Coevolution of heterogenous traits stabilizes predator–prey dynamics

Abstract Ecological interactions are often mediated by multiple traits with distinct interaction structures, yet most eco-evolutionary models assume homogeneous interactions across traits. I developed a predator–prey model combining matching interactions, where trait similarity promotes successful interactions, and difference interactions, where trait divergence enhances prey defense, to examine how heterogeneous interaction architectures influence ecological stability. Although rapid prey evolution destabilized systems when either interaction evolved alone, simultaneous evolution of both traits frequently stabilized population dynamics more strongly than either trait alone, generating a synergistic stabilizing effect across broad parameter ranges. Unlike homogeneous multi-trait systems, where stabilization emerges through compensation among structurally equivalent traits, stabilization in the hybrid system arose through rapid switching between distinct coevolutionary modes, preventing prolonged dominance of either mismatch-driven escape or escalation dynamics. Despite the underlying asymmetry of the interaction architecture, rapid prey evolution generated more dynamically symmetric switching trajectories, suggesting that emergent dynamical symmetry may represent a more general route to eco-evolutionary stabilization across both homogeneous and heterogeneous interaction systems.