Conflict resolution with noisy signaling: fat, color and social status in damselflies.

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

Signaling is important in conflict resolution. When signals are noisy and unreliable, negotiations are more likely to erupt into unnecessary fighting. This study will determine whether male black-winged damselflies (Calopteryx maculata) use unreliable signals to assess each other's fighting ability, and whether inaccurate assessment is an important cause of fighting. Fighting ability in male damselflies depends on fat reserves. Old lean males lose fights and are driven from their territories by young, fat challengers. Recent research discovered a subtle cue to fat reserves: color. Young, fat, males are slightly bluer than old, lean males. Color depends on how sunlight is reflected by the body of the damselfly and this changes with age and fat reserves. This study will use behavioral experiments to test whether the damselflies actually use this cue to assess each other, and determine the extent to which a noisy relationship between fat and color contributes to fighting. We will use reflectance spectrophotometry to measure color, electron microscopy to measure the reflector geometry and chemical assays to measure fat reserves. This data will help us to develop more realistic models of conflict resolution with unreliable signaling.