Rare and defensible sap flows make male beetle territories worth fighting for
Evidence
Male beetles battle for ownership of these prized spots. There are generally only one or two good territories per tree, and the nearest other treefall can be miles away. From the perspective of a male beetle, sap flows on a fallen fig are rare and defensible—perfect real estate for a fight. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 208
Categorization
- XREF: Directly instantiates the economic-defensibility tenet from paragraph 203; also parallels the scarcity-pressure logic of arms races in later chapters. — connects to: Fighting and dispersal are alternative male strategies in Cardiocondyla ants — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 764; Scarcity of egg-laying sites made big beetle weapons enormously beneficial — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 211; Clumped sparse resources make territorial fighting pay off reproductively (+2 more)
Related
- Clumped sparse resources make territorial fighting pay off reproductively (similarity 0.84)
- Rare localized resources translate fighting success into reproductive success (similarity 0.83)
- Scarcity of egg-laying sites made big beetle weapons enormously beneficial (similarity 0.82)
- Fighting and dispersal are alternative male strategies in Cardiocondyla ants (similarity 0.80)
- Male combat for mating access frequently causes serious wounds and sometimes death (similarity 0.79)
- A beetle’s back serves as a portable mating territory for pseudoscorpions (similarity 0.79)
- Scarcity of suitable feeding sites drives weapon evolution in harlequin beetles (similarity 0.78)