This paper provides experimental evidence that the evolutionary processes that cause the 'bursts' of adaptive evolution are interfered with by predators. In reducing prey populations, predators slow the rate to which prey species diverge into new forms, stifling diversification. Deserted islands and the times of mass extinctions are circumstances where predators are rare; suggesting that their absence is why the bursts occur.
- Justin R. Meyer
- Rees Kassen
