueflag]

If a survivable niche exists, a more successful organism will evolve (or emerge) to dominate it.

THAT *IS* a maxim of evolution.

The question becomes, what altered the balance of the prior state? Why now do the vines increasingly dominate?

n.b. — climbing vines need a climbing substrate. Once the vines kill the trees, the next species will dominate the vines. And so on.

[Lurker]

L