Many theoretical models have been formulated to better understand the coevolutionary patterns that emerge from antagonistic interactions. These models usually assume that the attacks by the exploiters are random, so the effect of victim selection by exploiters on coevolutionary patterns remains unexplored. Here we analytically studied the payoff for predators and prey under coevolution assuming that every individual predator can attack only a small number of prey any given time, considering two scenarios: (i) predation occurs at random; (ii) predators select prey according to phenotype matching. We also develop an individual based model to verify the robustness of our analytical prediction. We show that both scenarios result in well known similar coevolutionary patterns if population sizes are sufficiently high: symmetrical coevolutionary branching and symmetrical coevolutionary cycling (Red Queen dynamics). However, for small population sizes, prey selection can cause unexpected coevolutionary patterns. One is the breaking of symmetry of the coevolutionary pattern, where the phenotypes evolve towards one of two evolutionarily stable patterns. As population size increases, the phenotypes oscillate between these two values in a novel form of Red Queen dynamics, the episodic reversal between the two stable patterns. Thus, prey selection causes prey phenotypes to evolve towards more extreme values, which reduces the fitness of both predators and prey, increasing the likelihood of extinction.

已经制定了许多理论模型，以更好地理解对抗性相互作用中出现的协同进化模式。这些模型通常假设利用者的攻击是随机的，因此利用者选择受害者对共进化模式的影响仍未得到探索。在这里，我们分析了共同进化下的捕食者和被捕食者的收益，假设每个捕食者在给定的时间内只能攻击少量猎物，其中考虑了两种情况：（i）捕食是随机发生的；（ii）捕食者根据表型匹配选择猎物。我们还开发了一个基于个人的模型来验证我们的分析预测的鲁棒性。我们证明，如果人口规模足够高，两种情况都将导致众所周知的相似的协同进化模式：对称的协同进化分支和对称的协同进化循环（Red Queen动力学）。但是，对于较小的种群，猎物的选择会导致意外的协同进化模式。一种是打破共同进化模式的对称性，其中表型朝着两个进化稳定模式之一发展。随着种群数量的增加，表型在两种新值之间以新形式的红色皇后动力学振荡，这是两个稳定模式之间的周期性颠倒。因此，猎物的选择导致猎物表型向更极端的值发展，这降低了捕食者和猎物的适应度，增加了灭绝的可能性。一种是打破共同进化模式的对称性，其中表型朝着两个进化稳定模式之一发展。随着种群数量的增加，表型在两种新值之间以新形式的红色皇后动力学振荡，这是两个稳定模式之间的周期性颠倒。因此，猎物的选择导致猎物表型向更极端的值发展，这降低了捕食者和猎物的适应度，增加了灭绝的可能性。一种是打破共同进化模式的对称性，其中表型朝着两个进化稳定模式之一发展。随着种群数量的增加，表型在两种新值之间以新形式的红色皇后动力学振荡，这是两个稳定模式之间的周期性颠倒。因此，猎物的选择导致猎物表型向更极端的值发展，这降低了捕食者和猎物的适应度，增加了灭绝的可能性。