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Wang J, Ma L, Chen X, Yang C. Female Cuckoo Calls Deceive Their Hosts by Evoking Nest-Leaving Behavior: Variation under Different Levels of Parasitism. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12151990. [PMID: 35953979 PMCID: PMC9367515 DOI: 10.3390/ani12151990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Obligate brood parasite birds such as the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) can trick their hosts via a variety of means. Cuckoos are threats to the host nests but not to the host adults themselves. To successfully parasitize the host nests, female cuckoos have been hypothesized to distract the hosts’ attention from their nests by mimicking the calls of sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), a predator of the hosts. We performed playback experiments in two populations of the host oriental reed warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) that have experienced different levels of parasitic pressure. We found that female cuckoo calls evoked both populations of the hosts to leave their nests more frequently than did the calls of male cuckoos or doves that do not pose threats to the hosts. This indicated that the call of the female cuckoo functions to deceive the host and thus favors host brood parasitism. However, we propose that such a deceiving effect of the female cuckoo call is due to the rapid cadence of the call rather than sparrowhawk mimicry. Abstract The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is an obligate brood parasite that has evolved a series of strategies to trick its hosts. The female cuckoo has been hypothesized to mimic the appearance and sounds of several raptors to deceive the hosts into exhibiting anti-predator behavior. Such behavior would relax the protection of the host nest and thus allow the female cuckoo to approach the host nest unopposed. Many anti-parasite strategies have been found to vary among geographical populations due to different parasitic pressures from cuckoos. However, the effect of female cuckoo calls related to different levels of parasitic pressure has not been examined. Here, we studied the effect of female cuckoo calls on the oriental reed warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), one of the major hosts of the common cuckoo, in two geographical populations experiencing different levels of parasite pressure. Four kinds of sounds were played back to the hosts: the calls from female common cuckoos, male common cuckoos, sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), and oriental turtle doves (Streptopelia orientalis). The results showed that the female cuckoo calls induced the hosts to leave their nests more frequently than the male cuckoo or dove calls in both populations, and two populations of the hosts reacted similarly to the female cuckoo calls, implying that the function of female cuckoo calls would not be affected by the difference in parasitism rate. This study indicates that female cuckoo calls function to distract the hosts’ attention from protecting their nests. However, we propose that such a deception by the female cuckoo call may not be due to the mimicry of sparrowhawk calls, but rather that the rapid cadence of the call that causes a sense of anxiety in the hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaojiao Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
- College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071000, China
| | - Laikun Ma
- College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071000, China
- Department of Biology and Food Science, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities, Chengde 067000, China
| | - Xiangyang Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Canchao Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
- Correspondence:
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Ma L, Liu J, Yang C, Liang W. Egg mimicry and host selection by common cuckoos among four sympatric host species breeding within a reed habitat. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In the case of cuckoo parasitism, the maintenance of host specificity may be closely related to active host selection. In the reed wetlands of the Yongnian National Wetland Park, China, four host species of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) with similar nest structures breed sympatrically, namely, the Oriental reed warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) (ORW), vinous-throated parrotbill (Sinosuthora webbiana) (VP), reed parrotbill (Paradoxornis heudei) (RP) and blunt-winged warbler (Acrocephalus concinens) (BW). Cuckoo parasitism rates on ORW (14.5%) and BW (18.2%) were found to be significantly higher than those on two species of parrotbills (RP 1.4% and VP 0%), and cuckoo eggs mimicked the size and coloration of ORW eggs significantly more closely than those of the eggs of the other three hosts. Egg recognition experiments revealed that the ability of ORW and VP to recognize nonmimetic eggs was significantly greater than that of BW and RP. Different life history strategies of the four hosts, including antiparasitic strategy, breeding time period and population density may partly explain the difference of parasitism in this multiple cuckoo-host system. Our study suggests that determining host life history traits and antiparasitic strategies are important for a better understanding of the specificity of host selection in common cuckoos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laikun Ma
- Department of Biology and Food Science, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities, Chengde, People’s Republic of China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, People’s Republic of China
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Conservation, Hengshui University, Hengshui, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jianping Liu
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin (National Ethnic Affairs Commission), North Minzu University, Yinchuan, People’s Republic of China
| | - Canchao Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, People’s Republic of China
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3
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Blažek R, Polačik M, Reichard M. Group intrusions by a brood parasitic fish are not cooperative. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Brood parasites relegate all parental duties to unrelated hosts. Host resistance against brood parasitism is most effective during egg laying and is best countered by surreptitious oviposition. This may be aided through distraction of host attention by the male partner or a larger cooperative group. Cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus) parasitize the broods of mouthbrooding cichlids, which collect their eggs immediately after oviposition. Cuckoo catfish must time their intrusion precisely, as the temporal window for parasitism lasts only a few seconds. As the cuckoo catfish typically intrude host spawning as a group, we tested whether groups of catfish distract spawning cichlid pairs more successfully than a single catfish pair. We found that larger catfish groups were not more effective in parasitism, as parasitism success by groups of three catfish pairs increased only proportionally to single catfish pairs. The number of cichlid eggs in host clutches decreased at high catfish abundance, apparently due to elevated cuckoo catfish predation on the eggs. Hence, group intrusions do not represent cooperative actions, but incur an increased cost to the host cichlid from greater egg predation by cuckoo catfish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radim Blažek
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Matěj Polačik
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Reichard
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland
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4
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Yang C, Wang L, MØller AP, Liang W. Egg polymorphism and highly sensitive egg recognition of cross-phenotypes in rufescent prinias Prinia rufescens as effective defenses against brood parasitism. Integr Zool 2020; 16:280-285. [PMID: 32644219 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Whether escalating egg polymorphism increases the efficiency to reduce the fitness costs of brood parasitism is not supported by empirical studies. Rufescent prinias (Prinia rufescens) laying tetramorphic eggs are highly sensitive to conspecific foreign eggs with different phenotypes that they reject perfectly at 100%, and suffer only 1.4% of plaintive cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus) parasitism. Our study provided empirical evidence showing that escalation of egg polymorphism in hosts increases their fitness because it reduces successful cuckoo parasitism rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Canchao Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
| | - Longwu Wang
- State Forestry Administration of China Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Conservation in Mountainous Areas of Southwest Karst, School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Anders Pape MØller
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay Cedex, France
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
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5
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Koleček J, Procházka P, Brlík V, Honza M. Cross-continental test of natal philopatry and habitat-imprinting hypotheses to explain host specificity in an obligate brood parasite. Naturwissenschaften 2020; 107:12. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-020-1667-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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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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7
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Tartally A, Thomas JA, Anton C, Balletto E, Barbero F, Bonelli S, Bräu M, Casacci LP, Csősz S, Czekes Z, Dolek M, Dziekańska I, Elmes G, Fürst MA, Glinka U, Hochberg ME, Höttinger H, Hula V, Maes D, Munguira ML, Musche M, Nielsen PS, Nowicki P, Oliveira PS, Peregovits L, Ritter S, Schlick-Steiner BC, Settele J, Sielezniew M, Simcox DJ, Stankiewicz AM, Steiner FM, Švitra G, Ugelvig LV, Van Dyck H, Varga Z, Witek M, Woyciechowski M, Wynhoff I, Nash DR. Patterns of host use by brood parasitic Maculinea butterflies across Europe. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180202. [PMID: 30967080 PMCID: PMC6388033 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The range of hosts exploited by a parasite is determined by several factors, including host availability, infectivity and exploitability. Each of these can be the target of natural selection on both host and parasite, which will determine the local outcome of interactions, and potentially lead to coevolution. However, geographical variation in host use and specificity has rarely been investigated. Maculinea (= Phengaris) butterflies are brood parasites of Myrmica ants that are patchily distributed across the Palæarctic and have been studied extensively in Europe. Here, we review the published records of ant host use by the European Maculinea species, as well as providing new host ant records for more than 100 sites across Europe. This comprehensive survey demonstrates that while all but one of the Myrmica species found on Maculinea sites have been recorded as hosts, the most common is often disproportionately highly exploited. Host sharing and host switching are both relatively common, but there is evidence of specialization at many sites, which varies among Maculinea species. We show that most Maculinea display the features expected for coevolution to occur in a geographic mosaic, which has probably allowed these rare butterflies to persist in Europe. This article is part of the theme issue 'The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern'.
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Affiliation(s)
- András Tartally
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, 4032, Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1 Hungary
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Christian Anton
- Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 4, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Emilio Balletto
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy
| | - Francesca Barbero
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy
| | - Simona Bonelli
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy
| | | | - Luca Pietro Casacci
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy
- Laboratory of Social and Myrmecophilous Insects, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Sándor Csősz
- MTA-ELTE-MTM Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, H1117, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Czekes
- Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor St 5–7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Matthias Dolek
- Büro Geyer und Dolek, Alpenblick 12, 82237 Wörthsee, Germany
| | - Izabela Dziekańska
- Institute of Biology, University of Bialystok, Ciołkowskiego 1 J, 15-245 Białystok, Poland
| | - Graham Elmes
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Wallingford, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Matthias A. Fürst
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Uta Glinka
- Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 4, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Michael E. Hochberg
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution – CNRS UMR 5554, Université de Montpellier – CC 065, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France Cedex 05, France
| | - Helmut Höttinger
- Institute of Zoology, Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Live Sciences, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Vladimir Hula
- Department of Zoology, Hydrobiology, Fishery and Apiculture, Faculty of AgriScience, Mendel University Brno, Zemedelska 1, Brno 61300, Czech Republic
| | - Dirk Maes
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Herman Teirlinckgebouw, Havenlaan 88 bus 73, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Miguel L. Munguira
- Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología (Zoología), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Martin Musche
- Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 4, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | | | - Piotr Nowicki
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Paula S. Oliveira
- Department of Forest Science and Landscape, Center for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB)/University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-911 Vila Real, Portugal
| | - László Peregovits
- Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, 1088 Budapest Baross u. 13., Hungary
| | - Sylvia Ritter
- Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 4, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Birgit C. Schlick-Steiner
- Molecular Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Josef Settele
- Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 4, 06120 Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marcin Sielezniew
- Institute of Biology, University of Bialystok, Ciołkowskiego 1 J, 15-245 Białystok, Poland
| | - David J. Simcox
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Wallingford, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Anna M. Stankiewicz
- Laboratory of Social and Myrmecophilous Insects, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Florian M. Steiner
- Molecular Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Giedrius Švitra
- Lithuanian Entomological Society, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Line V. Ugelvig
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hans Van Dyck
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Zoltán Varga
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, 4032, Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1 Hungary
| | - Magdalena Witek
- Laboratory of Social and Myrmecophilous Insects, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Michal Woyciechowski
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Irma Wynhoff
- Dutch Butterfly Conservation and Butterfly Conservation Europe, PO Box 506, 6700 AM Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - David R. Nash
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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Samaš P, Rutila J, Honza M, Kysučan M, Grim T. Rearing a virulent common cuckoo is not extra costly for its only cavity-nesting host. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.1710. [PMID: 30355712 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Virulent brood parasites refrain from arduous parental care, often kill host progeny and inflict rearing costs upon their hosts. Quantifying the magnitude of such costs across the whole period of care (from incubation through to parasite fledgling independence) is essential for understanding the selection pressures on hosts to evolve antiparasitic defences. Despite the central importance of such costs for our understanding of coevolutionary dynamics, they have not yet been comprehensively quantified in any host of any avian brood parasite. We quantified parasite-rearing costs in common redstarts Phoenicurus phoenicurus raising either parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus or their own chicks throughout the complete breeding cycle, and used multiple cost parameters for each breeding stage: incubation, brooding and feeding effort; length of parental/host care; parent/host body condition; and heterophil/lymphocyte ratio (stress-level indicator). Contrary to traditional assumptions, rearing the parasite per se was not associated with overall higher physiological or physical costs to hosts above the natural levels imposed by efforts to rear their own progeny. The low parasite-rearing costs imposed on hosts may, in part, explain the low levels of known host counter-defences in this unusually frequently parasitized cuckoo host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Samaš
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 60365 Brno, Czech Republic
| | | | - Marcel Honza
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 60365 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Kysučan
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17 Listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Grim
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17 Listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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Campobello D, Sealy SG. Evolutionary significance of antiparasite, antipredator and learning phenotypes of avian nest defence. Sci Rep 2018; 8:10569. [PMID: 30002381 PMCID: PMC6043525 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-28275-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Avian nest defence, which is expected to serve both antiparasite and antipredator functions, may benefit or be detrimental to birds, although selective forces that potentially operate on nest defence have not been quantified as a whole. Together with fitness values, we analysed two traits of nest defence, intensity and plasticity, in two distantly related passerine species, yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia) in North America and reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) in Europe, both favourite host species for brood parasites. Breeders that escaped parasitism were the most vocal among reed warblers, whereas there was no specific defence phenotype that predicted prevention of parasitism in yellow warblers. Breeders that escaped nest predation were, in both species, those with the most distractive response at the first exposure to a nest-threatening event, such as the experimental predation or parasitism simulated at the nest. However, increasing defence intensity benefited yellow warblers but was detrimental to reed warblers, because intense defence responses attracted predators. Adaptiveness of nest defence was revealed by nest defence phenotypes when examined in concert with the seasonal fitness (i.e. measures of reproductive success). Results revealed selective forces favoured yellow warblers with strong defence phenotypes. Opposite forces were instead revealed among reed warblers whose favoured phenotypes were strong, yet less flexible, defenders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Campobello
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
- Section of Animal Biology, Department STEBICEF, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
| | - Spencer G Sealy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
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Samaš P, Rutila J, Grim T. The common redstart as a suitable model to study cuckoo-host coevolution in a unique ecological context. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:255. [PMID: 27887566 PMCID: PMC5124271 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0835-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Co-evolutionary arms-races result in spatio-temporally dynamic relationships between interacting species, e.g., brood parasites and their avian hosts. However, majority of avian co-evolutionary studies are limited to "snap-shots" of a single breeding season in an open-nesting host. In a long-term study (11 breeding seasons), we explored a unique system between the brood parasitic common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) and its host, the common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) which is exceptional among all cuckoo hosts due to being a cavity nester. Conditions in cavities are different from open nests, e.g., lower risks of predation, more favourable microclimate, increased risks of unsuccessful eviction of host offspring by the cuckoo nestling. Different conditions in cavities thus can be expected to shape parasite-host coevolution differently from what is typically studied in open nesting hosts. RESULTS In our highly parasitised nest-box population (32.5%, n = 569 nests) only 35.7% of cuckoo eggs were laid into the nest cup and incubated by redstarts. Host nests shifted availability to later into the breeding season from 2006 to 2016 and cuckoos followed this trend by also shifting their timing of parasitism. Although previous studies revealed that redstarts selectively eject experimental non-mimetic eggs (desertion was not a specific response to foreign eggs), the hosts never ejected naturally-laid cuckoo eggs or cuckoo eggs cross-fostered into naturally non-parasitised nests. We solve the long-standing debate about the origin of cuckoo eggs found on the nest rim: we gained the first direct video-recording evidence that eggs found on the nest rim were mislaid by parasites and not ejected by hosts. Naturally-parasitised nests were deserted more often (18.6%) than control non-parasitized nests (5.6%) or nests artificially parasitised by us (1.4%). This suggests that the sight of the laying cuckoo female is the primary cue that triggers egg rejection (by desertion) in this host. Review of data from this and other study sites (10 populations, n = 853 experiments) demonstrates high variability in rejection rates and shows that populations facing higher parasitism rates reject parasitic eggs with higher frequencies. Surprisingly, cuckoo chicks either growing solitarily or with redstart chicks did not differ in their fledging success. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that the redstart is an ideal model system to study the flexibility and limits of brood parasite-host co-evolution in an extreme ecological setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Samaš
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, Olomouc, 77146, Czech Republic
| | | | - Tomáš Grim
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, Olomouc, 77146, Czech Republic.
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11
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Louder MIM, Schelsky WM, Albores AN, Hoover JP. A generalist brood parasite modifies use of a host in response to reproductive success. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.1615. [PMID: 26336180 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Avian obligate brood parasites, which rely solely on hosts to raise their young, should choose the highest quality hosts to maximize reproductive output. Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are extreme host generalists, yet female cowbirds could use information based on past reproductive outcomes to make egg-laying decisions thus minimizing fitness costs associated with parasitizing low-quality hosts. We use a long-term (21 years) nest-box study of a single host, the prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea), to show that local cowbird reproductive success, but not host reproductive success, was positively correlated with the probability of parasitism the following year. Experimental manipulations of cowbird success corroborated that female cowbirds make future decisions about which hosts to use based on information pertaining to past cowbird success, both within and between years. The within-year pattern, in particular, points to local cowbird females selecting hosts based on past reproductive outcomes. This, coupled with high site fidelity of female cowbirds between years, points to information use, rather than cowbird natal returns alone, increasing parasitism rates on highly productive sites between years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew I M Louder
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Wendy M Schelsky
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Amber N Albores
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Jeffrey P Hoover
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
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12
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Molina-Morales M, Martínez JG, Avilés JM. Criteria for host selection in a brood parasite vary depending on parasitism rate. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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13
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Yang C, Su T, Liang W, Møller AP. Coevolution between the large hawk-cuckoo (Cuculus sparverioides) and its two sympatric Leiothrichidae hosts: evidence for recent expansion and switch in host use? Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Canchao Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Tropical Plant and Animal Ecology; College of Life Sciences; Hainan Normal University; Haikou 571158 China
| | - Tongping Su
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Tropical Plant and Animal Ecology; College of Life Sciences; Hainan Normal University; Haikou 571158 China
- College of Nature Conservation; Beijing Forestry University; Beijing 100083 China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Tropical Plant and Animal Ecology; College of Life Sciences; Hainan Normal University; Haikou 571158 China
| | - Anders Pape Møller
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution; CNRS UMR 8079; Université Paris-Sud; Bâtiment 362 F-91405 Orsay Cedex France
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14
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Halupka L, Halupka K, Klimczuk E, Sztwiertnia H. Coping with shifting nest predation refuges by European reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus. PLoS One 2014; 9:e115456. [PMID: 25522327 PMCID: PMC4270783 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2014] [Accepted: 11/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Predation, the most important source of nest mortality in altricial birds, has been a subject of numerous studies during past decades. However, the temporal dynamics between changing predation pressures and parental responses remain poorly understood. We analysed characteristics of 524 nests of European reed warblers monitored during six consecutive breeding seasons in the same area, and found some support for the shifting nest predation refuge hypothesis. Nest site characteristics were correlated with nest fate, but a nest with the same nest-site attributes could be relatively safe in one season and vulnerable to predation in another. Thus nest predation refuges were ephemeral and there was no between-season consistency in nest predation patterns. Reed warblers that lost their first nests in a given season did not disperse farther for the subsequent reproductive attempt, compared to successful individuals, but they introduced more changes to their second nest sites. In subsequent nests, predation risk remained constant for birds that changed nest-site characteristics, but increased for those that did not. At the between-season temporal scale, individual birds did not perform better with age in terms of reducing nest predation risk. We conclude that the experience acquired in previous years may not be useful, given that nest predation refuges are not stable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucyna Halupka
- Ornithological Station, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
- * E-mail:
| | - Konrad Halupka
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Ewelina Klimczuk
- Museum of Natural History, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Hanna Sztwiertnia
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
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15
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Jansen DYM, Abadi F, Harebottle D, Altwegg R. Does seasonality drive spatial patterns in demography? Variation in survival in African reed warblers Acrocephalus baeticatus across southern Africa does not reflect global patterns. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:889-98. [PMID: 24772268 PMCID: PMC3997307 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2013] [Accepted: 12/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Among birds, northern temperate species generally have larger clutches, shorter development periods and lower adult survival than similarly-sized southern and tropical species. Even though this global pattern is well accepted, the driving mechanism is still not fully understood. The main theories are founded on the differing environmental seasonality of these zones (higher seasonality in the North). These patterns arise in cross-species comparisons, but we hypothesized that the same patterns should arise among populations within a species if different types of seasonality select for different life histories. Few studies have examined this. We estimated survival of an azonal habitat specialist, the African reed warbler, across the environmentally diverse African subcontinent, and related survival to latitude and to the seasonality of the different environments of their breeding habitats. Data (1998-2010) collected through a public ringing scheme were analyzed with hierarchical capture-mark-recapture models to determine resident adult survival and its spatial variance across sixteen vegetation units spread across four biomes. The models were defined as state-space multi-state models to account for transience and implemented in a Bayesian framework. We did not find a latitudinal trend in survival or a clear link between seasonality and survival. Spatial variation in survival was substantial across the sixteen sites (spatial standard deviation of the logit mean survival: 0.70, 95% credible interval (CRI): 0.33-1.27). Mean site survival ranged from 0.49 (95% CRI: 0.18-0.80) to 0.83 (95% CRI: 0.62-0.97) with an overall mean of 0.67 (95% CRI: 0.47-0.85). A hierarchical modeling approach enabled us to estimate spatial variation in survival of the African reed warbler across the African subcontinent from sparse data. Although we could not confirm the global pattern of higher survival in less seasonal environments, our findings from a poorly studied region contribute to the study of life-history strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorine YM Jansen
- Animal Demography Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape TownRondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape TownRondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- South African National Biodiversity InstituteClaremont, 7735, South Africa
| | - Fitsum Abadi
- Animal Demography Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape TownRondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape TownRondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- South African National Biodiversity InstituteClaremont, 7735, South Africa
| | - Doug Harebottle
- Animal Demography Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape TownRondebosch, 7701, South Africa
| | - Res Altwegg
- Animal Demography Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape TownRondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape TownRondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- South African National Biodiversity InstituteClaremont, 7735, South Africa
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16
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Soler M. Long-term coevolution between avian brood parasites and their hosts. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2013; 89:688-704. [PMID: 24330159 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2012] [Revised: 11/18/2013] [Accepted: 11/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Coevolutionary theory predicts that the most common long-term outcome of the relationships between brood parasites and their hosts should be coevolutionary cycles based on a dynamic change selecting the currently least-defended host species, given that when well-defended hosts are abandoned, hosts will be selected to decrease their defences as these are usually assumed to be costly. This is assumed to be the case also in brood parasite-host systems. Here I examine the frequency of the three potential long-term outcomes of brood parasite-host coevolution (coevolutionary cycles, lack of rejection, and successful resistance) in 182 host species. The results of simple exploratory comparisons show that coevolutionary cycles are very scarce while the lack of rejection and successful resistance, which are considered evolutionary enigmas, are much more frequent. I discuss these results considering (i) the importance of different host defences at all stages of the breeding cycle, (ii) the role of phenotypic plasticity in long-term coevolution, and (iii) the evolutionary history of host selection. I suggest that in purely antagonistic coevolutionary interactions, such as those involving brood parasites and their hosts, that although cycles will exist during an intermediate phase of the interactions, the arms race will end with the extinction of the host or with the host acquiring successful resistance. As evolutionary time passes, this resistance will force brood parasites to use previously less suitable host species. Furthermore, I present a model that represents the long-term trajectories and outcomes of coevolutionary interactions between brood parasites and their hosts with respect to the evolution of egg-rejection defence. This model suggests that as an increasing number of species acquire successful resistance, other unparasitized host species become more profitable and their parasitism rate and the costs imposed by brood parasitism at the population level will increase, selecting for the evolution of host defences. This means that although acceptance is adaptive when the parasitism rate and the costs of parasitism are very low, this cannot be considered to represent an evolutionary equilibrium, as conventional theory has done to date, because it is not stable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Soler
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Avenida Severo Ochoa s/n, E-18071, Granada, Spain; Grupo Coevolución, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, Universidad de Granada, Avenida Severo Ochoa s/n, E-18071, Granada, Spain
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17
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Avilés JM, Vikan JR, Fossøy F, Antonov A, Moksnes A, Røskaft E, Shykoff JA, Møller AP, Stokke BG. Egg phenotype matching by cuckoos in relation to discrimination by hosts and climatic conditions. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:1967-76. [PMID: 22237911 PMCID: PMC3311906 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2011] [Accepted: 12/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although parasites and their hosts often coexist in a set of environmentally differentiated populations connected by gene flow, few empirical studies have considered a role of environmental variation in shaping correlations between traits of hosts and parasites. Here, we studied for the first time the association between the frequency of adaptive parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus phenotypes in terms of egg matching and level of defences exhibited by its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus hosts across seven geographically distant populations in Europe. We also explored the influence of spring climatic conditions experienced by cuckoos and hosts on cuckoo-host egg matching. We found that between-population differences in host defences against cuckoos (i.e. rejection rate) covaried with between-population differences in degree of matching. Between-population differences in host egg phenotype were associated with between-population differences in parasitism rate and spring climatic conditions, but not with host level of defences. Between-population differences in cuckoo egg phenotype covaried with between-population differences in host defences and spring climatic conditions. However, differences in host defences still explained differences in mimicry once differences in climatic conditions were controlled, suggesting that selection exerted by host defences must be strong relative to selection imposed by climatic factors on egg phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús M Avilés
- Departamento de Ecología Morfológica y Funcional, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, C.S.I.C., Carretera de Sacramento s/n, Cañada de San Urbano, 04001 Almería, Spain.
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18
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Welbergen JA, Davies NB. Direct and indirect assessment of parasitism risk by a cuckoo host. Behav Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ars031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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19
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REICHARD M, BRYJA J, POLAČIK M, SMITH C. No evidence for host specialization or host-race formation in the European bitterling (Rhodeus amarus), a fish that parasitizes freshwater mussels. Mol Ecol 2011; 20:3631-43. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05198.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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20
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Campobello D, Sealy SG. Use of social over personal information enhances nest defense against avian brood parasitism. Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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21
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Avilés JM, Vikan JR, Fossøy F, Antonov A, Moksnes A, Røskaft E, Shykoff JA, Møller AP, Jensen H, Procházka P, Stokke BG. The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus host. J Evol Biol 2010; 24:314-25. [PMID: 21054625 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02168.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The obligate avian brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus comprises different strains of females that specialize on particular host species by laying eggs of a constant type that often mimics those of the host. Whether cuckoos are locally adapted for mimicking populations of the hosts on which they are specialized has never been investigated. In this study, we first explored the possibility of local adaptation in cuckoo egg mimicry over a geographical mosaic of selection exerted by one of its main European hosts, the reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. Secondly, we investigated whether cuckoos inhabiting reed warbler populations with a broad number of alternative suitable hosts at hand were less locally adapted. Cuckoo eggs showed different degrees of mimicry to different reed warbler populations. However, cuckoo eggs did not match the egg phenotypes of their local host population better than eggs of other host populations, indicating that cuckoos were not locally adapted for mimicry on reed warblers. Interestingly, cuckoos exploiting reed warblers in populations with a relatively larger number of co-occurring cuckoo gentes showed lower than average levels of local adaptation in egg volume. Our results suggest that cuckoo local adaptation might be prevented when different cuckoo populations exploit more or fewer different host species, with gene flow or frequent host switches breaking down local adaptation where many host races co-occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Avilés
- Departamento de Ecología Morfológica y Funcional, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, C.S.I.C., Almería, Spain.
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22
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Moskát C, Bán M, Székely T, Komdeur J, Lucassen RWG, van Boheemen LA, Hauber ME. Discordancy or template-based recognition? Dissecting the cognitive basis of the rejection of foreign eggs in hosts of avian brood parasites. J Exp Biol 2010; 213:1976-83. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.040394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARY
Many avian hosts have evolved antiparasite defence mechanisms, including egg rejection, to reduce the costs of brood parasitism. The two main alternative cognitive mechanisms of egg discrimination are thought to be based on the perceived discordancy of eggs in a clutch or the use of recognition templates by hosts. Our experiments reveal that the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a host of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), relies on both mechanisms. In support of the discordancy mechanism, hosts rejected their own eggs (13%) and manipulated (‘parasitic’) eggs (27%) above control levels in experiments when manipulated eggs were in the majority but when clutches also included a minority of own eggs. Hosts that had the chance to observe the manipulated eggs daily just after laying did not show stronger rejection of manipulated eggs than when the eggs were manipulated at clutch completion. When clutches contained only manipulated eggs, in 33% of the nests hosts showed rejection, also supporting a mechanism of template-based egg discrimination. Rejection using a recognition template might be more advantageous because discordancy-based egg discrimination is increasingly error prone with higher rates of multiple parasitism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Csaba Moskát
- Animal Ecology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, c/o Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Ludovika ter 2, PO Box 137, H-1088, Hungary
| | - Miklós Bán
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology, University of Debrecen, 4010, Hungary
| | - Tamás Székely
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AYUK
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Haren, 9750, The Netherlands
| | - Rim W. G. Lucassen
- Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Haren, 9750, The Netherlands
| | - Lotte A. van Boheemen
- Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Haren, 9750, The Netherlands
| | - Márk E. Hauber
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, NY 10065, USA
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23
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Yang C, Liang W, Cai Y, Shi S, Takasu F, Møller AP, Antonov A, Fossøy F, Moksnes A, Røskaft E, Stokke BG. Coevolution in action: disruptive selection on egg colour in an avian brood parasite and its host. PLoS One 2010; 5:e10816. [PMID: 20520815 PMCID: PMC2877083 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2010] [Accepted: 05/03/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trait polymorphism can evolve as a consequence of frequency-dependent selection. Coevolutionary interactions between hosts and parasites may lead to selection on both to evolve extreme phenotypes deviating from the norm, through disruptive selection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING Here, we show through detailed field studies and experimental procedures that the ashy-throated parrotbill (Paradoxornis alphonsianus) and its avian brood parasite, the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), have both evolved egg polymorphism manifested in discrete immaculate white, pale blue, and blue egg phenotypes within a single population. In this host-parasite system the most common egg colours were white and blue, with no significant difference in parasitism rates between hosts laying eggs of either colour. Furthermore, selection on parasites for countering the evolution of host egg types appears to be strong, since ashy-throated parrotbills have evolved rejection abilities for even partially mimetic eggs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The parrotbill-cuckoo system constitutes a clear outcome of disruptive selection on both host and parasite egg phenotypes driven by coevolution, due to the cost of parasitism in the host and by host defences in the parasite. The present study is to our knowledge the first to report the influence of disruptive selection on evolution of discrete phenotypes in both parasite and host traits in an avian brood parasitism system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Canchao Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, People's Republic of China
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
| | - Wei Liang
- College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, People's Republic of China
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
| | - Yan Cai
- College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, People's Republic of China
| | - Suhua Shi
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Fugo Takasu
- Department of Information and Computer Sciences, Nara Women's University, Kita-Uoya Nishimachi, Nara, Japan
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
| | - Anders P. Møller
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
| | - Anton Antonov
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
| | - Frode Fossøy
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
| | - Arne Moksnes
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
| | - Eivin Røskaft
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
| | - Bård G. Stokke
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
- Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Oslo, Norway
- * E-mail:
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24
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Antonov A, Stokke BG, Vikan JR, Fossøy F, Ranke PS, Røskaft E, Moksnes A, Møller AP, Shykoff JA. Egg phenotype differentiation in sympatric cuckoo Cuculus canorus gentes. J Evol Biol 2010; 23:1170-82. [PMID: 20345810 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.01982.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus consists of gentes, which typically parasitize only a single host species whose eggs they often mimic. Where multiple cuckoo gentes co-exist in sympatry, we may expect variable but generally poorer mimicry because of host switches or inter-gens gene flow via males if these also contribute to egg phenotypes. Here, we investigated egg trait differentiation and mimicry in three cuckoo gentes parasitizing great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus, marsh warblers Acrocephalus palustris and corn buntings Miliaria calandra breeding in close sympatry in partially overlapping habitat types. The three cuckoo gentes showed a remarkable degree of mimicry to their three host species in some but not all egg features, including egg size, a hitherto largely ignored feature of egg mimicry. Egg phenotype matching for both background and spot colours as well as for egg size has been maintained in close sympatry despite the possibility for gene flow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Antonov
- Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Drammensveien, Oslo, Norway.
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25
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Campobello D, Sealy SG. Enemy Recognition of Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus): Threats and Reproductive Value Act Independently in Nest Defence Modulation. Ethology 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2010.01764.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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26
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Evolution of defences against cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) parasitism in bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla): a comparison of four populations in Fennoscandia. Evol Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-010-9360-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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27
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Vikan JR, Stokke BG, Fossøy F, Jackson C, Huhta E, Rutila J, Moksnes A, Røskaft E. Fixed Rejection Responses to Single and Multiple Experimental Parasitism in TwoFringillaHosts of the Common Cuckoo. Ethology 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01679.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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28
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Moskát C, Hauber ME, Avilés JM, Bán M, Hargitai R, Honza M. Increased host tolerance of multiple cuckoo eggs leads to higher fledging success of the brood parasite. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.01.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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29
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Stokke BG, Hafstad I, Rudolfsen G, Moksnes A, Møller AP, Røskaft E, Soler M. Predictors of resistance to brood parasitism within and among reed warbler populations. Behav Ecol 2008. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arn007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [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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