Giant Australian cuttlefish use mutual assessment to resolve male-male contests

Schnell, Alexandra K.; Smith, Carolynn L.; Hanlon, Roger T.; Harcourt, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.05.026

Cited by 36 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…For this reason, although some species may settle their contests based on mutual assessment (e.g. Junior & Peixoto, ; Schnell et al , ; Green & Patek, ), our results for the relationships between contest duration and traits linked to RHP suggest that the proportion of species following mutual assessment is low and, therefore, self‐assessment seems to be the most frequent contest resolution rule adopted by species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…It is intriguing that SAM is not a general contest resolution rule for species that signal their RHP (Jennings et al , ; Briffa, ; Painting & Holwell, ; Schnell et al, ), species that have high energetic expenditure during the fight (e.g. Copeland et al , ) or species that fight with high chances of injury (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite methodological advances in how predictions from contest models are tested, few studies have found unequivocal support for (E)WOA, CAM or SAM (e.g. Prenter et al , ; Briffa, ; Junior & Peixoto, ; Schnell et al , ). Most have found partial support for some of the models, support for more than one model, or patterns that were not predicted by any model (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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All by myself? Meta‐analysis of animal contests shows stronger support for self than for mutual assessment models

2019

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Since the 1970's, models based on evolutionary game theory, such as war of attrition (WOA), energetic war of attrition (E-WOA), cumulative assessment model (CAM) and sequential assessment model (SAM), have been widely applied to understand how animals settle contests. Despite the important theoretical advances provided by these models, empirical evidence indicates that rules adopted by animals to settle contests vary among species. This stimulated recent discussions about the generality and applicability of models of contest. A meta-analysis may be helpful to answer questions such as: (i) is there a common contest rule to settle contests; (ii) do contest characteristics, such as the occurrence of physical contact during the fight, influence the use of specific contest rules; and (iii) is there a phylogenetic signal behind contest rules? To answer these questions, we gathered information on the relationship between contest duration and traits linked to contestants' resource holding potential (RHP) for randomly paired rivals and RHP-matched rivals. We also gathered behavioural data about contest escalation and RHP asymmetry. In contests between randomly paired rivals, we found a positive relationship between contest duration and loser RHP but did not find any pattern for winners. We also found a low phylogenetic signal and a similar response for species that fight with and without physical contact. In RHP-matched rivals, we found a positive relationship between contest duration and the mean RHP of the pair. Finally, we found a negative relation between contest escalation and RHP asymmetry, even though it was more variable than the other results. Our results thus indicate that rivals settle contests following the rules predicted by WOA and E-WOA in most species. However, we also found inconsistencies between the behaviours exhibited during contests and the assumptions of WOA models in most species. We discuss additional (and relatively untested) theoretical possibilities that may be explored to resolve the existing inconsistencies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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All by myself? Meta‐analysis of animal contests shows stronger support for self than for mutual assessment models

2019

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“…A recent study on the giant Australian cuttlefish S. apama reported similar structural patterns during male-male contests. Male S. apama matched behaviors during low-level aggression; however, winners outperformed losers during high-level aggression (Schnell et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Dramatic Fighting by Male Cuttlefish for a Female Mate

Allen

Akkaynak

Schnell

et al. 2017

The American Naturalist

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Male cuttlefish compete for females with a repertoire of visually dramatic behaviors. Laboratory experiments have explored this system in Sepia officinalis, but corroborative field data have eluded collection attempts by many researchers. While scuba diving in Turkey, we fortuitously filmed an intense sequence of consort/intruder behaviors in which the consort lost and then regained his female mate from the intruder. These agonistic bouts escalated in stages, leading to fast dramatic expression of the elaborate intense zebra display and culminating in biting and inking as the intruder male attempted a forced copulation of the female. When analyzed in the context of game theory, the patterns of fighting behavior were more consistent with mutual assessment than self-assessment of fighting ability. Additional observations of these behaviors in nature are needed to conclusively determine which models best represent conflict resolution, but our field observations agree with laboratory findings and provide a valuable perspective.

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“…For example, many Cervidae stags fight for the control of the females (Clutton-Brock et al 1979;McElligott et al 1998); such activity is common in mammals (Packer 2001;Casey et al 2015). Fighting is also extremely common in invertebrate species such as cephalopods (Schnell et al 2015) and weaponless butterflies (Kemp and Wiklund 2001). Hymenopterans, such as ants, wasps, and bees, are well-known to engage in intraspecific fighting, either to protect their colonies (Gloag et al 2008;Rudolph and McEntee 2015) or to compete for the queen position (Berthelot et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fighting injuries, fig exit, and dimorphism in two species of sycoryctine fig wasp (Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae)

Wong¹,

Bain²,

Shiao³

et al. 2019

JHR

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Similar to many vertebrate and invertebrate species, many fig wasp species are fighting other members of their species for mates. Fighting between the males of many non-pollinating fig wasp species involves injuries and fatalities. Studies have shown that large males fight for mates, whereas conspecific small males tend to adopt nonfighting, sneaky behaviors. To analyze male morphs in two non-pollinating fig wasps (Philotrypesis taida Wong & Shiao, 2018 and Sycorycteridea taipeiensis Wong & Shiao, 2018) associated with the fig tree Ficus benguetensis, the head and mandible allometry and injuries were examined as well as the morphologies of their heads and mandibles. Male fig wasps of these two nonpollinating species can be divided into two morphological groups according to their head and mandible shapes. Approximately 88% of the Philotrypesis and 62% of the Sycorycteridea males were injured and no males belonging to largest morphs were decapitated. Moreover, nearly 31% of the Philotrypesis and 45% of the Sycorycteridea males left their natal figs. No difference in injury level or male exit rate between the male morphs was observed. This study reveals slight morphological and behavioral differences that may hint towards different mating strategies among morphs.

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Giant Australian cuttlefish use mutual assessment to resolve male-male contests

Cited by 36 publications

References 56 publications

All by myself? Meta‐analysis of animal contests shows stronger support for self than for mutual assessment models

All by myself? Meta‐analysis of animal contests shows stronger support for self than for mutual assessment models

Dramatic Fighting by Male Cuttlefish for a Female Mate

Fighting injuries, fig exit, and dimorphism in two species of sycoryctine fig wasp (Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae)

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