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Mérő TO, Žuljević A, Lengyel S. The role of reed management and habitat quality on brood parasitism and chick survival of the brood parasitic Common Cuckoo. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9705. [PMID: 36620404 PMCID: PMC9810786 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite efforts on ecosystem restoration and management, biodiversity loss remains one of the major environmental concerns of our time. Beyond the focus on threatened species, animals that indicate regional biodiversity hotspots and population trends, such as brood parasites, should also be targeted by conservation actions. We studied how reed habitat quality and management influence brood parasitism rate and offspring survival in Common Cuckoos Cuculus canorus parasitizing nests of Great Reed Warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus in six reed habitats in an intensive agricultural landscape. Data collected from 45 sites over 13 years showed that the brood parasitism rate was highest on large canals and was positively influenced by the availability of potential perches (Cuckoo vantage points) and the height where host nests were built. Cuckoo chick survival decreased with water depth and was not affected by other factors. Our results suggest that the habitat-dependent detectability of host nests was central in brood parasitism rate and that water level was central in Cuckoo chick survival. Our study shows that a maintenance of intermediate water levels is the most optimal for maintaining Cuckoo populations in intensive agricultural landscapes. Because brood parasites are excellent bioindicators as their presence predicts regional hotspots of taxonomic and functional diversity as well as population trends in bird communities, knowledge on their habitat requirements is relevant in management targeting diverse bird communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Oliver Mérő
- Institute of Aquatic EcologyCentre for Ecological ResearchDebrecenHungary,Nature Protection and Study Society – NATURASomborSerbia
| | - Antun Žuljević
- Nature Protection and Study Society – NATURASomborSerbia
| | - Szabolcs Lengyel
- Institute of Aquatic EcologyCentre for Ecological ResearchDebrecenHungary
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Kraus HM, Jensen WE, Houseman GR, Jameson ML, Reichenborn MM, Watson DF, Kjaer EL. Cattle grazing in CRP grasslands during the nesting season: effects on avian reproduction. J Wildl Manage 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Heather M. Kraus
- Department of Biological Sciences Emporia State University 1 Kellogg Circle Emporia KS 66801 USA
| | - William E. Jensen
- Department of Biological Sciences Emporia State University 1 Kellogg Circle Emporia KS 66801 USA
| | - Gregory R. Houseman
- Department of Biological Sciences Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount Street Wichita KS 67260 USA
| | - Mary Liz Jameson
- Department of Biological Sciences Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount Street Wichita KS 67260 USA
| | - Molly M. Reichenborn
- Department of Biological Sciences Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount Street Wichita KS 67260 USA
| | - D. Fraser Watson
- Department of Biological Sciences Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount Street Wichita KS 67260 USA
| | - Esben L. Kjaer
- Department of Biological Sciences Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount Street Wichita KS 67260 USA
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How does human disturbance affect brood parasitism and nest predation in hosts inhabiting a highly fragmented landscape? Glob Ecol Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Bernath-Plaisted J, Nenninger H, Koper N. Conventional oil and natural gas infrastructure increases brown-headed cowbird ( Molothrus ater) relative abundance and parasitism in mixed-grass prairie. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:170036. [PMID: 28791134 PMCID: PMC5541529 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The rapid expansion of oil and natural gas development across the Northern Great Plains has contributed to habitat fragmentation, which may facilitate brood parasitism of ground-nesting grassland songbird nests by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), an obligate brood parasite, through the introduction of perches and anthropogenic edges. We tested this hypothesis by measuring brown-headed cowbird relative abundance and brood parasitism rates of Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) nests in relation to the presence of infrastructure features and proximity to potential perches and edge habitat. The presence of oil and natural gas infrastructure increased brown-headed cowbird relative abundance by a magnitude of four times, which resulted in four times greater brood parasitism rates at infrastructure sites. While the presence of infrastructure and the proximity to roads were influential in predicting brood parasitism rates, the proximity of perch sites was not. This suggests that brood parasitism associated with oil and natural gas infrastructure may result in additional pressures that reduce productivity of this declining grassland songbird.
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Latif QS, Sanderlin JS, Saab VA, Block WM, Dudley JG. Avian relationships with wildfire at two dry forest locations with different historical fire regimes. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Quresh S. Latif
- Rocky Mountain Research Station U. S. Forest Service Bozeman Montana 59717 USA
| | - Jamie S. Sanderlin
- Rocky Mountain Research Station U. S. Forest Service Flagstaff Arizona 86001 USA
| | - Victoria A. Saab
- Rocky Mountain Research Station U. S. Forest Service Bozeman Montana 59717 USA
| | - William M. Block
- Rocky Mountain Research Station U. S. Forest Service Flagstaff Arizona 86001 USA
| | - Jonathan G. Dudley
- Rocky Mountain Research Station U. S. Forest Service Boise Idaho 83702 USA
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Feeney WE, Troscianko J, Langmore NE, Spottiswoode CN. Evidence for aggressive mimicry in an adult brood parasitic bird, and generalized defences in its host. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.0795. [PMID: 26063850 PMCID: PMC4590487 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mimicry of a harmless model (aggressive mimicry) is used by egg, chick and fledgling brood parasites that resemble the host's own eggs, chicks and fledglings. However, aggressive mimicry may also evolve in adult brood parasites, to avoid attack from hosts and/or manipulate their perception of parasitism risk. We tested the hypothesis that female cuckoo finches (Anomalospiza imberbis) are aggressive mimics of female Euplectes weavers, such as the harmless, abundant and sympatric southern red bishop (Euplectes orix). We show that female cuckoo finch plumage colour and pattern more closely resembled those of Euplectes weavers (putative models) than Vidua finches (closest relatives); that their tawny-flanked prinia (Prinia subflava) hosts were equally aggressive towards female cuckoo finches and southern red bishops, and more aggressive to both than to their male counterparts; and that prinias were equally likely to reject an egg after seeing a female cuckoo finch or bishop, and more likely to do so than after seeing a male bishop near their nest. This is, to our knowledge, the first quantitative evidence for aggressive mimicry in an adult bird, and suggests that host–parasite coevolution can select for aggressive mimicry by avian brood parasites, and counter-defences by hosts, at all stages of the reproductive cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- W E Feeney
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - J Troscianko
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - N E Langmore
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - C N Spottiswoode
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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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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Trnka A, Grim T. Testing for correlations between behaviours in a cuckoo host: why do host defences not covary? Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Svennungsen TO, Holen ØH. Avian brood parasitism: information use and variation in egg-rejection behavior. Evolution 2009; 64:1459-69. [PMID: 20015240 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00919.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Hosts of avian brood parasites often vary in their response to parasitized clutches: they may eject one or several eggs, desert the nest, or accept all the eggs. Focusing on hosts exposed to single-egg parasitism by an evicting brood parasite, we construct an optimality model that includes all these behavioral options and use it to explore variation in rejection behavior. We particularly consider the influence of egg mimicry and external cues (observations of adult parasites near the nest) on optimal choice of rejection behavior. We find that several rejection responses will be present in a host population under a wide range of conditions. Ejection of multiple eggs tends to be adaptive when egg mimicry is fairly accurate, external cues provide reliable information of the risk of parasitism, and the expected success of renesting is low. If the perceived risk of parasitism is high, ejection of one or a few eggs may be the optimal rejection response even in cases in which hosts cannot discriminate between eggs. This may have consequences for the long-term outcome of the coevolutionary chase between hosts and parasites. We propose an alternative evolutionary pathway by which egg ejection may first arise as a defense against brood parasitism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Owens Svennungsen
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
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Abstract
Here we show that demands associated with brood parasitism have favored sophisticated cognitive abilities in female brown-headed cowbirds. We discovered that cowbirds can use the rate at which eggs are added to a nest across days to assess the readiness of the nest for incubation, which would allow them to synchronize laying with the host and avoid nests where incubation has most likely commenced. In three experiments, cowbirds investigated and laid eggs in artificial nests that differed in the number of eggs they contained. Across days, we added eggs to nests at different rates to simulate differences in the timing of reproduction of the hosts. Cowbirds avoided a nest if the number of eggs that had been added was less than the number of days that had elapsed. The ability of females to remember egg number and compare changes in egg number across days allows them to select nests most suitable for parasitism.
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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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HOOVER JEFFREYP, HAUBER MARKE. Individual patterns of habitat and nest-site use by hosts promote transgenerational transmission of avian brood parasitism status. J Anim Ecol 2007; 76:1208-14. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2007.01291.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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G. Stokke B, Hafstad I, Rudolfsen G, Bargain B, Beier J, Bigas Campàs D, Dyrcz A, Honza M, Leisler B, L. Pap P, PatapaviČius R, Procházka P, Schulze-Hagen K, Thomas R, Moksnes A, Pape Møller A, Røskaft E, Soler M. Host density predicts presence of cuckoo parasitism in reed warblers. OIKOS 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.15832.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Stokke BG, Hafstad I, Rudolfsen G, Bargain B, Beier J, Bigas Campàs D, Dyrcz A, Honza M, Leisler B, Pap PL, PatapaviČius R, Procházka P, Schulze-Hagen K, Thomas R, Moksnes A, Pape Møller A, Røskaft E, Soler M. Host density predicts presence of cuckoo parasitism in reed warblers. OIKOS 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.15832.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Hoover JP, Yasukawa K, Hauber ME. Spatially and temporally structured avian brood parasitism affects the fitness benefits of hosts' rejection strategies. Anim Behav 2006. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Peer BD, Rothstein SI, Kuehn MJ, Fleischer RC. Host Defenses against Cowbird (Molothrus spp.) Parasitism: Implications for Cowbird Management. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005. [DOI: 10.2307/40166816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Jensen WE, Cully JF. Density-dependent habitat selection by brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater) in tallgrass prairie. Oecologia 2004; 142:136-49. [PMID: 15375686 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-004-1709-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2003] [Accepted: 08/16/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Local distributions of avian brood parasites among their host habitats may depend upon conspecific parasite density. We used isodar analysis to test for density-dependent habitat selection in brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater) among tallgrass prairie adjacent to wooded edges, and prairie interior habitat (>100 m from wooded edges) with and without experimental perches. Eight study sites containing these three habitat treatments were established along a geographical gradient in cowbird abundance within the Flint Hills region of Eastern Kansas and Oklahoma, USA. The focal host species of our study, the dickcissel ( Spiza americana), is the most abundant and preferred cowbird host in the prairie of this region. Cowbird relative abundance and cowbird:host abundance ratios were used as estimates of female cowbird density, whereas cowbird egg density was measured as parasitism frequency (percent of dickcissel nests parasitized), and parasitism intensity (number of cowbird eggs per parasitized nest). Geographical variation in cowbird abundance was independent of host abundance. Within study sites, host abundance was highest in wooded edge plots, intermediate in the experimental perch plots, and lowest in prairie interior. Cowbirds exhibited a pattern of density-dependent selection of prairie edge versus experimental perch and interior habitats. On sites where measures of cowbird density were lowest, all cowbird density estimates (female cowbirds and their eggs) were highest near (< or =100 m) wooded edges, where host and perch availability are highest. However, as overall cowbird density increased geographically, these density estimates increased more rapidly in experimental perch plots and prairie interiors. Variation in cowbird abundance and cowbird:host ratios suggested density-dependent cowbird selection of experimental perch over prairie interior habitat, but parasitism levels on dickcissel nests were similar among these two habitats at all levels of local cowbird parasitism. The density-dependent pattern of cowbird distribution among prairie edge and interior suggested that density effects on perceived cowbird fitness are greatest at wooded edges. A positive relationship between daily nest mortality rates of parasitized nests during the nestling period with parasitism intensity levels per nest suggested a density-dependent effect on cowbird reproductive success. However, this relationship was similar among habitats, such that all habitats should have been perceived as being equally suitable to cowbirds at all densities. Other unmeasured effects on cowbird habitat suitability (e.g., reduced cowbird success in edge-dwelling host nests, cowbird despotism at edges) might have affected cowbird habitat selection. Managers attempting to minimize cowbird parasitism on sensitive cowbird hosts should consider that hosts in otherwise less-preferred cowbird habitats (e.g., habitat interiors) are at greater risk of being parasitized where cowbirds become particularly abundant.
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Affiliation(s)
- William E Jensen
- United States Geological Survey, Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Division of Biology, Kansas State University, 205 Leasure Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
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Edge Effects on Nesting Dickcissels (Spiza americana) in Relation to Edge Type of Remnant Tallgrass Prairie in Kansas. AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 2004. [DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031(2004)151[0192:eeonds]2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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SAUNDERS CAROLYNA, ARCESE PETER, O’CONNOR KATHLEEND. NEST SITE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE SONG SPARROW AND PARASITISM BY BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2003. [DOI: 10.1676/02-057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Behaviour of female common cuckoos, Cuculus canorus, in the vicinity of host nests before and during egg laying: a radiotelemetry study. Anim Behav 2002. [DOI: 10.1006/anbe.2002.1969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Hauber ME, Russo SA, Sherman PW. A password for species recognition in a brood-parasitic bird. Proc Biol Sci 2001; 268:1041-8. [PMID: 11375088 PMCID: PMC1088706 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2001.1617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recognition of conspecifics is an essential precursor of sexual reproduction. Most mammals and birds learn salient features of their parents or siblings early in ontogeny and later recognize individuals whose phenotypes match the mental image (template) of relatives closely enough as conspecifics. However, the young of brood parasites are reared among heterospecifics, so social learning will yield inappropriate species recognition templates. Initially, it was inferred that conspecific recognition in brood parasites depended on genetically determined templates. More recently it was demonstrated that learning plays a critical role in the development of parasites' social preferences. Here we propose a mechanism that accommodates the interaction of learned and genetic components of recognition. We suggest that conspecific recognition is initiated when a young parasite encounters some unique species-specific signal or "password" (e.g. a vocalization, behaviour or other characteristic) that triggers learning of additional aspects of the password-giver's phenotype. We examined the possibility that nestlings of the obligately brood-parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) could use a species-specific vocalization, the "chatter", as a password. We found that six-day-old nestlings responded (begged) significantly more frequently to playbacks of chatters than to other avian sounds and that two-month-old fledglings approached playbacks of chatters more quickly than vocalizations of heterospecifics. Free-living cowbird fledglings and adults also approached playbacks of chatters more often than control sounds. Passwords may be involved in the ontogeny of species recognition in brood parasites generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Hauber
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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Hauber ME. Site selection and repeatability in Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism of Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) nests. CAN J ZOOL 2001. [DOI: 10.1139/z01-091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The reproductive success of obligate brood parasitic birds depends on their ability to seek out heterospecific nests. Some nests are more suitable for parasitism than others and, for example, parasitic females may benefit from laying eggs preferentially and repeatedly at safer sites. Observations on patterns of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) across 2 years suggested that parasitism occurred at above chance levels during the first rather than the second nesting attempts and at nests located under eaves rather than bridges. Previously parasitized nests were more likely to be parasitized again in the subsequent breeding season. Sites under eaves and bridges did not differ in whether Brown-headed Cowbirds could be detected in the proximity of the nest. However, nests from first nesting attempts and nests under eaves were less likely to be lost as a result of structural failure of the Eastern Phoebe's mud nest. These data suggest that site discrimination by Brown-headed Cowbirds leads to adaptive patterns of parasitism among available Eastern Phoebe nests.
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