Scarcity of egg-laying sites made big beetle weapons enormously beneficial
Evidence
The Zehs observed that males with the longest forelegs almost invariably win, and males who win are the ones who mate with the females7—exactly what we expect when sexual selection favors the evolution of increased fighting ability and ever-larger weapons. In short, the extreme paucity of suitable egg-laying locations, combined with the restricted size and ease of defense of these resources, creates in this species an ecological situation where the benefits of fighting and possessing large weapons are enormous. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 211
Categorization
- XREF: Empirical confirmation of the sexual-selection arms-race mechanism that frames the book’s central thesis. — connects to: Beetle horns can be impressively large yet nearly cost-free to produce and use — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 810; Scarcity of suitable feeding sites drives weapon evolution in harlequin beetles — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 206; Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 136 (+5 more)
Related
- Rare localized resources translate fighting success into reproductive success (similarity 0.91)
- Scarcity of suitable feeding sites drives weapon evolution in harlequin beetles (similarity 0.87)
- Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons (similarity 0.87)
- Reproductive success, not survival, drives the largest animal weapons (similarity 0.84)
- Clumped sparse resources make territorial fighting pay off reproductively (similarity 0.84)
- Beetle horns can be impressively large yet nearly cost-free to produce and use (similarity 0.83)
- Economic logic explains weapon evolution across virtually all animal species (similarity 0.82)
- Sexual selection drives weapons to extremes because payoffs for winners are enormous. (similarity 0.82)
- Males evolve big weapons to defend resources that females visit (similarity 0.82)
- Big weapons only benefit males with the reserves to wield them effectively (similarity 0.82)
- Rare and defensible sap flows make male beetle territories worth fighting for (similarity 0.82)
- Sexual selection can be far stronger than natural selection and drives weapon extremes (similarity 0.82)
- Weapon size is favored when males defend resources females need (similarity 0.82)
- Extreme skew in mating success drives arms-race escalation in weaponry (similarity 0.81)
- Cheating males erode the reproductive payoff of weapons, capping their evolution (similarity 0.81)
Broader Connections
- Rare localized resources translate fighting success into reproductive success
#expands(0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 217 - Rare and defensible sap flows make male beetle territories worth fighting for
#corroborates(0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 208 - Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons
#expands(0.60) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 136 - Reproductive success, not survival, drives the largest animal weapons
#corroborates(0.60) - Males evolve big weapons to defend resources that females visit
#corroborates(0.60) - Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs
#expands(0.55) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 199 - Scarcity of suitable feeding sites drives weapon evolution in harlequin beetles
#contradicts(0.45) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 206