Animal groups are often organized hierarchically, with dominant individuals gaining priority
access to resources and reproduction over subordinate individuals. Initial dominance …

What attributes make some individuals more likely to win a fight than others? A range of
morphological and physiological traits have been studied intensely but far less focus has …

Environmental impacts of conventional agriculture have generated interest in sustainable
agriculture. Biological pest control is a fundamental tool, and ants are key players providing …

In many species that fight over resources, individuals use specialized structures to gain a
mechanical advantage over their rivals during contests (ie weapons). Although weapons are …

Safe and effective conflict resolution is critical for survival and reproduction. Theoretical
models describe how animals resolve conflict by assessing their own and/or their …

Animal contests vary greatly in behavioural tactics used and intensity reached, with some
encounters resolved without physical contact while others escalate to damaging fighting …

Since the 1970's, models based on evolutionary game theory, such as war of attrition (WOA),
energetic war of attrition (E‐WOA), cumulative assessment model (CAM) and sequential …

Highlights•Fighting often involves the repeated performance of agonistic behaviours.•
Individuals may vary in how skilfully they perform such behaviours.•We investigate the link …

Aggressive behavior, or lack thereof, is vital to the success of a social insect colony. A
diversity of aggressive behaviors are exhibited in varying degrees by workers across ant …

Theoretical models have been developed to understand how animals decide to withdraw
from a contest. They provide testable predictions regarding the relationship between …