Performance, but not size, of hindleg weaponry is sexually dimorphic in the giant mesquite bug (<i>Thasus neocalifornicus</i>)

Graham, Zackary A.; Kaiser, Nicole; Palaoro, Alexandre V.

doi:10.1101/2020.08.03.234385

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(60 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…neocalifornicus (Graham, Kaiser, & Palaoro, 2020). Our observations indicate that when male T. neocalifornicus engage in fights they place these spines onto the forewings of their rivals (Video S1 and S2 in Supporting Information).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Males of several coreid species engage in intrasexual combat over access to females and resources (Mitchell, 1980; Eberhard, 1998; Miller & Emlen, 2010; Procter, Moore, & Miller, 2012; Tatarnic & Spence, 2013). All coreid species that are known to participate in these fights have hind legs with enlarged femurs and spines, including T. neocalifornicus (Graham, Kaiser, & Palaoro, 2020). Our observations indicate that when male T. neocalifornicus engage in fights they place these spines onto the forewings of their rivals (Video S1 and S2 in Supporting Information).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Defensive structures influence fighting outcomes

Emberts

Wiens

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. In many animal species, individuals engage in fights with conspecifics over access to limited resources (e.g. mates, food, or shelter). Most theory about these intraspecific fights assumes that damage has an important role in determining the contest winner. Thus, defensive structures that reduce the amount of damage an individual accrues during intraspecific competition should provide a fighting advantage. 2. Examples of such damage-reducing structures include the dermal shields of goats, the dorsal osteoderms of crocodiles, and the armored telsons of mantis shrimps. Although numerous studies have identified these defensive structures, no study has investigated whether they influence the outcomes of intraspecific fights. 3. Here, we investigated whether inhibiting damage by enhancing an individual's armor influenced fighting behavior and success in the giant mesquite bug, Thasus neocalifornicus (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae). 4. We found that experimentally manipulated individuals (i.e. those provided with additional armor) were 1.6 times more likely to win a fight when compared to the control. These results demonstrate that damage, and damage-reducing structures, can influence fighting success. 5. The implications of these results are twofold. First, our results experimentally support a fundamental assumption of most theoretical fighting models: that damage is a fighting cost that can influence contest outcomes. Second, these results highlight the importance of an individual's defensive capacity, and why defense should not be ignored.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defensive structures influence fighting outcomes

Emberts

Wiens

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We specifically measured a random subset of the specimens' right hind leg weapons. Only right hind legs were measured given high levels of symmetry between right and left legs [35].…”

Section: Methods (A) Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weapon performance drives weapon evolution

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many sexually selected traits function as weapons, and these weapons can be incredibly diverse. However, the factors underlying weapon diversity among species remain poorly understood, and a fundamental hypothesis to explain this diversity remains untested. Although weapons can serve multiple functions, an undeniably important function is their role in fights. Thus, a crucial hypothesis is that weapon diversification is driven by the evolution of weapon modifications that provide an advantage in combat (e.g. causing more damage). Here, we test this fighting-advantage hypothesis using data from 17 species of coreid bugs. We utilize the fact that male–male combat in coreids often results in detectable damage, allowing us to link different weapon morphologies to different levels of damage among species. We find that certain weapon morphologies inflict much more damage than others, strongly supporting the fighting-advantage hypothesis. Moreover, very different weapon morphologies can inflict similarly severe amounts of damage, leading to a weapon performance landscape with multiple performance peaks. This multi-peak pattern could potentially drive different lineages towards divergent weapon forms, further increasing weapon diversity among species. Overall, our results may help explain how sexually selected weapons have evolved into the diversity of forms seen today.

show abstract

“…Males of several coreid species engage in intrasexual combat over access to females and resources (Eberhard, 1998; Miller & Emlen, 2010; Mitchell, 1980; Procter et al., 2012; Tatarnic & Spence, 2013). All coreid species that are known to participate in these fights have hind legs with enlarged femurs and spines, including T. neocalifornicus (Graham et al, 2020). Our observations indicate that when male T. neocalifornicus engage in fights they place these spines onto the forewings of their rivals (Video S1 and S2 in Supporting Information).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defensive structures influence fighting outcomes

Emberts

Wiens

2020

Functional Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In many animal species, individuals engage in fights with conspecifics over access to limited resources (e.g. mates, food, or shelter). Most theory about these intraspecific fights assumes that damage has an important role in determining the contest winner. Thus, defensive structures that reduce the amount of damage an individual accrues during intraspecific competition should provide a fighting advantage. Examples of such damage‐reducing structures include the dermal shields of goats, the dorsal osteoderms of crocodiles, and the armoured telsons of mantis shrimps. Although numerous studies have identified these defensive structures, no study has investigated whether they influence the outcomes of intraspecific fights. Here we investigated whether inhibiting damage by enhancing an individual's armour influenced fighting behaviour and success in the giant mesquite bug, Thasus neocalifornicus (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae). We found that experimentally manipulated individuals (i.e. those provided with additional armour) were 1.6 times more likely to win a fight when compared to the control. These results demonstrate that damage, and damage‐reducing structures, can influence fighting success. The implications of these results are twofold. First, our results experimentally support a fundamental assumption of most theoretical fighting models: that damage is a fighting cost that can influence contest outcomes. Second, these results highlight the importance of an individual's defensive capacity, and why defence should not be ignored. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

show abstract

Performance, but not size, of hindleg weaponry is sexually dimorphic in the giant mesquite bug (Thasus neocalifornicus)

Cited by 3 publications

References 44 publications

Defensive structures influence fighting outcomes

Defensive structures influence fighting outcomes

Weapon performance drives weapon evolution

Defensive structures influence fighting outcomes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About