Meanings
- evolutionary theoryA principle of asymmetry in selective pressure between predators and prey.
Dawkins and Krebs (1979) have suggested that, unless predators are rare (Dawkins, 1982), prey should evolve more quickly than their predators due to stronger selection on the prey. This has been termed the “life-dinner” principle […]
1992, Heather Joanne Henter, The ecological genetics of interactions between the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) and the parasitoid Aphidius ervi. PhD dissertation. Cornell University. page 81 more example
The life-dinner principle (unequal selection pressures) ¶ ‘The rabbit runs faster than the fox, because the rabbit is running for his life while the fox is only running for his dinner’ (Dawkins 1979, after Aesop). There is a built in imbalance between predator and prey with respect to the penalty of failure. Mutations that make foxes lose races against rabbits might therefore survive in the fox gene pool longer than mutations that cause rabbits to lose races can expect to survive in the rabbit gene pool.
1979, Richard Dawkins, John Krebs, “Arms races between and within species”, in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, volume 205, page 493
Origin
Coined by British biologists Richard Dawkins and John Krebs in 1979, in reference to one of Aesop's fables (see the quotation below).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
life-dinner principle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/life-dinner%20principle
“life-dinner principle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/life-dinner%20principle. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “life-dinner principle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/life-dinner%20principle.
Source: life-dinner principle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.