In this post, I will discuss two tactics that animals use in order to gain access to mates as well as an example in each. You can also find both articles on Wikipedia. Find the weapons article at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons and the ornaments article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornaments.
Weapons are traits that are used by males to fight one another off for access to mates. A mate is won in battle either by a male chasing off a fellow competitor or killing it off, usually leaving the victor as the only option for the female to reproduce with[1]. However, because stronger organisms, whether mentally or physically, are usually favored in combat, this also leads to the evolution of stronger organisms in species that use combat as a way to secure mates[2]. Examples of weapons include the antlers bucks use to fight one another off when competing for females.
Ornaments are traits that are used to attract mates based on physical attractiveness. These traits may help show good genes that potential mates may find desirable[1]. Although these ornaments are usually the main strategy in order to procure a mate, they come with the large cost of making the individuals more susceptible to being tracked by predators as well[2]. The most notable form of ornaments comes in the ornate plumage that the peacock has in order to attract peahens; the brighter and bigger the feathers, the better chance of finding a mate.
Tags: competition, mating