Biological weapons evolve through the same replication mechanism as their bearers

Evidence

The most important difference is that success of a cultural trait is not linked to the reproductive success of people who use it. When elk antlers evolve, they do so because some individuals produce more offspring than others. Antlers are copied through reproduction, and winners in the battle for breeding make more copies of their antler type than losers do. Antlers evolve as the elk evolve—the processes are inextricably linked, since the mechanism of replication of the weapons is the same as the mechanism of replication of the elk. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 500

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies why an antler is a true biological trait: its replication mechanism is the bearer’s own reproduction.
• XREF: connects to: Identical triggers drive extreme weapon evolution across wildly unrelated clades — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 277; Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 136; Economic logic explains weapon evolution across virtually all animal species — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 198

Related

• Identical triggers drive extreme weapon evolution across wildly unrelated clades (similarity 0.86)
• The same three ingredients trigger weapon evolution across wildly divergent animal clades (similarity 0.86)
• Weapon evolution is judged by competition among designs, not human survival (similarity 0.85)
• Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons (similarity 0.85)
• Extreme weapons evolved independently across roughly three thousand species (similarity 0.85)
• The evolutionary drivers of animal weapons also explain human weapon elaboration. (similarity 0.83)
• Economic logic explains weapon evolution across virtually all animal species (similarity 0.82)
• Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs (similarity 0.81)
• Reproductive success, not survival, drives the largest animal weapons (similarity 0.81)
• Comparisons of animal and human weapons have a long scholarly tradition. (similarity 0.81)
• Specific ecological circumstances must align before weapon arms races begin (similarity 0.81)
• Costly weaponry can drive a species extinct when resources degrade. (similarity 0.80)
• Human and animal arms races follow parallel evolutionary dynamics (similarity 0.80)
• Predator diversity is best explained by weapon adaptation to habitat and prey (similarity 0.80)
• Identical circumstances trigger and collapse arms races in animals and humans. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons #expands (0.60) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 136
• Economic logic explains weapon evolution across virtually all animal species #expands (0.55) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 198