War displays are risky but safer than failing to mate

Evidence

But not all of these traits are weapons. Sometimes there is nothing for males to guard; they cannot gain access to females through fighting, so weapons are useless. In these species males compete indirectly, scrambling for the attention of females by wooing them with dances, songs, or bright, gaudy displays. Male túngara frogs broadcast their location with eerie, incessant calls, ringing whines and chucks that are both energetically demanding and dangerous. Males sing for hours upon hours, night after night, even though their calls attract predatory bats. The odds that they will be eaten are high. But the price of failing to attract a female is even higher, so males take their chances and risk death. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 188

Categorization

• XREF: Túngara frog calling parallels earlier chapters on signal evolution and the risks animals take to compete; also connects to the general sexual-selection framework. — connects to: Cold War proxy wars functioned like animal display as low-risk sizing-up — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 574; Soldiers can experience wartime as sheltered idyll rather than danger — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 47; Weapons evolved as signals so males could predict fight outcomes before risking battle — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 370 (+1 more)

Related

• Weapons evolved as signals so males could predict fight outcomes before risking battle (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Weapons evolved as signals so males could predict fight outcomes before risking battle #corroborates (0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 370
• Weapons primarily deter rivals rather than inflict harm in actual fights #expands (0.60)
• Soldiers can experience wartime as sheltered idyll rather than danger #exemplifies (0.50) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 47