It refers to a hypothetical situation in which several individuals stage a contest for which one eventually emerges victorious.
This is in stark contrast to scramble competition which can result in periodic or chaotic population dynamics.
[4] There was also a Nicholson–Bailey model made to partially explain the relationship between Heterospilus prosopidis and its host Callosobruchus maculatus.
In a study looking at aerial wars of attrition in territorial insects, they found that the energy Cuterebra austeni got from their resources before adulthood played a role in who won.
[8] However, a study in 2010 that staged contests between male Pararge aegeria found motivation to be a factor.