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Attisano A, Gill BJ, Anderson MG, Gula R, Langmore NE, Okahisa Y, Sato NJ, Tanaka KD, Thorogood R, Ueda K, Theuerkauf J. Polymorphism at the nestling stage and host-specific mimicry in an Australasian cuckoo-host arms race. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:30-43. [PMID: 36426636 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Decades of research have shown that the coevolutionary arms race between avian brood parasites and their hosts can promote phenotypic diversification in hosts and brood parasites. However, relatively little is known about the role of brood parasitism in promoting phenotypic diversification of nestlings. We review field data collected over four decades in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand to assess potential for coevolutionary interactions between the shining bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites lucidus) and its hosts, and how diversification at the nestling stage may be generating different subspecies. The shining bronze-cuckoo is a specialist parasite of a few hosts in the family Acanthizidae. It has diversified into subspecies, of which the nestlings closely mimic the respective host nestlings in each region. Additionally, some cuckoo subspecies have polymorphic nestlings. The Acanthizidae hosts have similar breeding and nesting habits and only moderately effective frontline defences against parasitism at cuckoo egg laying or at the egg stages. However, some hosts have developed highly effective defences at the nestling stage by recognising and ejecting cuckoo nestlings from the nest. As with the cuckoo nestlings, some hosts have polymorphic nestlings. The coevolutionary interactions in each region suggest different evolutionary stages of the arms race in which either the parasite or the host is currently in the lead. The presence of moderately effective defences at the egg laying and egg stages might explain why some hosts do not have defences at the nestling stage. The south-Pacific cuckoo - host systems are excellent models to explore the evolutionary mechanisms driving the diversification at the nestling stage in the coevolutionary arms race between avian brood parasites and their hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfredo Attisano
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Brian J Gill
- Auckland Museum (retired), Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Michael G Anderson
- School of Natural Sciences, Auckland Campus, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Roman Gula
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Naomi E Langmore
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | | | | | | | - Rose Thorogood
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Research programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Jörn Theuerkauf
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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Koleček J, Piálková R, Piálek L, Šulc M, Hughes AE, Brlík V, Procházka P, Požgayová M, Capek M, Sosnovcová K, Štětková G, Valterová R, Honza M. Spatiotemporal patterns of egg laying in the common cuckoo. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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3
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Taylor CJ, Langmore NE. How do brood-parasitic cuckoos reconcile conflicting environmental and host selection pressures on egg size investment? Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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4
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Medina I, Langmore NE. Host density predicts the probability of parasitism by avian brood parasites. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 374:20180204. [PMID: 30967082 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The spatial distribution of hosts can be a determining factor in the reproductive success of parasites. Highly aggregated hosts may offer more opportunities for reproduction but can have better defences than isolated hosts. Here we connect macro- and micro-evolutionary processes to understand the link between host density and parasitism, using avian brood parasites as a model system. We analyse data across more than 200 host species using phylogenetic comparative analyses and quantify parasitism rate and host reproductive success in relation to spatial distribution using field data collected on one host species over 6 years. Our comparative analysis reveals that hosts occurring at intermediate densities are more likely to be parasitized than colonial or widely dispersed hosts. Correspondingly, our intraspecific field data show that individuals living at moderate densities experience higher parasitism rates than individuals at either low or high densities. Moreover, we show for the first time that the effect of host density on host reproductive success varies according to the intensity of parasitism; hosts have greater reproductive success when living at high densities if parasitism rates are high, but fare better at low densities when parasitism rates are low. We provide the first evidence of the trade-off between host density and parasitism at both macro- and micro-evolutionary scales in brood parasites. This article is part of the theme issue 'The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iliana Medina
- 1 Division of Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University , Australian Capital Territory, 0200 , Australia.,2 School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne , Parkville, Victoria, 3052 , Australia
| | - Naomi E Langmore
- 1 Division of Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University , Australian Capital Territory, 0200 , Australia
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Soler M, Pérez-Contreras T, Soler JJ. Great spotted cuckoos show dynamic patterns of host selection during the breeding season. The importance of laying stage and parasitism status of magpie nests. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Avian brood parasites depend entirely on their hosts to raise their nestlings until independence. Thus, parasite females should select suitable host nests for egg laying according to traits that enhance offspring survival. The availability of nests of certain characteristics influencing the survival of parasitic offspring is, however, temporally dynamic and, thus, patterns of host selection should be evaluated considering characteristics of available host nests the day of parasitism. This allows detecting possible seasonal changes and, therefore, a more realistic picture of host selection by brood parasites. In this paper, we adopt such a new approach and consider daily availability of magpie (Pica pica) host nests at different breeding stage that were or were not parasitized by the great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius). Theory predicts that cuckoos should select host nests at the laying stage. Accordingly, we detected that cuckoos preferred to parasitize magpie nests at the laying stage but, mainly, those that already harbored one or two cuckoo eggs, which may seem counterintuitive. We also showed that patterns of host selection by cuckoos varied during the breeding season, which implies that brood parasite–host interaction is dynamic depending on phenology. These patterns are hidden when not considering the temporally dynamic nature of the availability of host nests of characteristics of interest. We discuss the importance of such patterns and considering diary hosts nests availability for detecting them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Soler
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
- Unidad Asociada Coevolución: Cucos, Hospedadores y Bacterias Simbiontes, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Tomás Pérez-Contreras
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Juan José Soler
- Unidad Asociada Coevolución: Cucos, Hospedadores y Bacterias Simbiontes, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), Almería, Spain
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Yang C, Liang W, Møller AP. Do cuckoos imprint on hosts, micro-habitats, or nest sites? Parasitism preferences in the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2542-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Cain KE, Langmore NE. Female song and aggression show contrasting relationships to reproductive success when habitat quality differs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2192-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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de la Colina MA, Hauber ME, Strausberger BM, Reboreda JC, Mahler B. Molecular tracking of individual host use in the Shiny Cowbird - a generalist brood parasite. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:4684-96. [PMID: 27547305 PMCID: PMC4979699 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2015] [Revised: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Generalist parasites exploit multiple host species at the population level, but the individual parasite's strategy may be either itself a generalist or a specialist pattern of host species use. Here, we studied the relationship between host availability and host use in the individual parasitism patterns of the Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis, a generalist avian obligate brood parasite that parasitizes an extreme range of hosts. Using five microsatellite markers and an 1120-bp fragment of the mtDNA control region, we reconstructed full-sibling groups from 359 cowbird eggs and chicks found in nests of the two most frequent hosts in our study area, the Chalk-browed Mockingbird Mimus saturninus and the House Wren Troglodytes aedon. We were able to infer the laying behavior of 17 different females a posteriori and found that they were mostly faithful to a particular laying area and host species along the entire reproductive season and did not avoid using previously parasitized nests (multiple parasitism) even when other nests were available for parasitism. Moreover, we found females using the same host nest more than once (repeated parasitism), which had not been previously reported for this species. We also found few females parasitizing more than one host species. The use of an alternative host was not related to the main hosts' nest availability. Overall, female shiny cowbirds use a spatially structured and host species specific approach for parasitism, but they do so nonexclusively, resulting in both detectable levels of multiple parasitism and generalism at the level of individual parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ma Alicia de la Colina
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Psychology Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York 695 Park Avenue New York New York 10065; School of Biological Sciences University of Auckland 3A Symonds Street PB 92019 Auckland New Zealand
| | - Bill M Strausberger
- Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution Field Museum of Natural History 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago Illinois 60605
| | - Juan Carlos Reboreda
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Bettina Mahler
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
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Feeney WE, Troscianko J, Langmore NE, Spottiswoode CN. Evidence for aggressive mimicry in an adult brood parasitic bird, and generalized defences in its host. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.0795. [PMID: 26063850 PMCID: PMC4590487 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mimicry of a harmless model (aggressive mimicry) is used by egg, chick and fledgling brood parasites that resemble the host's own eggs, chicks and fledglings. However, aggressive mimicry may also evolve in adult brood parasites, to avoid attack from hosts and/or manipulate their perception of parasitism risk. We tested the hypothesis that female cuckoo finches (Anomalospiza imberbis) are aggressive mimics of female Euplectes weavers, such as the harmless, abundant and sympatric southern red bishop (Euplectes orix). We show that female cuckoo finch plumage colour and pattern more closely resembled those of Euplectes weavers (putative models) than Vidua finches (closest relatives); that their tawny-flanked prinia (Prinia subflava) hosts were equally aggressive towards female cuckoo finches and southern red bishops, and more aggressive to both than to their male counterparts; and that prinias were equally likely to reject an egg after seeing a female cuckoo finch or bishop, and more likely to do so than after seeing a male bishop near their nest. This is, to our knowledge, the first quantitative evidence for aggressive mimicry in an adult bird, and suggests that host–parasite coevolution can select for aggressive mimicry by avian brood parasites, and counter-defences by hosts, at all stages of the reproductive cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- W E Feeney
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - J Troscianko
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - N E Langmore
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - C N Spottiswoode
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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11
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12
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Female and male song rates across breeding stage: testing for sexual and nonsexual functions of female song. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.07.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Feeney WE, Stoddard MC, Kilner RM, Langmore NE. “Jack-of-all-trades” egg mimicry in the brood parasitic Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo? Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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14
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Shiny cowbirds share foster mothers but not true mothers in multiply parasitized mockingbird nests. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1682-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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15
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Rock C, Quinlan S, Martin M, Green D. Age-dependent costs of cowbird parasitism in Yellow Warblers ( Setophaga petechia). CAN J ZOOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2013-0014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783)) often reduces the reproductive success of their hosts. We examined whether the ability of females to avoid or mitigate the costs of brood parasitism improved with age in a population of Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia (L., 1766)) breeding near Revelstoke, British Columbia, between 2004 and 2011. Cowbirds parasitized 18% of Yellow Warbler nesting attempts and females rejected 24% of parasitized nests, principally by deserting the nest and initiating a new breeding attempt. We found no evidence that older females were better at avoiding parasitism or more likely to reject parasitized nests than yearlings. On average, brood parasitism reduced clutch sizes by 0.8 eggs, had no effect on nest success, but reduced the number of young fledged from successful nests by 1.3 offspring. Despite age-related improvement in some measures of breeding performance, the costs of brood parasitism at each period of the breeding cycle did not vary with age. There was, however, some evidence, that brood parasitism reduced the annual productivity (total number of young fledged) of older females less than the annual productivity of yearlings suggesting that the cumulative costs of brood parasitism varied with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- C.A. Rock
- Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - S.P. Quinlan
- Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - M. Martin
- Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - D.J. Green
- Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
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Abstract
Arms races between brood parasites and their hosts provide model systems for studying the evolutionary repercussions of species interactions. However, how naive hosts identify brood parasites as enemies remains poorly understood, despite its ecological and evolutionary significance. Here, we investigate whether young, cuckoo-naive superb fairy-wrens, Malurus cyaneus, can learn to recognize cuckoos as a threat through social transmission of information. Naive individuals were initially unresponsive to a cuckoo specimen, but after observing conspecifics mob a cuckoo, they made more whining and mobbing alarm calls, and spent more time physically mobbing the cuckoo. This is the first direct evidence that naive hosts can learn to identify brood parasites as enemies via social learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- William E Feeney
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
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Kleindorfer S, Evans C, Colombelli-Négrel D, Robertson J, Griggio M, Hoi H. Host response to cuckoo song is predicted by the future risk of brood parasitism. Front Zool 2013; 10:30. [PMID: 23692969 PMCID: PMC3666891 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-10-30] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2012] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Risk assessment occurs over different temporal and spatial scales and is selected for when individuals show an adaptive response to a threat. Here, we test if birds respond to the threat of brood parasitism using the acoustical cues of brood parasites in the absence of visual stimuli. We broadcast the playback of song of three brood parasites (Chalcites cuckoo species) and a sympatric non-parasite (striated thornbill, Acanthiza lineata) in the territories of superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) during the peak breeding period and opportunistic breeding period. The three cuckoo species differ in brood parasite prevalence and the probability of detection by the host, which we used to rank the risk of parasitism (high risk, moderate risk, low risk). Results Host birds showed the strongest response to the threat of cuckoo parasitism in accordance with the risk of parasitism. Resident wrens had many alarm calls and close and rapid approach to the playback speaker that was broadcasting song of the high risk brood parasite (Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo, C. basalis) across the year (peak and opportunistic breeding period), some response to the moderate risk brood parasite (shining bronze-cuckoo, C. lucidus) during the peak breeding period, and the weakest response to the low risk brood parasite (little bronze-cuckoo, C. minutillus). Playback of the familiar control stimulus in wren territories evoked the least response. Conclusion Host response to the threat of cuckoo parasitism was assessed using vocal cues of the cuckoo and was predicted by the risk of future parasitism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Kleindorfer
- School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, 5042, South Australia.
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Požgayová M, Procházka P, Honza M. Is shared male assistance with antiparasitic nest defence costly in the polygynous great reed warbler? Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.12.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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20
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Learned recognition of brood parasitic cuckoos in the superb fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus. Behav Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ars033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Ursino CA, De Mársico MC, Sued M, Farall A, Reboreda JC. Brood parasitism disproportionately increases nest provisioning and helper recruitment in a cooperatively breeding bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1238-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Kilner RM, Langmore NE. Cuckoos versus hosts in insects and birds: adaptations, counter-adaptations and outcomes. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2011; 86:836-52. [PMID: 21223481 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2010.00173.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Avian parents and social insect colonies are victimized by interspecific brood parasites-cheats that procure costly care for their dependent offspring by leaving them in another species' nursery. Birds and insects defend themselves from attack by brood parasites; their defences in turn select counter-strategies in the parasite, thus setting in motion antagonistic co-evolution between the two parties. Despite their considerable taxonomic disparity, here we show striking parallels in the way that co-evolution between brood parasites and their hosts proceeds in insects and birds. First, we identify five types of co-evolutionary arms race from the empirical literature, which are common to both systems. These are: (a) directional co-evolution of weaponry and armoury; (b) furtiveness in the parasite countered by strategies in the host to expose the parasite; (c) specialist parasites mimicking hosts who escape by diversifying their genetic signatures; (d) generalist parasites mimicking hosts who escape by favouring signatures that force specialization in the parasite; and (e) parasites using crypsis to evade recognition by hosts who then simplify their signatures to make the parasite more detectable. Arms races a and c are well characterized in the theoretical literature on co-evolution, but the other types have received little or no formal theoretical attention. Empirical work suggests that hosts are doomed to lose arms races b and e to the parasite, in the sense that parasites typically evade host defences and successfully parasitize the nest. Nevertheless hosts may win when the co-evolutionary trajectory follows arms race a, c or d. Next, we show that there are four common outcomes of the co-evolutionary arms race for hosts. These are: (1) successful resistance; (2) the evolution of defence portfolios (or multiple lines of resistance); (3) acceptance of the parasite; and (4) tolerance of the parasite. The particular outcome is not determined by the type of preceding arms race but depends more on whether hosts or parasites control the co-evolutionary trajectory: tolerance is an outcome that parasites inflict on hosts, whereas the other three outcomes are more dependent on properties intrinsic to the host species. Finally, our review highlights considerable interspecific variation in the complexity and depth of host defence portfolios. Whether this variation is adaptive or merely reflects evolutionary lag is unclear. We propose an adaptive explanation, which centres on the relative strength of two opposing processes: strategy-facilitation, in which one line of host defence promotes the evolution of another form of resistance, and strategy-blocking, in which one line of defence may relax selection on another so completely that it causes it to decay. We suggest that when strategy-facilitation outweighs strategy-blocking, hosts will possess complex defence portfolios and we identify selective conditions in which this is likely to be the case.
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Bioacoustic distances between the begging calls of brood parasites and their host species: a comparison of metrics and techniques. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-1065-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Reichard M, Polačik M, Tarkan AS, Spence R, Gaygusuz O, Ercan E, Ondračková M, Smith C. The bitterling-mussel coevolutionary relationship in areas of recent and ancient sympatry. Evolution 2010; 64:3047-56. [PMID: 20482611 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01032.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Host-parasite relationships are often characterized by the rapid evolution of parasite adaptations to exploit their host, and counteradaptations in the host to avoid the costs imposed by parasitism. Hence, the current coevolutionary state between a parasite and its hosts is predicted to vary according to the history of sympatry and local abundance of interacting species. We compared a unique reciprocal coevolutionary relationship of a fish, the European bitterling (Rhodeus amarus) and freshwater mussels (Unionidae) between areas of recent (Central Europe) and ancient (Turkey) sympatry. Bitterling parasitize freshwater mussels by laying their eggs in the gills of mussel and, in turn, mussel larvae (glochidia) parasitize the fish. We found that all bitterling from both regions avoided one mussel species. Preferences among other mussel species tended to be related to local mussel abundance rather than duration of sympatry. Individual fish were not consistent in their oviposition choices, precluding the evolution of host-specific lineages. Mussels were demonstrated to have evolved strong defenses to bitterling parasitism in the area of ancient sympatry, but have no such defenses in the large areas of Europe where bitterling are currently invasive. Bitterling avoided glochidia infection irrespective of the duration of sympatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Reichard
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom.
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De Mársico MC, Mahler B, Chomnalez M, Di Giácomo AG, Reboreda JC. Host Use by Generalist and Specialist Brood-Parasitic Cowbirds at Population and Individual Levels. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/s0065-3454(10)42003-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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27
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Langmore NE, Cockburn A, Russell AF, Kilner RM. Flexible cuckoo chick-rejection rules in the superb fairy-wren. Behav Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arp086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Canestrari D, Marcos JM, Baglione V. Cooperative breeding in carrion crows reduces the rate of brood parasitism by great spotted cuckoos. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Langmore NE, Maurer G, Adcock GJ, Kilner RM. Socially acquired host-specific mimicry and the evolution of host races in Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo Chalcites basalis. Evolution 2008; 62:1689-1699. [PMID: 18419751 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00405.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Coevolution between parasites and their hosts typically leads to increasing specialization on host species by the parasite. Where multiple hosts are parasitized, specialization on each host can result in genetic divergence within the parasite population to create host races, and, ultimately, new species. We investigate how host-specific traits arise in Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo Chalcites basalis nestlings. Newly hatched cuckoos evict host young from the nest, yet in the absence of a model they accurately mimic the different begging calls of a primary host (superb fairy-wren, Malurus cyaneus) and a secondary host (buff-rumped thornbill, Acanthiza reguloides). Using cross-fostering experiments, we show that begging calls are modified after parasitism, through experience. Further, we demonstrate the mechanism by which mimetic calls are acquired. All cuckoo nestlings initially produced the call of their primary host. When cross-fostered as eggs to a secondary host, calls increased in variability and were rapidly modified to resemble those of the secondary host through shaping by host parents. We suggest that plasticity in the development of host-specific traits after parasitism is likely to reduce selection for host race formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi E Langmore
- School of Botany & Zoology, Australian National University, Canberra, 0200, Australia.
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De Mársico MC, Reboreda JC. Differential reproductive success favours strong host preference in a highly specialized brood parasite. Proc Biol Sci 2008; 275:2499-506. [PMID: 18647716 PMCID: PMC2603199 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Obligate avian brood parasites show dramatic variation in the degree to which they are host specialists or host generalists. The screaming cowbird Molothrus rufoaxillaris is one of the most specialized brood parasites, using a single host, the bay-winged cowbird (Agelaioides badius) over most of its range. Coevolutionary theory predicts increasing host specificity the longer the parasite interacts with a particular avian community, as hosts evolve defences that the parasite cannot counteract. According to this view, host specificity can be maintained if screaming cowbirds avoid parasitizing potentially suitable hosts that have developed effective defences against parasitic females or eggs. Specialization may also be favoured, even in the absence of host defences, if the parasite's reproductive success in alternative hosts is lower than that in the main host. We experimentally tested these hypotheses using as alternative hosts two suitable but unparasitized species: house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) and chalk-browed mockingbirds (Mimus saturninus). We assessed host defences against parasitic females and eggs, and reproductive success of the parasite in current and alternative hosts. Alternative hosts did not discriminate against screaming cowbird females or eggs. Egg survival and hatching success were similarly high in current and alternative hosts, but the survival of parasitic chicks was significantly lower in alternative hosts. Our results indicate that screaming cowbirds have the potential to colonize novel hosts, but higher reproductive success in the current host may favour host fidelity.
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Affiliation(s)
- María C De Mársico
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EGA Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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