Aggressive intrasexual contests for access to resources and mates are widespread and often costly. In many species, recent contest outcomes can influence future contest outcomes in phenomena known as winner-loser effects. Currently, two hypotheses could explain the adaptive significance of these effects: individuals may change their behavior through assessment of their own past experience or in response to a social cue indicating their social partner's past experience. In this study, we explore how winning or losing a contest affects an individual's future behavior and competition success in the forked fungus beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus). We also examined how contest outcome influences the preferences of male and females for a chemical cue. We found that losing a single contest not only makes that individual more likely to lose in the future, but also impacts their behavior and the behavior of their competitor as well. Our results indicate that both self assessment and social cues could influence future contest outcomes, providing insight into how individuals respond to and learn about their social environment.
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