1
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Hauber ME, Hoover JP, Rhodes OR, Ducay RL, Hanley D. The blunt pole is not a source of more salient recognition cues than the sharp pole for the rejection of model eggs by American robins (Turdus migratorius). JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.25225/jvb.20111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark E. Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA; e-mail:
| | - Jeffrey P. Hoover
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
| | - Oliver R. Rhodes
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA; e-mail:
| | - Rebecca L. Ducay
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA; e-mail:
| | - Daniel Hanley
- Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, USA
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2
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Hauber ME. Natural and artificial scents do not increase egg rejection rates of model brood parasitic eggs by American robins (Turdus migratorius). ACTA ZOOL ACAD SCI H 2020. [DOI: 10.17109/azh.66.4.309.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Hosts of obligate avian brood parasites can diminish or eliminate the costs of parasitism by rejecting foreign eggs from the nests. A vast literature demonstrates that visual and/or tactile cues can be used to recognize and reject natural or model eggs from the nests of diverse host species. However, data on olfaction-based potential egg recognition cues are both sparse and equivocal: experimentally-applied, naturally-relevant (heterospecific, including parasitic) scents do not appear to increase egg rejection rates in two host species, whereas unnatural scents (human and tobacco scents) do so in one host species. Here I assessed the predictions that (i) human handling of mimetically-painted model eggs would increase rejection rates, and (ii) applying unnatural or natural scents to mimetically or non-mimetically painted model eggs alters these eggs’ respective rejection rates relative to controls. I studied wild American Robins (Turdus migratorius), a robust rejecter species of the eggs of obligate brood parasitic Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater). There was no statistical evidence to support either prediction, whereas poorer color-mimicry was still a predicted cause of greater egg rejection in this data set. Nonetheless, future studies could focus on this and other host species and using these and different methods to apply and maintain the scenting of model eggs to more directly test hosts’ use of potential olfactory cues in the foreign-egg rejection process.
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3
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Li D, Li X, Zhang Y, Guan S, Ruan Y. Contrasting effects of egg size and appearance on egg recognition and rejection response by Oriental reed warblers. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:10508-10519. [PMID: 33072276 PMCID: PMC7548169 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Among potential hosts, the rejection of foreign eggs, which is a common and effective strategy to counter brood parasitism, depends on egg recognition. Multimodal and multicomponent recognition cues of brood parasitic eggs, which include both tactile (size, shape, and texture) and visual (size, shape, color, and maculation) cues, are potentially involved in the perception and discrimination of foreign eggs by hosts. An egg rejection experiment on the host with different types of model eggs can help to accurately assess the relative contribution of different components on egg recognition and constraints to rejection, in which videos can help identify the method of host rejection. Methods Here, we assessed egg recognition and rejection responses by Oriental reed warblers (Acrocephalus orientalis), one of the most common hosts of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) which breed in eastern China. We designed six groups of model eggs for rejection experiments in which sensory cues included three grades of size and two categories of visual mimicry. Results Our experiments confirmed that the multimodal traits, which included variation in size, were significant predictors of egg rejection: We detected significantly higher rejection rates of mimetic spotted model eggs than of nonmimetic blue eggs. However, large model eggs did not yield higher rejection rates and, instead, these were less likely to be rejected and more likely to be deserted compared with smaller eggs. Further video‐recording data showed that there was no significant effect of egg size on the egg recognition rate (percentage of nests with evidence of egg pecking). No evidence that the egg appearance had an effect on the method of egg rejection (ejection or nest desertion) was found. Conclusions Only visual signals, such as color and maculation, contributed to the recognition of foreign eggs by Oriental reed warblers as recognizable clues, but not the egg size. The egg size had an impact on the type of egg rejection. It was less feasible for the warblers to eject large eggs and that is why they opted more often for desertion as the mean of model egg rejection. The significantly lower egg rejection rate of large eggs suggested that although some of them were recognized as foreign eggs, hosts failed to reject these eggs and finally the eggs were assumed to being accepted by the commonly used nest‐checking methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donglai Li
- School of Life SciencesLiaoning UniversityShenyangLiaoningChina
| | - Xiaoshuang Li
- School of Life SciencesLiaoning UniversityShenyangLiaoningChina
| | - Yan Zhang
- School of Life SciencesLiaoning UniversityShenyangLiaoningChina
| | - Shuang Guan
- School of Life SciencesLiaoning UniversityShenyangLiaoningChina
- Present address:
Changchun Longjia International AirportChangchunJilinChina
| | - Yanan Ruan
- School of Life SciencesLiaoning UniversityShenyangLiaoningChina
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4
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Liu J, Yang C, Yu J, Wang H, Møller AP, Liang W. Egg recognition and brain size in a cuckoo host. Behav Processes 2020; 180:104223. [PMID: 32841719 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104223] [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] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of animal brain size and cognitive ability is a topic of central significance in evolutionary ecology. Interspecific brood parasitism imposes severe selection pressures on hosts favoring the evolution of cuckoo egg recognition and rejection. However, recognizing and rejecting foreign parasitic eggs are enormous cognitive challenges for cuckoo hosts, which might select for an increase in brain size in birds with this capacity. To explore the association between cuckoo parasitism and the evolution of brain size in cinereous tits (Parus cinereus), we used two types of experimental parasitic eggs, real mimetic white-rumped munia (Lonchura striata) eggs and non-mimetic blue model eggs, to test the egg recognition ability of female cinereous tits, thereby comparing brain size variation among individuals that were able to recognize foreign eggs and those that lacked this ability. Interestingly, our results however did not support the prediction that cuckoo parasitism selects for an increase in brain size of host birds, since brain size of egg rejecters was not significantly larger than that of accepters. Hence, this study suggested that the evolution of cognitive ability did not allow recognition of foreign eggs by female cinereous tits. That was the case despite the evolution of a larger brain may have allowed for a reduction in the cost of brood parasitism by cuckoos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianping Liu
- 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.
| | - Jiangping Yu
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
| | - Haitao Wang
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China; Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
| | - Anders Pape Møller
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405, Orsay Cedex, France.
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 571158, China.
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5
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Stoddard MC, Miller AE, Eyster HN, Akkaynak D. I see your false colours: how artificial stimuli appear to different animal viewers. Interface Focus 2018; 9:20180053. [PMID: 30603072 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2018.0053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of artificially coloured stimuli, especially to test hypotheses about sexual selection and anti-predator defence, has been common in behavioural ecology since the pioneering work of Tinbergen. To investigate the effects of colour on animal behaviour, many researchers use paints, markers and dyes to modify existing colours or to add colour to synthetic models. Because colour perception varies widely across species, it is critical to account for the signal receiver's vision when performing colour manipulations. To explore this, we applied 26 typical coloration products to different types of avian feathers. Next, we measured the artificially coloured feathers using two complementary techniques-spectrophotometry and digital ultraviolet--visible photography-and modelled their appearance to mammalian dichromats (ferret, dog), trichromats (honeybee, human) and avian tetrachromats (hummingbird, blue tit). Overall, artificial colours can have dramatic and sometimes unexpected effects on the reflectance properties of feathers, often differing based on feather type. The degree to which an artificial colour differs from the original colour greatly depends on an animal's visual system. 'White' paint to a human is not 'white' to a honeybee or blue tit. Based on our analysis, we offer practical guidelines for reducing the risk of introducing unintended effects when using artificial colours in behavioural experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Caswell Stoddard
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Audrey E Miller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Harold N Eyster
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Derya Akkaynak
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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6
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Luro AB, Igic B, Croston R, López AV, Shawkey MD, Hauber ME. Which egg features predict egg rejection responses in American robins? Replicating Rothstein's (1982) study. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:1673-1679. [PMID: 29435242 PMCID: PMC5792560 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Revised: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Rothstein (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 11, 1982, 229) was one of the first comprehensive studies to examine how different egg features influence egg rejection behaviors of avian brood parasite-hosts. The methods and conclusions of Rothstein (1982) laid the foundation for subsequent experimental brood parasitism studies over the past thirty years, but its results have never been evaluated with replication. Here, we partially replicated Rothstein's (1982) experiments using parallel artificial model egg treatments to simulate cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism in American robin (Turdus migratorius) nests. We compared our data with those of Rothstein (1982) and confirmed most of its original findings: (1) robins reject model eggs that differ from the appearance of a natural robin egg toward that of a natural cowbird egg in background color, size, and maculation; (2) rejection responses were best predicted by model egg background color; and (3) model eggs differing by two or more features from natural robin eggs were more likely to be rejected than model eggs differing by one feature alone. In contrast with Rothstein's (1982) conclusion that American robin egg recognition is not specifically tuned toward rejection of brown-headed cowbird eggs, we argue that our results and those of other recent studies of robin egg rejection suggest a discrimination bias toward rejection of cowbird eggs. Future work on egg recognition will benefit from utilizing a range of model eggs varying continuously in background color, maculation patterning, and size in combination with avian visual modeling, rather than using model eggs which vary only discretely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alec B. Luro
- Department of Animal BiologySchool of Integrative BiologyUniversity of IllinoisUrbana‐ChampaignILUSA
| | - Branislav Igic
- Division of Ecology & EvolutionResearch School of BiologyAustralian National UniversityCanberraACTAustralia
| | - Rebecca Croston
- U.S. Geological SurveyWestern Ecological Research CenterDixonCAUSA
| | - Analía V. López
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y EvoluciónFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesUniversidad de Buenos AiresBuenos AiresArgentina
| | - Matthew D. Shawkey
- Department of Biology, Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures GroupUniversity of GhentGhentBelgium
| | - Mark E. Hauber
- Department of Animal BiologySchool of Integrative BiologyUniversity of IllinoisUrbana‐ChampaignILUSA
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7
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Geltsch N, Moskát C, Elek Z, Bán M, Stevens M. Egg spotting pattern in common cuckoos and their great reed warbler hosts: a century perspective. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blw035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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8
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9
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Hanley D, Šulc M, Brennan PLR, Hauber ME, Grim T, Honza M. Dynamic egg color mimicry. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:4192-202. [PMID: 27516874 PMCID: PMC4972242 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Revised: 04/22/2016] [Accepted: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary hypotheses regarding the function of eggshell phenotypes, from solar protection through mimicry, have implicitly assumed that eggshell appearance remains static throughout the laying and incubation periods. However, recent research demonstrates that egg coloration changes over relatively short, biologically relevant timescales. Here, we provide the first evidence that such changes impact brood parasite–host eggshell color mimicry during the incubation stage. First, we use long‐term data to establish how rapidly the Acrocephalus arundinaceus Linnaeus (great reed warbler) responded to natural parasitic eggs laid by the Cuculus canorus Linnaeus (common cuckoo). Most hosts rejected parasitic eggs just prior to clutch completion, but the host response period extended well into incubation (~10 days after clutch completion). Using reflectance spectrometry and visual modeling, we demonstrate that eggshell coloration in the great reed warbler and its brood parasite, the common cuckoo, changes rapidly, and the extent of eggshell color mimicry shifts dynamically over the host response period. Specifically, 4 days after being laid, the host should notice achromatic color changes to both cuckoo and warbler eggs, while chromatic color changes would be noticeable after 8 days. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the perceived match between host and cuckoo eggshell color worsened over the incubation period. These findings have important implications for parasite–host coevolution dynamics, because host egg discrimination may be aided by disparate temporal color changes in host and parasite eggs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Hanley
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology Palacký University 17. listopadu 50 Olomouc 771 46 Czech Republic
| | - Michal Šulc
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republicv. v. i., Květná 8603 65 Brno Czech Republic; Department of Ecology Faculty of Science Charles University in Prague Viničná 7128 44 Prague 2 Czech Republic
| | - Patricia L R Brennan
- Department of Biological Sciences Mount Holyoke College South Hadley Massachusetts 01074 USA; Organismic & Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program University of Massachusetts, Amherst Amherst Massachusetts 01003 USA
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Psychology Hunter College and the Graduate Center The City University of New York 695 Park Avenue New York City New York 10065 USA
| | - Tomáš Grim
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology Palacký University 17. listopadu 50 Olomouc 771 46 Czech Republic
| | - Marcel Honza
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v. v. i., Květná 8 603 65 Brno Czech Republic
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10
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Stokke BG, Røskaft E, Moksnes A, Møller AP, Antonov A, Fossøy F, Liang W, López-Iborra G, Moskát C, Shykoff JA, Soler M, Vikan JR, Yang C, Takasu F. Disappearance of eggs from nonparasitized nests of brood parasite hosts: the evolutionary equilibrium hypothesis revisited. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bård G. Stokke
- Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology; NO-7491; Trondheim Norway
| | - Eivin Røskaft
- Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology; NO-7491; Trondheim Norway
| | - Arne Moksnes
- Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology; NO-7491; Trondheim Norway
| | - Anders Pape Møller
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution; CNRS; Univ. Paris-Sud; AgroParisTech; Université Paris-Saclay; 91400 Orsay France
| | - Anton Antonov
- Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology; NO-7491; Trondheim Norway
| | - Frode Fossøy
- Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology; NO-7491; Trondheim Norway
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology; College of Life Sciences; Hainan Normal University; Haikou 571158 China
| | - Germán López-Iborra
- Departamento de Ecología/IMEM Ramon Margalef; Universidad de Alicante; Apartado 99 E-03080 Alicante Spain
| | - Csaba Moskát
- MTA-ELTE-MTM Ecology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; c/o Biological Institute; Eötvös Lóránd University; Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c; H-1117, Budapest Hungary and Hungarian Natural History Museum; Baross u. 13 Budapest H-1088 Hungary
| | - Jacqui A. Shykoff
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution; CNRS; Univ. Paris-Sud; AgroParisTech; Université Paris-Saclay; 91400 Orsay France
| | - Manuel Soler
- Grupo Coevolución; Departamento de Biología Animal; Unidad Asociada al CSIC; Facultad de Ciencias; Universidad de Granada; Granada E-18071 Spain
| | - Johan R. Vikan
- Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology; NO-7491; Trondheim Norway
| | - Canchao Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology; College of Life Sciences; Hainan Normal University; Haikou 571158 China
| | - Fugo Takasu
- Department of Information and Computer Sciences; Nara Women's University; Kita-Uoya Nishimachi; Nara 630-8506 Japan
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11
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Abernathy VE, Peer BD. Mechanisms of egg recognition in brown-headed cowbird hosts: the role of ultraviolet reflectance. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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12
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Mermoz ME, Haupt C, Fernández GJ. Brown-and-yellow marshbirds reduce their acceptance threshold of mimetic brood parasite eggs in the presence of non-mimetic eggs. J ETHOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-015-0447-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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13
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Aidala Z, Croston R, Schwartz J, Tong L, Hauber ME. The role of egg-nest contrast in the rejection of brood parasitic eggs. J Exp Biol 2015; 218:1126-36. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.108449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2014] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Hosts of avian brood parasites can avoid the reproductive costs of raising genetically unrelated offspring by rejecting parasitic eggs. The perceptual cues and controls mediating parasitic egg discrimination and ejection are well studied: hosts are thought to use differences in egg color, brightness, maculation, size, and shape to discriminate between own and foreign eggs. Most models of brood parasitism implicitly assume that the primary criteria to which hosts attend when discriminating eggs are differences between the eggs themselves. However, this assumption is confounded by the degree to which chromatic and achromatic characteristics of the nest lining co-vary with egg coloration, in that egg-nest contrast per se might be the recognition cue driving parasitic egg detection. Here we systematically tested whether and how egg-nest contrast itself contributes to foreign egg discrimination. In an artificial parasitism experiment, we independently manipulated egg color and nest lining color of the egg-ejector American robin (Turdus migratorius), a host of the obligate brood parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). We hypothesized that the degree of contrast between foreign eggs and the nest background would affect host egg rejection behavior. We predicted that experimentally decreasing egg-nest chromatic and achromatic contrast (i.e. rendering parasitic eggs more cryptic against the nest lining) would decrease rejection rates, while increasing egg-nest contrast would increase rejection rates. In contrast to our predictions, egg-nest contrast was not a significant predictor of egg ejection patterns. Instead, egg color significantly predicted responses to parasitism. We conclude that egg-egg differences are the primary drivers of egg rejection in this system. Future studies should test for the effects of egg-nest contrast per se in predicting parasitic egg recognition in other host-parasite systems, including those hosts building enclosed nests and parasites laying cryptic eggs, as an alternative to hypothesized effects of egg-egg contrasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Aidala
- City University of New York; Bloomfield College, United States
| | - Rebecca Croston
- City University of New York; University of Nevada - Reno, United States
| | | | | | - Mark E. Hauber
- City University of New York; Bloomfield College, United States
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14
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Moskát C, Bán M, Hauber ME. Naïve hosts of avian brood parasites accept foreign eggs, whereas older hosts fine-tune foreign egg discrimination during laying. Front Zool 2014; 11:45. [PMID: 25024736 PMCID: PMC4094907 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-11-45] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Many potential hosts of social parasites recognize and reject foreign intruders, and reduce or altogether escape the negative impacts of parasitism. The ontogenetic basis of whether and how avian hosts recognize their own and the brood parasitic eggs remains unclear. By repeatedly parasitizing the same hosts with a consistent parasitic egg type, and contrasting the responses of naïve and older breeders, we studied ontogenetic plasticity in the rejection of foreign eggs by the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a host species of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Results In response to experimental parasitism before the onset of laying, first time breeding hosts showed almost no egg ejection, compared to higher rates of ejection in older breeders. Young birds continued to accept foreign eggs when they were subjected to repeated parasitism, whereas older birds showed even higher ejection rates later in the same laying cycle. Conclusions Our results are consistent with the hypotheses that (i) naïve hosts need to see and learn the appearance of their own eggs to discriminate and reject foreign eggs, whereas (ii) experienced breeders possess a recognition template of their own eggs and reject parasitic eggs even without having to see their own eggs. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that other external cues and internal processes, accumulated simply with increasing age, may also modify age-specific patterns in egg rejection (e.g. more sightings of the cuckoo by older breeders). Future research should specifically track the potential role of learning in responses of individual hosts between first and subsequent breeding attempts by testing whether imprinting on a parasitized clutch reduces the rates of rejecting foreign eggs in subsequent parasitized clutches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Csaba Moskát
- MTA-ELTE-MTM Ecology Research Group, c/o Biological Institute, Eötvös Lóránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C., H-1117 Budapest, Hungary and Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross u. 13, Budapest H-1088, Hungary
| | - Miklós Bán
- MTA-DE "Lendület" Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen 4010, Hungary
| | - Márk E Hauber
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
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15
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Gluckman TL, Mundy NI. Cuckoos in raptors' clothing: barred plumage illuminates a fundamental principle of Batesian mimicry. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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16
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Gluckman TL, Mundy NI. Cuckoos in raptors' clothing: barred plumage illuminates a fundamental principle of Batesian mimicry. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.09.020\] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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17
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Croston R, Hauber ME. Spectral tuning and perceptual differences do not explain the rejection of brood parasitic eggs by American robins (Turdus migratorius). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1649-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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18
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Honza M, Šulc M, Jelínek V, Požgayová M, Procházka P. Brood parasites lay eggs matching the appearance of host clutches. Proc Biol Sci 2013; 281:20132665. [PMID: 24258721 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Interspecific brood parasitism represents a prime example of the coevolutionary arms race where each party has evolved strategies in response to the other. Here, we investigated whether common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) actively select nests within a host population to match the egg appearance of a particular host clutch. To achieve this goal, we quantified the degree of egg matching using the avian vision modelling approach. Randomization tests revealed that cuckoo eggs in naturally parasitized nests showed lower chromatic contrast to host eggs than those assigned randomly to other nests with egg-laying date similar to naturally parasitized clutches. Moreover, egg matching in terms of chromaticity was better in naturally parasitized nests than it would be in the nests of the nearest active non-parasitized neighbour. However, there was no indication of matching in achromatic spectral characteristics whatsoever. Thus, our results clearly indicate that cuckoos select certain host nests to increase matching of their own eggs with host clutches, but only in chromatic characteristics. Our results suggest that the ability of cuckoos to actively choose host nests based on the eggshell appearance imposes a strong selection pressure on host egg recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Honza
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, , v. v. i., Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic, Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, , Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic
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Hauber M, Samaš P, Anderson M, Rutila J, Low J, Cassey P, Grim T. Life-history theory predicts host behavioural responses to experimental brood parasitism. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2013.851121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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20
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de la Colina MA, Pompilio L, Hauber ME, Reboreda JC, Mahler B. Different recognition cues reveal the decision rules used for egg rejection by hosts of a variably mimetic avian brood parasite. Anim Cogn 2012; 15:881-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-012-0515-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2011] [Revised: 05/03/2012] [Accepted: 05/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Hauber ME, Geltsch N, Moskát C, Zölei A. Asymmetrical signal content of egg shape as predictor of egg rejection by great reed warblers, hosts of the common cuckoo. BEHAVIOUR 2012. [DOI: 10.1163/156853912x638445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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22
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Igic B, Cassey P, Grim T, Greenwood DR, Moskát C, Rutila J, Hauber ME. A shared chemical basis of avian host-parasite egg colour mimicry. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 279:1068-76. [PMID: 21920975 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Avian brood parasites lay their eggs in other birds' nests and impose considerable fitness costs on their hosts. Historically and scientifically, the best studied example of circumventing host defences is the mimicry of host eggshell colour by the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Yet the chemical basis of eggshell colour similarity, which impacts hosts' tolerance towards parasitic eggs, remains unknown. We tested the alternative scenarios that (i) cuckoos replicate host egg pigment chemistry, or (ii) cuckoos use alternative mechanisms to produce a similar perceptual effect to mimic host egg appearance. In parallel with patterns of similarity in avian-perceived colour mimicry, the concentrations of the two key eggshell pigments, biliverdin and protoporphyrin, were most similar between the cuckoo host-races and their respective hosts. Thus, the chemical basis of avian host-parasite egg colour mimicry is evolutionarily conserved, but also intraspecifically flexible. These analyses of pigment composition reveal a novel proximate dimension of coevolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and hosts, and imply that alternative phenotypes may arise by the modifications of already existing biochemical and physiological mechanisms and pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Branislav Igic
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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23
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Honza M, Procházka P, Morongová K, Čapek M, Jelínek V. Do Nest Light Conditions Affect Rejection of Parasitic Eggs? A Test of the Light Environment Hypothesis. Ethology 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01900.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Moskát C, Rosendaal EC, Boers M, Zölei A, Bán M, Komdeur J. Post-ejection nest-desertion of common cuckoo hosts: a second defense mechanism or avoiding reduced reproductive success? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-1109-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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25
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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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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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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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TAKASU FUGO, MOSKÁT CSABA, MUÑOZ AROMAN, IMANISHI SADAO, NAKAMURA HIROSHI. Adaptations in the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) to host eggs in a multiple-hosts system of brood parasitism. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2009.01288.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Egg-spot pattern rather than egg colour affects conspecific egg rejection in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-009-0811-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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30
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Langmore NE, Cockburn A, Russell AF, Kilner RM. Flexible cuckoo chick-rejection rules in the superb fairy-wren. Behav Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arp086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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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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Honza M, Polaciková L. Experimental reduction of ultraviolet wavelengths reflected from parasitic eggs affects rejection behaviour in the blackcap Sylvia atricapilla. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008; 211:2519-23. [PMID: 18626087 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.017327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Hosts of brood parasites use a variety of cues relating to eggshell appearance of parasitic eggs, which facilitate their recognition and rejection. It has been documented that host visual perception of different colours including UV wavelengths plays an important role in this respect. In the study reported here, we aimed to test whether artificial reduction of the UV wavelengths reflected from parasitic eggshell affects rejection behaviour in the blackcap Sylvia atricapilla. To achieve this goal, we experimentally manipulated, with UV, part of spectra reflected from conspecific eggs and reduced it into the range of 320-350 nm. We used an ultraviolet light blocker, which did not influence the reflectance shape of other spectrum parts. We also used a group of experimental eggs coated in Vaseline, which had no effect on the spectral shape in the UV or visible ranges of the light spectrum. Additionally, we used a third experimental group of unmanipulated eggs as a control. The experimental eggs coated in the UV blocker were rejected at a higher rate than those coated in the Vaseline. Moreover, a binary logistic regression revealed that an artificial reduction of the UV wavelengths reflected from the parasitic egg significantly affected the probability of being rejected by the hosts. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental study to reveal that manipulation with UV wavelengths affects the recognition of parasitic eggs, indicating that the UV part of the spectrum has an important role in host recognition behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Honza
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, v. v. i., Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic.
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34
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Experimental support for the use of egg uniformity in parasite egg discrimination by cuckoo hosts. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-008-0618-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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35
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Egg rejection behaviour in the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus): the effect of egg type. J ETHOL 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-008-0093-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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