User:Ruialty/Ritualized aggression

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Ritualized aggression or ritualized fighting is when animals use a range of behaviours as posture or warning but without engaging in serious aggression or fighting, which would be expensive in terms of energy and the risk of injury. Ritualized aggression involves a graded series of behaviours or displays that include threatening gestures (such as vocalizations, spreading of wings or gill covers, lifting and presentation of claws, head bobbing, tail beating, lunging, etc.) and occasionally posturing physical actions such as inhibited (non-injurious) bites.

This behavior is explained by evolutionary game theory.

Ritualized aggression or ritualized fighting is a phenomenon observed in various animal species where individuals engage in a series of behaviors, often elaborate and ritualistic in nature, to establish dominance, defend territory, or resolve conflicts without engaging in serious physical harm. These displays often involve a sequence of escalating behaviors that serve as a means to avoid the costly consequences of actual physical combat, such as energy expenditure, risk of injury, or potential death. Evolutionary game theory offers a framework to understand such behaviors in terms of the strategies animals employ to maximize their fitness or reproductive success. In the context of ritualized aggression, it can be viewed as a strategic compromise or an evolutionary stable strategy that allows animals to resolve conflicts or establish social hierarchies without risking severe injury or expending excessive energy. Through this behavior, animals can convey their strength, dominance, or intent to other members of their species without necessarily engaging in a full-fledged physical altercation. This helps in minimizing the overall cost associated with conflict while still maintaining social order and hierarchies within the group or species. In essence, these ritualized displays represent a strategic balance between the costs and benefits of aggression, allowing animals to compete and establish social structures efficiently without engaging in potentially devastating physical confrontations.

Cats
Domestic cats (Felis catus) are very territorial and defend their territories with ritualized body posturing, stalking, staring, spitting, yowling and howling.

Spider monkeys
Spider monkeys (genus Ateles) defend their territory by screams, barks, rattling or dropping branches, and urinating and defecating on intruders below.

Oscar cichlids
Oscar cichlids (Astronotus ocellatus) are able to rapidly alter their colouration, a trait which facilitates ritualised territorial and combat behaviours amongst conspecifics. Individuals of another cichlid species, the blunthead cichlid (Tropheus moorii), defend their feeding territory with a display, quivering the tail and fins to intimidate, or an attack, darting at the intruder and chasing them away. Astatotilapia burtoni cichlids have similar displays of aggressive behaviour if they are territorial, which include threat displays and chasing.

Ring-tailed lemur
Male ring-tailed lemurs have scent glands on their wrists, chests, and in the genital area. During encounters with rival males they may perform ritualized aggression by having a "stink fight". The males anoint their tails by rubbing the ends of their tails on the inside of their wrists and on their chests. They then arch their tails over their bodies and wave them at their opponent. The male toward which this is directed either responds with a display of his own, physical aggression, or flees. "Stink fights" can last from 10 minutes to one hour.

Creek chub
The creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) engages in ritualized aggression when others of the species invade its territory. Engaging in parallel swimming, the fish widens its fins and mouth and swims at a caudal fin beat. Intimidating opponent fish throughout these rituals, the forward fish stops and directs blows to the head of the other fish to ensure territory dominance.

Birds of Paradise:
These stunning birds perform elaborate courtship displays involving ritualized behaviors such as intricate dances, vivid plumage displays, and vocalizations to attract mates and establish dominance without physical conflict.

Peafowl (Peacocks):
Male peacocks display their vibrant tails in a ritualized manner during mating rituals to attract peahens and establish dominance among other males without necessarily fighting.

Primates:
Chimpanzees: Chimps display a range of behaviors such as making intimidating gestures, vocalizations, and even sometimes engaging in non-harmful physical confrontations to establish dominance without causing serious harm.

Gorillas:
Gorillas may use elaborate displays, including chest beating, vocalizations, and other behaviors to establish dominance within their group.

Siamese
Fighting Fish (Betta splendens): These fish display their vibrant fins and engage in flaring, circling, and fin spreading to establish territory and dominance without engaging in direct physical combat. Insects: Praying

Mantises:
These insects engage in ritualized aggression as part of their mating behavior, with elaborate postures, movements, and displays to establish mating compatibility without direct physical harm.

Iguanas:
Male iguanas perform push-up displays and head-bobbing to assert dominance and avoid actual physical fights.

Snakes:
Some snakes engage in "combat dances," where they entwine but don't actually bite or cause harm. These encounters help establish dominance and mating rights without leading to injury. These examples illustrate how various animals employ ritualized aggression to establish social hierarchies, defend territories, and compete for mating opportunities without resorting to full-scale physical combat.