Weapon (biology)

In biology, weapons are traits that are used by males to fight one another off for access to mates. A mate is won in battle either by a male chasing off a fellow competitor or killing it off, usually leaving the victor as the only option for the female to reproduce with.[1] However, because stronger organisms, whether mentally or physically, are usually favored in combat, this also leads to the evolution of stronger organisms in species that use combat as a way to secure mates.[2] Examples of weapons include the antlers bucks use to fight one another off when competing for females.

References

Krebs, J. R., and Nicholas B. Davies. "Sexual Selection, Sperm Competition and Sexual Conflict." An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology. 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 2012.
"Charles Darwin & Evolution." Charles Darwin & Evolution. Apr. 2014. <http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/pages/index.php?page_id=d4 Archived 2014-05-21 at the Wayback Machine>.

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[1] Krebs, J. R., and Nicholas B. Davies. "Sexual Selection, Sperm Competition and Sexual Conflict." An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology. 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 2012.

[2] "Charles Darwin & Evolution." Charles Darwin & Evolution. Apr. 2014. <http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/pages/index.php?page_id=d4 Archived 2014-05-21 at the Wayback Machine>.