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Dixit T, Lund J, Fulford AJC, Apostol AL, Chen KC, Tong W, Feeney WE, Hamusikili L, Colebrook-Robjent JFR, Town CP, Spottiswoode CN. Chase-away evolution maintains imperfect mimicry in a brood parasite-host system despite rapid evolution of mimics. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1978-1982. [PMID: 37872417 PMCID: PMC10697838 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02232-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
We studied a brood parasite-host system (the cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis and its host, the tawny-flanked prinia Prinia subflava) to test (1) the fundamental hypothesis that deceptive mimics evolve to resemble models, selecting in turn for models to evolve away from mimics ('chase-away evolution') and (2) whether such reciprocal evolution maintains imperfect mimicry over time. Over only 50 years, parasites evolved towards hosts and hosts evolved away from parasites, resulting in no detectible increase in mimetic fidelity. Our results reflect rapid adaptive evolution in wild populations of models and mimics and show that chase-away evolution in models can counteract even rapid evolution of mimics, resulting in the persistence of imperfect mimicry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanmay Dixit
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.
| | - Jess Lund
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | | | | | - Kuan-Chi Chen
- Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Wenfei Tong
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - William E Feeney
- Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology Group, Doñana Biological Station (CSIC), Seville, Spain
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | | | | | | | - Claire N Spottiswoode
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
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Reichard M, Koblmüller S, Blažek R, Zimmermann H, Katongo C, Bryjová A, Bryja J. Lack of host specialization despite selective host use in brood parasitic cuckoo catfish. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:6070-6082. [PMID: 37861460 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Host-parasite dynamics involve coevolutionary arms races, which may lead to host specialization and ensuing diversification. Our general understanding of the evolution of host specialization in brood parasites is compromised by a restricted focus on bird and insect lineages. The cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus) is an obligate parasite of parental care of mouthbrooding cichlids in Lake Tanganyika. Given the ecological and taxonomic diversity of mouthbrooding cichlids in the lake, we hypothesized the existence of sympatric host-specific lineages in the cuckoo catfish. In a sample of 779 broods from 20 cichlid species, we found four species parasitized by cuckoo catfish (with prevalence of parasitism of 2%-18%). All parasitized cichlids were from the tribe Tropheini, maternal mouthbrooders that spawn over a substrate (rather than in open water). Phylogenetic analysis based on genomic (ddRAD sequencing) and mitochondrial (Dloop) data from cuckoo catfish embryos showed an absence of host-specific lineages. This was corroborated by analyses of genetic structure and co-ancestry matrix. Within host species, parasitism was not associated with any individual characteristic we recorded (parent size, water depth), but was costly as parasitized parents carried smaller clutches of their own offspring. We conclude that the cuckoo catfish is an intermediate generalist and discuss costs, benefits and constraints of host specialization in this species and brood parasites in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Reichard
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | | | - Radim Blažek
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Holger Zimmermann
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Cyprian Katongo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Anna Bryjová
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Bryja
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
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3
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Dixit T, Choi GPT, Al-Mosleh S, Lund J, Troscianko J, Moya C, Mahadevan L, Spottiswoode CN. Combined measures of mimetic fidelity explain imperfect mimicry in a brood parasite-host system. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20220538. [PMID: 36789542 PMCID: PMC9929498 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The persistence of imperfect mimicry in nature presents a challenge to mimicry theory. Some hypotheses for the existence of imperfect mimicry make differing predictions depending on how mimetic fidelity is measured. Here, we measure mimetic fidelity in a brood parasite-host system using both trait-based and response-based measures of mimetic fidelity. Cuckoo finches Anomalospiza imberbis lay imperfectly mimetic eggs that lack the fine scribbling characteristic of eggs of the tawny-flanked prinia Prinia subflava, a common host species. A trait-based discriminant analysis based on Minkowski functionals-that use geometric and topological morphometric methods related to egg pattern shape and coverage-reflects this consistent difference between host and parasite eggs. These methods could be applied to quantify other phenotypes including stripes and waved patterns. Furthermore, by painting scribbles onto cuckoo finch eggs and testing their rate of rejection compared to control eggs (i.e. a response-based approach to quantify mimetic fidelity), we show that prinias do not discriminate between eggs based on the absence of scribbles. Overall, our results support relaxed selection on cuckoo finches to mimic scribbles, since prinias do not respond differently to eggs with and without scribbles, despite the existence of this consistent trait difference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanmay Dixit
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gary P T Choi
- Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Salem Al-Mosleh
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jess Lund
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jolyon Troscianko
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | | | - L Mahadevan
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Claire N Spottiswoode
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa
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Sex-specific morphs: the genetics and evolution of intra-sexual variation. Nat Rev Genet 2023; 24:44-52. [PMID: 35971002 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-022-00524-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Sex-specific morphs exhibit discrete phenotypes, often including many disparate traits, that are observed in only one sex. These morphs have evolved independently in many different animals and are often associated with alternative mating strategies. The remarkable diversity of sex-specific morphs offers unique opportunities to understand the genetic basis of complex phenotypes, as the distinct nature of many morphs makes it easier to both categorize and compare genomes than for continuous traits. Sex-specific morphs also expand the study of sexual dimorphism beyond traditional bimodal comparisons of male and female averages, as they allow for a more expansive range of sexualization. Although ecological and endocrinological studies of sex-specific morphs have been advancing for some time, genomic and transcriptomic studies of morphs are far more recent. These studies reveal not only many different paths to the evolution of sex-specific morphs but also many commonalities, such as the role of sex-determining genes and hormone signalling in morph development, and the mixing of male and female traits within some morphs.
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Campagna L, Toews DP. The genomics of adaptation in birds. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1173-R1186. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Stoddard MC. Bird eggs. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1126-R1132. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Dixit T, Apostol AL, Chen KC, Fulford AJC, Town CP, Spottiswoode CN. Visual complexity of egg patterns predicts egg rejection according to Weber's law. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220710. [PMID: 35858060 PMCID: PMC9277300 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual complexity is ubiquitous in nature. Drivers of complexity include selection in coevolutionary arms races between antagonists. However, the causes and consequences of biological complexity and its perception are largely understudied, partly because complexity is difficult to quantify. Here, we address this by studying egg pattern complexity and its perception in hosts (tawny-flanked prinia Prinia subflava), which visually recognize and reject mimetic eggs of their virulent brood parasite (cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis). Using field data and an optimization algorithm, we compute a complexity metric which predicts rejection of experimentally placed conspecific eggs in prinia nests. Real cuckoo finch eggs exhibit significantly lower pattern complexity than prinia eggs, suggesting that high complexity benefits hosts because it distinguishes host eggs from parasitic eggs. We show that prinias perceive complexity differences according to Weber's law of proportional processing (i.e. relative, rather than absolute, differences between stimuli are processed in discrimination, such that two eggs with simple patterns are more easily discriminable than two with complex patterns). This may influence coevolutionary trajectories of hosts and parasites. The new methods presented for quantifying complexity and its perception can help us to understand selection pressures driving the evolution of complexity and its consequences for species interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanmay Dixit
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Kuan-Chi Chen
- Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | | | - Claire N. Spottiswoode
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK,DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa
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