Like escape artists, rotifers elude enemies by drying up and -- poof! -- they are gone with the wind

Like escape artists, rotifers elude enemies by drying up and -- poof! -- they are gone with the wind

"These animals are essentially playing an evolutionary game of hide and seek," said Sherman. "They can drift on the wind to colonize parasite-free habitat patches where they reproduce rapidly and depart again before their enemies catch up. This effectively enables them to evade biotic enemies without sex, using mechanisms that no other known animals can duplicate."

No need for sex. They have an adaptation that has worked exceedingly well for 30 million years. The point is genetic perseverance and nature is conservative.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!