Early survival advantages compound into huge adult differences in weapon resources

Evidence

Animals are born with different resource pools, too. Elk calves born to the biggest, best-fed parents start life with an edge. They weigh more at birth, and have more stored nutrients and stronger immune systems. They have access to the best environments, including the safest, least-stressful places and the best food. Other calves begin life under duress, with poor-quality parents in poor physiological condition. They’re born smaller and weaker, in substandard habitats. They grow more slowly and are quickly outpaced by the others. Because of their small stature they lose contests over food, weakening them still further, and the stress they experience increases the risk of infection. All of these experiences reinforce the differences in size that they started with, magnifying the gap between dominant and subordinate, large and small. Even subtle differences early in life compound as the animals grow, and by the time these calves reach adulthood they’ll differ hugely in available resources. Only a very few will be able to produce the biggest, most extravagant weapons. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 334

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Growing large weapons diverts resources and stunts other body parts — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 295; Arms-race weapon growth makes resource trade-offs drastically impair body functions — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 296; Weapons grow late because development prioritizes mandatory survival expenses first — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 336 (+3 more)

Related

• Weapons grow late because development prioritizes mandatory survival expenses first (similarity 0.89)
• Growing large weapons diverts resources and stunts other body parts (similarity 0.87)
• Arms-race weapon growth makes resource trade-offs drastically impair body functions (similarity 0.87)
• Weapon growth widens the gap between the best- and worst-armed males. (similarity 0.86)
• Reproductive success, not survival, drives the largest animal weapons (similarity 0.84)
• Weapons in arms races get so big they impair other bodily functions (similarity 0.84)
• Weapon size should track resource availability more than any mandatory body part (similarity 0.84)
• Infections shrink weapon growth because immunity consumes the same resource pool (similarity 0.83)
• Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs (similarity 0.83)
• Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons (similarity 0.83)
• Weapon growth is far more resource-sensitive than other body parts (similarity 0.82)
• Specific ecological circumstances must align before weapon arms races begin (similarity 0.82)
• Weapon evolution is judged by competition among designs, not human survival (similarity 0.82)
• Weapons are better signals than body size because they vary from zero to enormous (similarity 0.82)
• Dueling plus competition and defensibility is the general rule for extreme weapons (similarity 0.82)