  The many-body dynamics exhibited by living objects include group formation
within a population, and the non-equilibrium process of attrition between two
opposing populations due to competition or conflict. We show analytically and
numerically that the combination of these two dynamical processes generates an
attrition duration T whose nonlinear dependence on population asymmetry x is in
stark contrast to standard mass-action theories. A minority population
experiences a longer survival time than two equally balanced populations,
irrespective of whether the majority population adopts such internal grouping
or not. Adding a third population with pre-defined group sizes allows T(x) to
be tailored. Our findings compare favorably to real-world observations.
