Meeting Abstract
Many animals possess weapons that have evolved to inflict damage to opponents during territorial encounters. Although the offensive capacity of these weapons are important determinants of contest success, the defensive capabilities of the weapons are also important. However, current theory only accounts for investment into offensive performance, and not defensive endurance. To help better understand these dynamics, we investigated claw strength, cuticle thickness, and injury rates in male and female virile crayfish (Faxonius virilis). Both male and female virile crayfish engage in aggression over access to both food and shelters. Thus, we expected each sex to invest similarly into the offensive and defensive abilities of their weapons. Interestingly, we found that despite males having proportionally larger claws, the average strength for a given size was similar between the sexes. Furthermore, we did not detect any sex differences in defensive ability (cuticle thickness) or injury rates. Overall, we demonstrated that both male and female virile crayfish invest similarly into the offensive and defensive ability of their claws.
