Weapon size is favored when males defend resources females need

Evidence

Males in many animals, such as these flies, fight over restricted, economically defensible resources visited by females. In these situations, big weapons are often beneficial. Above: Stalk-eyed flies defend hanging rootlets on which females roost. Below: Antlered flies defend egg-laying holes in the bark of fallen trees. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 960

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to classic sexual selection and resource-defense polygyny theory in evolutionary ecology; also parallels the economics of territorial defense that shapes human resource conflicts. — connects to: Among jacanas, females are the armed, aggressive sex defending breeding territories.; Sexual selection drives weapons to extremes because payoffs for winners are enormous.; Clumped sparse resources make territorial fighting pay off reproductively (+11 more)

Related

• Males evolve big weapons to defend resources that females visit (similarity 0.97)
• Among jacanas, females are the armed, aggressive sex defending breeding territories. (similarity 0.90)
• In nearly all weaponed species, males carry the weapons, not females. (similarity 0.87)
• Reproductive success, not survival, drives the largest animal weapons (similarity 0.84)
• Sexual selection can be far stronger than natural selection and drives weapon extremes (similarity 0.84)
• Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons (similarity 0.84)
• Sexual selection drives weapons to extremes because payoffs for winners are enormous. (similarity 0.83)
• Weapon evolution needs both competition and economically defensible resources (similarity 0.83)
• Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs (similarity 0.83)
• Weapon size in animal species is under stabilizing selection, not open-ended directional selection (similarity 0.83)
• Deterrence amplifies the evolutionary payoff of extreme weapon size. (similarity 0.82)
• Variation in animal weapon size is explainable by species ecology and behavior. (similarity 0.82)
• Scarcity of suitable feeding sites drives weapon evolution in harlequin beetles (similarity 0.82)
• Rare localized resources translate fighting success into reproductive success (similarity 0.82)
• Natural selection usually favors modest weapon size because cost offsets benefit (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Natural selection usually favors modest weapon size because cost offsets benefit #qualifies (0.75) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 21
• Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons #corroborates (0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 136
• Deterrence amplifies the evolutionary payoff of extreme weapon size. #expands (0.50) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 387
• Sexual selection can be far stronger than natural selection and drives weapon extremes #contradicts (0.50) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 177