Analysis of animal contest data

Briffa, Mark; Hardy, Ian C.W.; Gammell, Martin P.; Jennings, Dómhnall J.; Clarke, David D.; Goubault, Marlène

doi:10.1017/cbo9781139051248.006

Cited by 54 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…Studies of fighting typically focus either on differences in physical or physiological RHP traits [15] or on uncorrelated asymmetries between opponents that are determined by the specific context of the fight, such as resource value (RV) [16] or the effect of prior ownership of the resource [17]. It seems obvious that larger individuals should be likely to defeat smaller ones [18,19], but differences in size can be further broken down into differences in weapon size [20,21] and strength [3,22]. Strength is an example of a performance capacity and overall stamina has also been revealed as an important performance capacity that can increase the chances of victory [23].…”

Section: (A) What Makes a Good Fighter?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of skill in animal contests: a neglected component of fighting ability

Briffa¹,

Lane²

2017

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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What attributes make some individuals more likely to win a fight than others? A range of morphological and physiological traits have been studied intensely but far less focus has been placed on the actual agonistic behaviours used. Current studies of agonistic behaviour focus on contest duration and the vigour of fighting. It also seems obvious that individuals that fight more skilfully should have a greater chance of winning a fight. Here, we discuss the meaning of skill in animal fights. As the activities of each opponent can be disrupted by the behaviour of their rival, we differentiate among ability, technique and skill itself. In addition to efficient, accurate and sometimes precise movement, skilful fighting also requires rapid decision-making, so that appropriate tactics and strategies are selected. We consider how these different components of skill could be acquired, through genes, experiences of play-fighting and of real fights. Skilful fighting can enhance resource holding potential (RHP) by allowing for sustained vigour, by inflicting greater costs on opponents and by minimizing the chance of damage. Therefore, we argue that skill is a neglected but important component of RHP that could be readily studied to provide new insights into the evolution of agonistic behaviour.

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Section: (A) What Makes a Good Fighter?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of skill in animal contests: a neglected component of fighting ability

Briffa¹,

Lane²

2017

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Two major predictors of contest outcomes are the competitive ability of individuals (resource holding potential, RHP) and the value (V) that contestants place on possession of the resource (Maynard Smith and Parker, 1976;Kokko, 2013): each of these may be affected by the nutritional status of the contestants. For example, individuals that have been well fed may be able to persist for longer during contests (RHP) due to their enhanced energy reserves (Poole, 1989;Kemp and Alcock, 2003;Martinez-Lendech et al, 2007;Briffa et al, 2013b) while individuals with depleted reserves may compete more intensely for a contested resource, due to placing a higher value (V) on its exploitation (Riechert, 1998). Further, the availability of macronutrients (protein, fats and carbohydrates) may promote dominance-related behaviours (Davidson, 1997) while other metabolites may physiologically constrain contest behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, the availability of macronutrients (protein, fats and carbohydrates) may promote dominance-related behaviours (Davidson, 1997) while other metabolites may physiologically constrain contest behaviour. For instance, in hermit crabs and other crustaceans, metabolites related to energy reserves (glycogen and glucose) and aerobic capacity (lactic acid) as well as hormones (biogenic amines) influence contestant motivation and contest duration (Briffa and Sneddon, 2007;Briffa et al, 2013b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustenance and Performance: Nutritional Reserves, Longevity, and Contest Outcomes of Fed and Starved Adult Parasitoid Wasps

et al. 2018

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Dyadic contests for possession of resources occur across a wide range of animal taxa, with contest outcome often being heavily influenced by the energetic reserves of the competitors. The majority of studied parasitoid wasps lack de novo lipogenesis, with adult lipid reserves being limited to those acquired throughout larval development. Carbohydrate-and lipid-rich diets can increase adult parasitoid lifespan and fecundity by potentially acting as a maintenance energy store. However, the effects of such diets on fat reserve compositions and contest outcome have not been examined. This study assesses the effects of a carbohydrate rich diet (honey) on the longevity, metabolic state and contest performance of Goniozus legneri, a bethylid wasp. The longevity of honey-fed adults was typically more than twice that of starved wasps. Compared to similarly-aged starved wasps, honey feeding increased concentrations of common haemolymph sugars and amino acids in 3-day old and 7-day old wasps, and higher concentrations of stored lipid in 7-day old wasps. However, nutritional status did not affect the outcome of dyadic contests over host possession when both contestants were either 3 days or 7 days old. While contest outcome may be unaffected by diet, it remains possible that an enhancing effect of feeding on contest ability is matched by an effect of higher value being placed on winning by starved wasps.

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“…The same statistical approach was applied to investigate whether the ratio of contests that involved larger females and smaller defenders or challengers, or those that involved smaller females and larger defenders or challengers deviated from 1:1. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate whether female size and the relative difference between the size of males affected contest outcome (win or lose; following Briffa et al 2013).…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fighting for mates: the importance of individual size in mating contests in rocky shore littorinids

Davies

Stafford

et al. 2016

Mar Biol

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they generally challenged defenders that were smaller than themselves, suggesting an ability to detect rival size before entering into a contest in this species. When sizes of the contestants were similar, defenders were more likely to win contests in E. malaccana but not in E. radiata. Evidence for pure self-assessment of RHP and the ability to assess resource value in challengers was found in E. malaccana. Different fighting strategies appear to have evolved in these congeneric marine snail species, and decisions based on male and female sizes play an important role in determining male reproductive success.

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Analysis of animal contest data

Cited by 54 publications

References 102 publications

The role of skill in animal contests: a neglected component of fighting ability

The role of skill in animal contests: a neglected component of fighting ability

Sustenance and Performance: Nutritional Reserves, Longevity, and Contest Outcomes of Fed and Starved Adult Parasitoid Wasps

Fighting for mates: the importance of individual size in mating contests in rocky shore littorinids

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