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Villa J, Wisocki PA, Dela Cruz JE, Hanley D. Eggshell colour differences in a classic example of coevolved eggshell mimicry. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230384. [PMID: 38016645 PMCID: PMC10684340 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Avian brood parasitism is a model system for understanding coevolutionary arms races, and the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus, hereafter 'warbler') and its parasite the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus, hereafter 'cuckoo') are prime examples of this coevolutionary struggle. Here, warblers select for egg colour mimicry by rejecting poorly matched cuckoo eggs. Contrary to long-held assumptions, recent work showed that warblers tend to reject lighter and browner eggs but tended to accept darker and bluer eggs rather than basing rejection decisions solely on perceived colour differences (i.e. the degree of mimicry). This counterintuitive, colour-biased rejection behaviour would select for bluer and darker cuckoo eggs, but would only be adaptive if cuckoos were consistently lighter and browner than warbler eggs. Therefore, we tested whether warbler eggs were consistently bluer and darker than cuckoo eggs. To do so, we re-analysed eggshell reflectance spectra of warblers and the cuckoos that parasitized them in the Czech Republic. As expected, we found that warbler eggs were significantly bluer and darker than the cuckoo eggs at the population level. Thus, we demonstrate imperfect mimicry in a long-coevolved cuckoo host-race and provide insights for exploring the coevolutionary interactions among hosts and their brood parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Villa
- Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
| | | | | | - Daniel Hanley
- Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
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2
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Clutch size and the rejection of parasitic eggs: a comparative test of the maternal investment hypothesis. Evol Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-022-10165-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Ausprey IJ, Hauber ME. Host and brood parasite coevolutionary interactions covary with comparative patterns of the avian visual system. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210309. [PMID: 34582733 PMCID: PMC8478515 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
In coevolutionary arms-races, reciprocal ecological interactions and their fitness impacts shape the course of phenotypic evolution. The classic example of avian host–brood parasite interactions selects for host recognition and rejection of increasingly mimetic foreign eggs. An essential component of perceptual mimicry is that parasitic eggs escape detection by host sensory systems, yet there is no direct evidence that the avian visual system covaries with parasitic egg recognition or mimicry. Here, we used eye size measurements collected from preserved museum specimens as a metric of the avian visual system for species involved in host–brood parasite interactions. We discovered that (i) hosts had smaller eyes compared with non-hosts, (ii) parasites had larger eyes compared with hosts before but not after phylogenetic corrections, perhaps owing to the limited number of independent evolutionary origins of obligate brood parasitism, (iii) egg rejection in hosts with non-mimetic parasitic eggs positively correlated with eye size, and (iv) eye size was positively associated with increased avian-perceived host–parasite eggshell similarity. These results imply that both host-use by parasites and anti-parasitic responses by hosts covary with a metric of the visual system across relevant bird species, providing comparative evidence for coevolutionary patterns of host and brood parasite sensory systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Ausprey
- Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7011, USA
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
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Biagolini-Jr C, dos Santos PVR. Egg ejection cost can limit defence strategies against brood parasitism. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Biagolini-Jr
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia; Universidade de Brasília; Brasília Brazil
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Luo Y, Zhong MJ, Huang Y, Li F, Liao WB, Kotrschal A. Seasonality and brain size are negatively associated in frogs: evidence for the expensive brain framework. Sci Rep 2017; 7:16629. [PMID: 29192284 PMCID: PMC5709389 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-16921-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The challenges of seasonal environments are thought to contribute to brain evolution, but in which way is debated. According to the Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis (CBH) brain size should increase with seasonality, as the cognitive benefits of a larger brain should help overcoming periods of food scarcity via, for instance, increased behavioral flexibility. However, in line with the Expensive Brain Framework (EBF) brain size should decrease with seasonality because a smaller brain confers energetic benefits in periods of food scarcity. Empirical evidence is inconclusive and mostly limited to homoeothermic animals. Here we used phylogenetic comparative analyses to test the impact of seasonality on brain evolution across 30 species of anurans (frogs) experiencing a wide range of temperature and precipitation. Our results support the EBF because relative brain size and the size of the optic tectum were negatively correlated with variability in temperature. In contrast, we found no association between the variability in precipitation and the length of the dry season with either brain size or the sizes of other major brain regions. We suggest that seasonality-induced food scarcity resulting from higher variability in temperature constrains brain size evolution in anurans. Less seasonal environments may therefore facilitate the evolution of larger brains in poikilothermic animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Luo
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China
- Institute of Eco-adaptation in Amphibians and Reptiles, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China
| | - Mao Jun Zhong
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China
- Institute of Eco-adaptation in Amphibians and Reptiles, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China
| | - Yan Huang
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China
- Institute of Eco-adaptation in Amphibians and Reptiles, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China
| | - Feng Li
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China
- Institute of Eco-adaptation in Amphibians and Reptiles, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China
| | - Wen Bo Liao
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China.
- Institute of Eco-adaptation in Amphibians and Reptiles, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China.
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Stoddard MC, Kilner RM, Town C. Pattern recognition algorithm reveals how birds evolve individual egg pattern signatures. Nat Commun 2014; 5:4117. [PMID: 24939367 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2014] [Accepted: 05/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Pattern-based identity signatures are commonplace in the animal kingdom, but how they are recognized is poorly understood. Here we develop a computer vision tool for analysing visual patterns, NATUREPATTERNMATCH, which breaks new ground by mimicking visual and cognitive processes known to be involved in recognition tasks. We apply this tool to a long-standing question about the evolution of recognizable signatures. The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a notorious cheat that sneaks its mimetic eggs into nests of other species. Can host birds fight back against cuckoo forgery by evolving highly recognizable signatures? Using NATUREPATTERNMATCH, we show that hosts subjected to the best cuckoo mimicry have evolved the most recognizable egg pattern signatures. Theory predicts that effective pattern signatures should be simultaneously replicable, distinctive and complex. However, our results reveal that recognizable signatures need not incorporate all three of these features. Moreover, different hosts have evolved effective signatures in diverse ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Caswell Stoddard
- 1] Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [2] Harvard Society of Fellows, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Rebecca M Kilner
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Christopher Town
- Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FD, UK
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Herczeg G, Välimäki K, Gonda A, Merilä J. Evidence for sex-specific selection in brain: a case study of the nine-spined stickleback. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:1604-12. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2013] [Revised: 04/04/2014] [Accepted: 04/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- G. Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group; Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology; Eötvös Loránd University; Budapest Hungary
- Ecological Genetics Research Unit; Department of Biosciences; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
| | - K. Välimäki
- Ecological Genetics Research Unit; Department of Biosciences; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
- Monitoring Team; Finnish Museum of Natural History; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
| | - A. Gonda
- Ecological Genetics Research Unit; Department of Biosciences; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
| | - J. Merilä
- Ecological Genetics Research Unit; Department of Biosciences; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
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Gonda A, Herczeg G, Merilä J. Evolutionary ecology of intraspecific brain size variation: a review. Ecol Evol 2013; 3:2751-64. [PMID: 24567837 PMCID: PMC3930043 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2013] [Revised: 05/06/2013] [Accepted: 05/07/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain is a trait of central importance for organismal performance and fitness. To date, evolutionary studies of brain size variation have mainly utilized comparative methods applied at the level of species or higher taxa. However, these studies suffer from the difficulty of separating causality from correlation. In the other extreme, studies of brain plasticity have focused mainly on within-population patterns. Between these extremes lie interpopulational studies, focusing on brain size variation among populations of the same species that occupy different habitats or selective regimes. These studies form a rapidly growing field of investigations which can help us to understand brain evolution by providing a test bed for ideas born out of interspecific studies, as well as aid in uncovering the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors shaping variation in brain size and architecture. Aside from providing the first in depth review of published intraspecific studies of brain size variation, we discuss the prospects embedded with interpopulational studies of brain size variation. In particular, the following topics are identified as deserving further attention: (i) studies focusing on disentangling the contributions of genes, environment, and their interactions on brain variation within and among populations, (ii) studies applying quantitative genetic tools to evaluate the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors on brain features at different ontogenetic stages, (iii) apart from utilizing simple gross estimates of brain size, future studies could benefit from use of neuroanatomical, neurohistological, and/or molecular methods in characterizing variation in brain size and architecture. Evolution of brain size and architecture is a widely studied topic. However, the majority of studies are interspecific and comparative. Here we summarize the recently growing body of intraspecific studies based on population comparisons and outline the future potential in this approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigél Gonda
- Ecological Genetics Research UnitDepartment of Biosciences, University of HelsinkiP.O. Box 65, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Ecological Genetics Research UnitDepartment of Biosciences, University of HelsinkiP.O. Box 65, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Behavioural Ecology GroupDepartment of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityPázmány Péter sétány 1/C, H-1117, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Juha Merilä
- Ecological Genetics Research UnitDepartment of Biosciences, University of HelsinkiP.O. Box 65, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
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Soler JJ, Peralta-Sánchez JM, Martín-Vivaldi M, Martín-Platero AM, Flensted-Jensen E, Møller AP. Cognitive skills and bacterial load: comparative evidence of costs of cognitive proficiency in birds. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2011; 99:111-22. [PMID: 22170352 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-011-0875-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2011] [Revised: 11/29/2011] [Accepted: 12/02/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Parasite-mediated selection may affect the evolution of cognitive abilities because parasites may influence development of the brain, but also learning capacity. Here, we tested some predictions of this hypothesis by analyzing the relationship between complex behaviours (feeding innovations (as a measure of behavioural flexibility) and ability to detect foreign eggs in their nests (i.e. a measure of discriminatory ability)) and abundance of microorganisms in different species of birds. A positive relationship would be predicted if these cognitive abilities implied a larger number of visited environments, while if these skills favoured detection and avoidance of risky environments, a negative relationship would be the prediction. Bacterial loads of eggshells, estimated for mesophilic and potentially pathogenic bacteria (i.e. Enterococcus, Staphylococcus and Enterobacteriaceae), were used as a surrogate of probability of contact with pathogenic bacteria. We found that bird species with higher feeding innovation rates and rejection rates of experimental brood parasitic eggs had higher density of bacteria on their eggshells than the average species. Since the analysed groups of microorganisms include pathogenic bacteria, these results suggest that both feeding innovation and ability to recognize foreign eggs are costly and highlight the importance of parasite-mediated selection in explaining the evolution of cognitive abilities in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan José Soler
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Almería, Spain.
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Gonda A, Herczeg G, Merilä J. Population variation in brain size of nine-spined sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius)--local adaptation or environmentally induced variation? BMC Evol Biol 2011; 11:75. [PMID: 21435215 PMCID: PMC3072340 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-75] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2010] [Accepted: 03/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Most evolutionary studies on the size of brains and different parts of the brain have relied on interspecific comparisons, and have uncovered correlations between brain architecture and various ecological, behavioural and life-history traits. Yet, similar intraspecific studies are rare, despite the fact that they could better determine how selection and phenotypic plasticity influence brain architecture. We investigated the variation in brain size and structure in wild-caught nine-spined sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius) from eight populations, representing marine, lake, and pond habitats, and compared them to data from a previous common garden study from a smaller number of populations. Results Brain size scaled hypo-allometrically with body size, irrespective of population origin, with a common slope of 0.5. Both absolute and relative brain size, as well as relative telencephalon, optic tectum and cerebellum size, differed significantly among the populations. Further, absolute and relative brain sizes were larger in pond than in marine populations, while the telencephalon tended to be larger in marine than in pond populations. These findings are partly incongruent with previous common garden results. A direct comparison between wild and common garden fish from the same populations revealed a habitat-specific effect: pond fish had relatively smaller brains in a controlled environment than in the wild, while marine fish were similar. All brain parts were smaller in the laboratory than in the wild, irrespective of population origin. Conclusion Our results indicate that variation among populations is large, both in terms of brain size and in the size of separate brain parts in wild nine-spined sticklebacks. However, the incongruence between the wild and common garden patterns suggests that much of the population variation found in the wild may be attributable to environmentally induced phenotypic plasticity. Given that the brain is among the most plastic organs in general, the results emphasize the view that common garden data are required to draw firm evolutionary conclusions from patterns of brain size variability in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigél Gonda
- Ecological Genetics Research Unit, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland.
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Abstract
Coevolutionary arms races are a potent force in evolution, and brood parasite-host dynamics provide classical examples. Different host-races of the common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, lay eggs in the nests of other species, leaving all parental care to hosts. Cuckoo eggs often (but not always) appear to match remarkably the color and pattern of host eggs, thus reducing detection by hosts. However, most studies of egg mimicry focus on human assessments or reflectance spectra, which fail to account for avian vision. Here, we use discrimination and tetrachromatic color space modeling of bird vision to quantify egg background and spot color mimicry in the common cuckoo and 11 of its principal hosts, and we relate this to egg rejection by different hosts. Egg background color and luminance are strongly mimicked by most cuckoo host-races, and mimicry is better when hosts show strong rejection. We introduce a novel measure of color mimicry-"color overlap"-and show that cuckoo and host background colors increasingly overlap in avian color space as hosts exhibit stronger rejection. Finally, cuckoos with better background color mimicry also have better pattern mimicry. Our findings reveal new information about egg mimicry that would be impossible to derive by the human eye.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Caswell Stoddard
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
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Stoddard MC, Stevens M. Pattern mimicry of host eggs by the common cuckoo, as seen through a bird's eye. Proc Biol Sci 2010; 277:1387-93. [PMID: 20053650 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cuckoo-host interactions provide classical examples of coevolution. Cuckoos place hosts under selection to detect and reject foreign eggs, while host defences result in the evolution of host-egg mimicry in cuckoos. Despite a long history of research, egg pattern mimicry has never been objectively quantified, and so its coevolution with host defences has not been properly assessed. Here, we use digital image analysis and modelling of avian vision to quantify the level of pattern mimicry in eight host species of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus and their respective cuckoo host-races. We measure a range of pattern attributes, including marking size, diversity in size, contrast, coverage and dispersion. This new technique reveals hitherto unnoticed sophistication in egg pattern mimicry. We show that various features of host egg pattern are mimicked by the eggs of their respective cuckoo host-races, and that cuckoos have evolved better pattern mimicry for host species that exhibit stronger egg rejection. Pattern differs relatively more between eggs of different host species than between their respective cuckoo host-races. We suggest that cuckoos may have more 'average' markings in order to be able to use subsidiary hosts. Our study sheds new light on cuckoo-host coevolution and illustrates a new technique for quantifying animal markings with respect to the relevant animal visual system.
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Boncoraglio G, Saino N, Garamszegi LZ. Begging and cowbirds: brood parasites make hosts scream louder. Behav Ecol 2008. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arn137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Garamszegi LZ, Eens M, Pavlova DZ, Avilés JM, Møller AP. A comparative study of the function of heterospecific vocal mimicry in European passerines. Behav Ecol 2007. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arm069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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