DOI: 10.5061/dryad.37pvmcvtn
title: Data from: Sexually selected weapons can wear out, decreasing their effectiveness in combat

description: Sexual selection has resulted in some of the most elaborate traits seen in
 animals, many of which are used as weapons. These weapons can be
 incredibly diverse, even within species. Such morphological variation has
 largely been attributed to the environment in which individuals are reared
 and their genetics. However, variation in weapon form could also be the
 result of a weapon wearing out from usage. This mechanism has received
 relatively little attention. In this study, we demonstrate that sexually
 selected weapons can wear out from repeated use, providing experimental
 evidence that weapon usage can contribute to the diversity of weapon
 shapes observed within species. In a second experiment, we demonstrate
 that having a worn-out weapon decreases an individual’s fighting ability.
 This finding illustrates that the shape of a weapon can have an important
 role in determining contest outcomes. Overall, these results suggest that
 individuals are limited in the number of times they can effectively use
 their weapons, which may be one factor (amongst others) influencing how
 frequently an animal engages in a fight.
description: # Sexually selected weapons can wear out, decreasing their effectiveness
 in combat
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.37pvmcvtn](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.37pvmcvtn) There are three datasets (Data.S1.xlsx, Data.S2.xlsx, and Data.S3.xlsx) and one R code (R.code.R) file associate with this manuscript.  ## Description of the data and file structure Data.S1 | ID | Identification number | | :------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | PW | Pronotal width in mm | | Season | whether the individual was collected early in a season (June/July) or late in a season (August) | | Radius.1 | first measurement for radius of the curvature of the tibial spine tip in mm | | Radius.2 | second measurement for radius of the curvature of the tibial spine tip in mm | | Radius.3 | third measurement for radius of the curvature of the tibial spine tip in mm | | Radius | average radius of the curvature of the tibial spine tip in mm | | Wing.punctures | whether the forewings have fighting-related punctures on their wings (1=Yes, 0=No) | Data.S2 | ID | Identification number | | :------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | PW | Pronotal width in mm | | Strikes | number of simulated strikes | | Radius.1 | first measurement for radius of the curvature of the tibial spine tip in mm | | Radius.2 | second measurement for radius of the curvature of the tibial spine tip in mm | | Radius.3 | third measurement for radius of the curvature of the tibial spine tip in mm | | Radius | average radius of the curvature of the tibial spine tip in mm | Data.S3 | Focal.ID | Identification number for focal male | | :------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Focal.mass | Mass of focal male in grams | | Focal.FW | Femur width of the focal males right hind leg in mm | | Focal.Radius.1 | first measurement for radius of the curvature of the focal tibial spine tip in mm | | Focal.Radius.2 | second measurement for radius of the curvature of the focal tibial spine tip in mm | | Focal.Radius.3 | third measurement for radius of the curvature of the focal tibial spine tip in mm | | Focal.Radius | average radius of the curvature of the focal tibial spine tip in mm | | Treatment | Treatment that the focal male was randomly assigned | | Rival.ID | Identification number for rival male | | Rival.mass | Mass of rival male in grams | | Rival.FW | Femur width of the rival males right hind leg in mm | | Rival.Radius.1 | first measurement for radius of the curvature of the rival tibial spine tip in mm | | Rival.Radius.2 | second measurement for radius of the curvature of the rival tibial spine tip in mm | | Rival.Radius.3 | third measurement for radius of the curvature of the rival tibial spine tip in mm | | Rival.Radius | average radius of the curvature of the rival tibial spine tip in mm | | Relative.difference.mass | Relative difference in mass between focal and rival male | | Size.similarity.mass | Absolute values of the relative difference in mass between focal and rival male | | Relative.difference.FW | Relative difference in femur width between focal and rival male | | Size.similarity.FW | Absolute values of the relative difference in femur width between focal and rival male | | Relative.difference.radius | Relative difference in the radius of the curvature of the tibial spine between focal and rival male | | Size.similarity.radius | Absolute values of the relative difference in the radius of the curvature of the tibial spine between focal and rival male | | Interaction.binary | Whether or not there were any fighting interactions (1=Yes, 0=No) | | Rival.Interactions | Total number of fighting interactions the rival engaged in | | Focal.Interactions | Total number of fighting interactions the focal engaged in | | Focal.Win | Whether the focal male was dominant (1=Yes, 0=No). Empty cell indicates there was no clear winner.  | | Clear.Focal.Strike | Whether the focal male clearly used their tibial spine to strike its rival (1=Yes, 0=No) | | Time | Time, in hours, that the behavioral trial started  | | Temperature | Air temperature in C at the start of the behavioral trial |