Predator-prey arms races: asymmetrical selection on predators and prey may be reduced when prey are dangerous

ED Brodie III, ED Brodie Jr - Bioscience, 1999 - academic.oup.com
ED Brodie III, ED Brodie Jr
Bioscience, 1999academic.oup.com
There is an intuitive appeal to viewing natural struggles among species as arms races
between enemies. Consider the sitand-wait predator in his shiny patrol car who sits behind
freeway overpasses waiting to subdue speeding motorists. As drivers became more wary,
law enforcement employed radar guns to identify their quarry. This development was easily
combated with radar detectors, until police discovered X, K, and Ka bands. Radar detectors
were gradually modified to handle each new frequency, but then some jurisdictions passed …
There is an intuitive appeal to viewing natural struggles among species as arms races between enemies. Consider the sitand-wait predator in his shiny patrol car who sits behind freeway overpasses waiting to subdue speeding motorists. As drivers became more wary, law enforcement employed radar guns to identify their quarry. This development was easily combated with radar detectors, until police discovered X, K, and Ka bands. Radar detectors were gradually modified to handle each new frequency, but then some jurisdictions passed laws banning the use of radar detectors and police began using" VG-2 detector hunters" to identify motorists with illegal detectors. Stealth and cloaking options are now available that jam the police detector hunter units. Enter police Lidar detectors, which use laser technology to clock and register speed so quickly that drivers have little time to react and reduce their speed. The latest driver defenses not only detect Lidar, but jam the frequency to provide a few
Oxford University Press