When David beats Goliath: the advantage of large size in interspecific aggressive contests declines over evolutionary time.

ABSTRACT: Body size has long been recognized to play a key role in shaping species interactions. For example, while small species thrive in a diversity of environments, they typically lose aggressive contests for resources with larger species. However, numerous examples exist of smaller species dominating larger species during aggressive interactions, suggesting that the evolution of traits can allow species to overcome the competitive disadvantage of small size. If these traits accumulate as lineages diverge, then the advantage of large size in interspecific aggressive interactions should decline with increased evolutionary distance. We tested this hypothesis using data on the outcomes of 23,362 aggressive interactions among 246 bird species pairs involving vultures at carcasses, hummingbirds at ne

SUBMITTER: Martin PR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4177554 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature