Abstract
Tonic immobility and escape are adaptive anti-predator tactics used by many animals. Escape requires movement, whereas tonic immobility does not. If anti-predator tactics relate to weapon size, males with larger weapons may adopt tonic immobility, whereas males with smaller weapons may adopt escape. However, no study has investigated the relationship between weapon size and anti-predator tactics. In this study, we investigated the relationship between male weapon size and tonic immobility in the beetle Gnathocerus cornutus. The results showed that tonic immobility was more frequent in males with larger weapons. Although most studies of tonic immobility in beetles have focused on the duration, rather than the frequency, tonic immobility duration was not affected by weapon size in G. cornutus. Therefore, this study is the first, to our knowledge, to suggest that the male weapon trait affects anti-predator tactics.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | l20200601 |
Journal | Biology Letters |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2020 |
Keywords
- Gnathocerus cornutus
- anti-predator strategy
- mating strategy
- tonic immobility
- weapon
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)