Weapon size versus body size as a predictor of winning in fights between shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.)

@article{citeulike:3458893, abstract = {Abstract \ \ Relative body size (carapace width) and weapon size (chela length) were used as indicators of resource holding potential (RHP) in the agonistic behaviour of male shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.). Weapon size was found to be a more reliable predictor of the outcome of pairwise fights than body size. Crabs with longer chelae than their opponents were more likely to win fights than crabs with relatively larger bodies. Body size had less influence on the outcome of fights. Relative body and weapon size did not influence initiation of contests but did affect the likelihood of winning; however, this was significant only for weapon size. Winning crabs had heavier claws with greater surface area than losing crabs. There was no relationship between relative size and fight duration. The frequency of cheliped display increased with chela length and win- ners performed significantly more displays than losers.}, author = {Sneddon, Lynne U. and Huntingford, Felicity A. and Taylor, Alan C.}, citeulike-article-id = {3458893}, doi = {10.1007/s002650050384}, journal = {Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology}, keywords = {contest, crab, fight, size}, month = {October}, number = {4}, pages = {237--242}, posted-at = {2008-10-29 01:45:44}, priority = {2}, title = {Weapon size versus body size as a predictor of winning in fights between shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.)}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002650050384}, volume = {41}, year = {1997} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3458893 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3458893 N2 - Abstract   Relative body size (carapace width) and weapon size (chela length) were used as indicators of resource holding potential (RHP) in the agonistic behaviour of male shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.). Weapon size was found to be a more reliable predictor of the outcome of pairwise fights than body size. Crabs with longer chelae than their opponents were more likely to win fights than crabs with relatively larger bodies. Body size had less influence on the outcome of fights. Relative body and weapon size did not influence initiation of contests but did affect the likelihood of winning; however, this was significant only for weapon size. Winning crabs had heavier claws with greater surface area than losing crabs. There was no relationship between relative size and fight duration. The frequency of cheliped display increased with chela length and win- ners performed significantly more displays than losers. IS - 4 JF - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology EP - 242 TI - Weapon size versus body size as a predictor of winning in fights between shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.) VL - 41 SP - 237 KW - contest KW - crab KW - fight KW - size AU - Sneddon, Lynne AU - Huntingford, Felicity AU - Taylor, Alan PY - 1997/10/16/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002650050384 ER -