Competition for Mating Resources in a Territorial Damselfly (Odonata: Calopterygidae)

Abstract

The factors that determine contest outcomes among territorial male animals are complex and much debated. This study investigated how breeding resource availability and body size influence territorial contests of the Neotropical damselfly Hetaerina miniata. In our marked population, some males were territory owners while others were part of a wanderer contingent. Male territoriality was not correlated with availability of oviposition substrate. We predicted that territory owners would have an advantage in disputes. Removal experiments demonstrated that owners won significantly more territorial contests than did wanderers, and whereas males were significantly larger than females, male territorial status did not depend on body size. However contest outcome was not based solely on ownership because experimentally removed individuals regained their territories from new owners (intruders). We suggest that intrinsic resource holding potential based on other morphological and physiological factors, such as energy reserves, may govern male competitive ability.