Fighting without weaponry: a review of male-male contest competition in butterflies

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darrell J. Kemp ◽  
Christer Wiklund
Keyword(s):  
Contest Competition ◽  
Male Contest

scholarly journals MALE CONTEST COMPETITION AND THE COEVOLUTION OF WEAPONRY AND TESTES IN PINNIPEDS

Evolution ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 3595-3604 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Maria Almbro ◽  
Alejandro Gonzalez-Voyer ◽  
Niclas Kolm ◽  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Contest Competition ◽  
Male Contest

scholarly journals The role of male contest competition over mates in speciation

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Qvarnström ◽  
Niclas Vallin ◽  
Andreas Rudh
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Population Divergence ◽  
Contest Competition ◽  
Negative Frequency Dependent Selection ◽  
Male Contest

Abstract Research on the role of sexual selection in the speciation process largely focuses on the diversifying role of mate choice. In particular, much attention has been drawn to the fact that population divergence in mate choice and in the male traits subject to choice directly can lead to assortative mating. However, male contest competition over mates also constitutes an important mechanism of sexual selection. We review recent empirical studies and argue that sexual selection through male contest competition can affect speciation in ways other than mate choice. For example, biases in aggression towards similar competitors can lead to disruptive and negative frequency-dependent selection on the traits used in contest competition in a similar way as competition for other types of limited resources. Moreover, male contest abilities often trade-off against other abilities such as parasite resistance, protection against predators and general stress tolerance. Populations experiencing different ecological conditions should therefore quickly diverge non-randomly in a number of traits including male contest abilities. In resource based breeding systems, a feedback loop between competitive ability and habitat use may lead to further population divergence. We discuss how population divergence in traits used in male contest competition can lead to the build up of reproductive isolation through a number of different pathways. Our main conclusion is that the role of male contest competition in speciation remains largely scientifically unexplored.

Human third-party observers accurately track fighting skill and vigour along their unique paths to victory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Robert Caton ◽  
Barnaby Dixson
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Contest Competition ◽  
Contest Theory ◽  
Fighting Ability ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Holding Power ◽  
Animal Contest ◽  
Resource Holding Power ◽  
Unique Path

Sexual selection via male-male contest competition has shaped the evolution of agonistic displays, weaponry, and fighting styles, and is further argued to have shaped human psychological mechanisms to detect, process, and respond appropriately to cues of fighting ability. Drawing on the largest fight-specific dataset to date across the sports and biological sciences (N = 2,765), we examined how different indicators of fighting ability in humans reflect unique paths to victory and indicate different forms of perceived and actual resource-holding power (RHP). Overall, we discovered that: (1) both striking skill and vigour, and grappling skill and vigour, individually and collectively predict RHP; (2) different RHP indicators are distinguished by a unique path to victory (e.g., striking skill is a knockout-typical strategy, whereas grappling vigour is a submission-typical strategy); and (3) third-party observers accurately track fighting skill and vigour along their unique paths to victory. Our argument that different measures of RHP are associated with unique paths to victory, and third-party observers accurately track fighting vigour and skill along their unique paths to victory, advance our understanding not only of human contest competition, but animal contest theory more broadly.

scholarly journals Impact Protection Potential of Mammalian Hair: Testing the Pugilism Hypothesis for the Evolution of Human Facial Hair

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E A Beseris ◽  
S E Naleway ◽  
D R Carrier
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Epoxy Composite ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Ovis Aries ◽  
Domestic Sheep ◽  
Contest Competition ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Facial Skeleton ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Facial Hair

Abstract Because facial hair is one of the most sexually dimorphic features of humans (Homo sapiens) and is often perceived as an indicator of masculinity and social dominance, human facial hair has been suggested to play a role in male contest competition. Some authors have proposed that the beard may function similar to the long hair of a lion’s mane, serving to protect vital areas like the throat and jaw from lethal attacks. This is consistent with the observation that the mandible, which is superficially covered by the beard, is one of the most commonly fractured facial bones in interpersonal violence. We hypothesized that beards protect the skin and bones of the face when human males fight by absorbing and dispersing the energy of a blunt impact. We tested this hypothesis by measuring impact force and energy absorbed by a fiber epoxy composite, which served as a bone analog, when it was covered with skin that had thick hair (referred to here as “furred”) versus skin with no hair (referred to here as “sheared” and “plucked”). We covered the epoxy composite with segments of skin dissected from domestic sheep (Ovis aries), and used a drop weight impact tester affixed with a load cell to collect force versus time data. Tissue samples were prepared in three conditions: furred (n = 20), plucked (n = 20), and sheared (n = 20). We found that fully furred samples were capable of absorbing more energy than plucked and sheared samples. For example, peak force was 16% greater and total energy absorbed was 37% greater in the furred compared to the plucked samples. These differences were due in part to a longer time frame of force delivery in the furred samples. These data support the hypothesis that human beards protect vulnerable regions of the facial skeleton from damaging strikes.

scholarly journals Causes, mechanisms, and consequences of contest competition among female mountain gorillas in Rwanda

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 766-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyril C. Grueter ◽  
Andrew M. Robbins ◽  
Didier Abavandimwe ◽  
Veronica Vecellio ◽  
Felix Ndagijimana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Contest Competition ◽  
Mountain Gorillas

Scramble-like contest competition in Callosobruchus analis (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Mano ◽  
Yukihiko Toquenaga ◽  
Koichi Fujii
Keyword(s):  
Contest Competition ◽  
Callosobruchus Analis
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document