Mutualism often involves the co-evolution of mutualists. Describe taking the example of an animal-plant (wasp-fig) relationship.
Plants need the help of animals for pollination of their flowers & dispersing their seeds.Animals must certainly be compensated for the services they provide to plants. Plants offer rewards or fees in the form of seed dispersers “plant-animal interactions often involve co-evolution of the mutualists, that is, the evolution of the flower & its pollinator species can be pollinated only by its partner wasp species & no other species. The female wasp not only uses the fruit as an oviposition site, but it also uses a growing seed within the fruit to feed her larvae. While looking for suitable egg-laying locations, the wasp pollinates the fig inflorescence. The fig feeds the wasp some of its growing seeds as nourishment for the developing wasp larvae in exchange for pollination services.
