10.5061/DRYAD.0RXWDBS0Z
Emberts, Zachary
0000-0002-7949-0254
University of Arizona
Somjee, Ummat
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Wiens, John J.
University of Arizona
Data from: Damage from intraspecific combat is costly
Dryad
dataset
2021
damage
fight
injury
intraspecific competition
Intrasexual competition
male-male combat
2021-07-07T00:00:00Z
2021-07-07T00:00:00Z
en
7544 bytes
4
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
When individuals engage in fights with conspecifics over access to
resources, injuries can occur. Most theory suggests that the costs
associated with these injuries should influence an individual’s decision
to retreat from a fight. Thus, damage from intraspecific combat is
frequently noted and quantified. However, the fitness-related costs
associated with this damage are not. Quantifying the cost of
fighting-related damage is important because most theory assumes that it
is the cost associated with the damage (not the damage itself) that should
influence an individual’s decision to retreat. Here, we quantified the
cost of fighting-related injuries in the giant mesquite bug, Thasus
neocalifornicus. We demonstrate that experimentally simulated fighting
injuries result in metabolic costs and costs to flight performance. We
also show that flight costs are more severe when the injuries are larger.
Overall, our results provide empirical support for the fundamental
assumption that damage acquired during intraspecific combat is costly.