Evolutionarily stable strategies in competition for resource intake rate maximization

Summary

This paper presents and empirical study concerned with the question whether animals competing by resource exploitation can estimate the relative sizes of their opponents and modify their own behavior accordingly. Females of flour beetles T. Confusum competed for limited oviposition sites. The problem addressed was: can the asymmetry in size and hence in the rate of egg laying determine the decisions of competitors about leaving or staying together? The results reveal that females of flour beetles do recognize their relative sizes and apply a “common sense” strategy, whereby smaller competitors withdraw. The procedure applied in the experiments allowed a standarization of the animals, where size was the sole phenotypic difference. It is possible that the ability to estimate opponent's size is innate, and, therefore, previous experience is not necessary.