Predation risk is a near-universal cost of elaborate weapons

Evidence

Increased exposure to the risk of predation turns out to be an almost universal cost to males for the burden of producing and wielding elaborate weapons. In fiddler crabs, higher predation can result from males being more conspicuous targets; from their poor endurance and awkward, slower escape performance; and even from predators actively seeking them out as preferred prey (the extra muscle inside the claw makes them more nutritious than female crabs). — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 307

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: States spend on weapons only after mandatory survival costs, like crabs — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 556; Some elaborate animal weapons are astonishingly cheap to produce and carry; Weapon-bearing male deer pay extreme costs and most never mate (+5 more)

Related

• Some elaborate animal weapons are astonishingly cheap to produce and carry (similarity 0.89)
• Weapon-bearing male deer pay extreme costs and most never mate (similarity 0.88)
• Most male ungulates never reproduce because weapon costs are so extreme (similarity 0.87)
• Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs (similarity 0.86)
• Weapons shrink when predator pressure falls and armor gets costly. (similarity 0.85)
• Sexual weapons sometimes protect rather than burden their bearers from predators (similarity 0.85)
• Reproductive success, not survival, drives the largest animal weapons (similarity 0.84)
• Weapon expense is what keeps signals of fighting ability honest (similarity 0.84)
• Weapon growth widens the gap between the best- and worst-armed males. (similarity 0.84)
• Deterrence amplifies the evolutionary payoff of extreme weapon size. (similarity 0.84)
• Weapon costliness keeps signals honest by excluding weaker males (similarity 0.84)
• Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons (similarity 0.84)
• Bigger weapons usually fail because their costs outweigh their benefits (similarity 0.83)
• Weapons grow late because development prioritizes mandatory survival expenses first (similarity 0.83)
• Predator diversity is best explained by weapon adaptation to habitat and prey (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Weapons shrink when predator pressure falls and armor gets costly. #expands (0.75) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 56
• Natural selection usually favors modest weapon size because cost offsets benefit #expands (0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 21
• Armor evolution tracks a benefit-cost trade-off identical to that shaping animal weaponry #epitomizes (0.50) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 62