Body size and fat reserves as possible predictors of male territorial status and contest outcome in the butterfly Eumaeus toxea Godart (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Abstract

We used adults of the butterfly Eumaeus toxea for two purposes-description of male territorial behavior and investigation of whether body size and muscle fat reserves correlated with social status (resident or intruder) and the probability of winning a territorial contest in dyadic encounters. Males perched in places near cycads (Zamia furfuracea), where females lay eggs. Resident males (those with faithfulness to the same site for several days) used two types of flight of different duration, short (ca. 5 s) and long (ca. 17 s), against male conspecifics. Because of this difference the latter were regarded as true contests. Males that copulated were residents and were also larger than males not observed in copulation. Residents and winners of contests were larger and fatter than intruders (males entering the site that faced a resident with a long-lasting flight) and losers of contests, respectively, possibly because these last two categories of male were individuals with already exhausted energy stores. Body size and fat reserves seemed to correlate with status for resident and intruder males but not for winner and loser males. This possibly means that body size reflects male energy condition. This is supported by the fact that large, resident males are confronted in short contests, in contrast with small, resident males. Our study suggests that the role of size and fat reserves during contests cannot be discounted in butterflies.

Flight metabolic rate has contrasting effects on dispersal in the two sexes of the Glanville fritillary butterfly

“…In Pararge aegeria, there is an indication that males that lose contests with other males end up being more mobile without following a true patrolling strategy (Bergman and Wiklund 2009). Success in male-male contests has been explained by a simple 'resident wins' rule (Bergman et al 2007;Davies 1978;Kemp and Wiklund 2001), but in some butterflies morphological traits such as body mass (Martinez-Lendech et al 2007;Peixoto and Benson 2008) have been shown to influence the outcome of aerial contests (though see Kemp et al 2006). In some territorial insects, the outcome of contests and male mating success may correlate with energy reserves (Marden and Rollins 1994;Otronen 1995).…”

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

“…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.…”

Agonistic display or courtship behavior? A review of contests over mating opportunity in butterflies

“…For example, owners are larger than intruders in some butterflies (Rosenberg and Enquist 1991; Martínez-Lendech et al 2007; Peixoto and Benson 2008, 2011, 2012; Takeuchi 2011; Carvalho et al 2016). The effect of large body size on winning contests is ubiquitous in the animal kingdom (Hardy and Briffa 2013).…”