Some elaborate animal weapons are astonishingly cheap to produce and carry

Evidence

Fallow deer and moose pay exorbitantly for their weapons, and for the stamina and energy needed to win fights during the rut, suffering gashes, infections, and depleted energy reserves. Above: Three-quarters of fallow deer bucks die without ever succeeding in defending territories, and 90 percent fail to mate even once in their lifetime. Below: Bull moose double their daily energetic demands while growing antlers, and a third die from injuries sustained during combat. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 963 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Whenever a small number of wealthy states invests in exorbitant weapons that nobody else can afford, someone, somewhere, is sure to come up with a cheap way to bring them to their knees, and, every so often, the smallest of weapons manages to topple a Leviathan. Fire ships brought panic and disorder to naval fleets as far back as the fifth century BCE, when the Syracusans took an old merchant vessel, packed it with pitch and pine, set it aflame, and released it to drift downwind into the Athenian navy. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 441 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

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 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Low-cost bioweapons manufacture destroys the logic of deterrence; Predation risk is a near-universal cost of elaborate weapons — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 307; Species with huge weapons often show weak current selection on them. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 433 (+6 more)

Related

• Most male ungulates never reproduce because weapon costs are so extreme (similarity 0.90)
• Weapon-bearing male deer pay extreme costs and most never mate (similarity 0.89)
• Predation risk is a near-universal cost of elaborate weapons (similarity 0.89)
• Bigger weapons usually fail because their costs outweigh their benefits (similarity 0.86)
• Big weapons only benefit males with the reserves to wield them effectively (similarity 0.84)
• Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs (similarity 0.84)
• Only a minority of males can afford to build full-size weapons (similarity 0.84)
• Low-cost bioweapons manufacture destroys the logic of deterrence (similarity 0.84)
• Reproductive success, not survival, drives the largest animal weapons (similarity 0.83)
• Weapons grow late because development prioritizes mandatory survival expenses first (similarity 0.83)
• Balanced selection keeps most animal weapons modest rather than extreme. (similarity 0.83)
• Weapon expense is what keeps signals of fighting ability honest (similarity 0.83)
• Weapon costliness keeps signals honest by excluding weaker males (similarity 0.83)
• The same three ingredients trigger weapon evolution across wildly divergent animal clades (similarity 0.82)
• Poor-quality males pay steeper costs for large weapons and so invest less (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Most male ungulates never reproduce because weapon costs are so extreme #contradicts (0.50) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 963
• Cheap asymmetric weapons can topple vastly more expensive military investments. #corroborates (0.45) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 441
• Predation risk is a near-universal cost of elaborate weapons #qualifies (0.40) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 307
• Bigger weapons usually fail because their costs outweigh their benefits #contradicts (0.40)
• Species with huge weapons often show weak current selection on them. #complicates (0.35) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 433
• Growing large weapons diverts resources and stunts other body parts #contradicts (0.35) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 295
• Balanced selection keeps most animal weapons modest rather than extreme. #qualifies (0.30)