scholarly journals Spatial variation in egg polymorphism among cuckoo hosts across 4 continents

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Canchao Yang ◽  
Xingfeng Si ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Anders Pape Møller
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Color Polymorphism ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
The Common ◽  
Host Families

Abstract Although egg color polymorphism has evolved as an effective defensive adaptation to brood parasitism, spatial variations in egg color polymorphism remain poorly characterized. Here, we investigated egg polymorphism in 647 host species (68 families and 231 genera) parasitized by 41 species of Old Word cuckoos (1 family and 11 genera) across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia. The diversity of parasitic cuckoos differs among continents, reflecting the continent-specific intensities of parasitic selection pressure on hosts. Therefore, host egg polymorphism is expected to evolve more frequently on continents with higher cuckoo diversity. We identified egg polymorphism in 24.1% of all host species and 47.6% of all host families. The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus utilized 184 hosts (28.4% of all host species). Hosts of the common cuckoo and of Chrysococcyx species were more likely to have polymorphic eggs than hosts parasitized by other cuckoos. Both the number of host species and the host families targeted by the cuckoo species were positively correlated with the frequency of host egg polymorphism. Most host species and most hosts exhibiting egg color polymorphism were located in Asia and Africa. Host egg polymorphism was observed less frequently in Australia and Europe. Our results also suggested that egg polymorphism tends to occur more frequently in hosts that are utilized by several cuckoo species or by generalist cuckoo species. We suggest that selection pressure on hosts from a given continent increases proportionally to the number of cuckoo species, and that this selection pressure may, in turn, favor the evolution of host egg polymorphism.

scholarly journals Fate of Grackle (Quiscalus SPP.) Defenses in the Absence of Brood Parasitism: Implications for Long-Term Parasite-Host Coevolution

The Auk ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 1172-1186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Peer ◽  
Spencer G. Sealy
Keyword(s):  
Host Species ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Allopatric Population ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Cowbird Parasitism ◽  
The Common ◽  
Molothrus Aeneus

Abstract We tested grackles (Quiscalus spp.) to determine whether they retain egg rejection behavior in the absence of the selection pressure of brood parasitism. Neither Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus) nor Brown-headed Cowbird (M. ater) parasitism was recorded in 797 Great-tailed Grackle (Q. mexicanus) nests. Cross-fostered Bronzed Cowbird nestlings, but not Brown-headed Cowbird nestlings, fledged from Great-tailed Grackle nests, indicating that Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism does not select for rejection in these grackles. Great-tailed Grackle populations sympatric and allopatric with Bronzed Cowbirds rejected 100% of model cowbird eggs. An allopatric population of Boat-tailed Grackle (Q. major), a sister species of the Great-tailed Grackle, also rejected 100% of model eggs. Egg rejection in the Boat-tailed Grackle has apparently been retained in the absence of parasitism for as long as 800,000 years since it split from the Great-tailed Grackle. The Common Grackle (Q. quiscula), which lays the most variable eggs among the grackles, also has the lowest level of egg rejection—which is consistent with the argument that it may have lost most of its rejection behavior in the absence of parasitism. With extreme intraclutch egg-variation, Common Grackles may be more likely to reject their own oddly colored eggs, which would select against rejection behavior in the absence of parasitism. Those results have significant implications for long-term parasite-host coevolution, because they suggest that egg rejection has been retained in most species of Quiscalus in the absence of parasitism. If typical of the world's avifauna, such retention may force brood parasites to specialize on a few host species and to rarely return to using old hosts, which would readily reject their eggs.

scholarly journals Fast and furious: host aggression modulates behaviour of brood parasites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Václav Jelínek ◽  
Michal Šulc ◽  
Gabriela Štětková ◽  
Marcel Honza
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Nest Defence ◽  
Great Reed Warbler ◽  
Acrocephalus Arundinaceus ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
The Common

ABSTRACTAvian brood parasites pose a serious threat for hosts, substantially reducing their fitness which selects for the evolution of host defences. A classic example of a host frontline defence is mobbing which frequently includes contact attacking of brood parasites. Here, we investigated how the nest defence of a very aggressive great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) host influences the speed of egg-laying and egg-removing behaviour of its brood parasite – the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). We video-recorded 168 brood parasitic events at 102 active host nests and found that cuckoos avoided host mobbing in only 62% of cases. If hosts spotted the cuckoo at their nests, they almost always attacked it (in 91 of 104 cases), however, such attacks only rarely and temporarily prevented cuckoos from parasitizing (11 additional cases). When attacked, cuckoos parasitized host nests significantly faster and left them immediately. However, when not attacked, cuckoos frequently stayed at or near the nest suggesting that host aggression, rather than the risk of being spotted, influences the speed of brood parasitism in this species. Further, we found that cuckoos performed egg-removing behaviour in all parasitic events without regard to host aggression. As a result, cuckoos removed at least one egg during all brood parasitism events except those when an egg slipped from their beaks and fell back into the nest (in 9 of 73 cases). This indicates that egg-removing behaviour is not costly for the common cuckoo and is an essential part of its parasitism strategy, widening understanding of this currently unexplained behaviour.

scholarly journals Adaptations in the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) to host eggs in a multiple-hosts system of brood parasitism

2009 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
FUGO TAKASU ◽  
CSABA MOSKÁT ◽  
A ROMAN MUÑOZ ◽  
SADAO IMANISHI ◽  
HIROSHI NAKAMURA
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
The Common

scholarly journals Does experimentally simulated presence of a common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) affect egg rejection and breeding success in the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio)?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Tryjanowski ◽  
Artur Golawski ◽  
Mariusz Janowski ◽  
Tim H. Sparks
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Success ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Host Nest ◽  
Lanius Collurio ◽  
The Common ◽  
Experimental Treatments

AbstractProviding artificial eggs is a commonly used technique to understand brood parasitism, mainly by the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). However, the presence of a cuckoo egg in the host nest would also require an earlier physical presence of the common cuckoo within the host territory. During our study of the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio), we tested two experimental approaches: (1) providing an artificial “cuckoo” egg in shrike nests and (2) additionally placing a stuffed common cuckoo with a male call close to the shrike nest. We expected that the shrikes subject to the additional common cuckoo call stimuli would be more sensitive to brood parasitism and demonstrate a higher egg rejection rate. In the years 2017–2018,  in two locations in Poland, a total of 130 red-backed shrike nests were divided into two categories: in 66 we added only an artificial egg, and in the remaining 64 we added not only the egg, but also presented a stuffed, calling common cuckoo. Shrikes reacted more strongly if the stuffed common cuckoo was present. However, only 13 incidences of egg acceptance were noted, with no significant differences between the locations, experimental treatments or their interaction. Analysis of breeding success revealed significant differences between the locations, between experimental treatments and their interaction, which suggests a strong location effect. The red-backed shrike is an efficient rejector of foreign eggs. It would be interesting to see how similar tests affect hosts that have much higher rates of brood parasitism and egg acceptance.

Cuckoo chicks evicting their nest mates: coincidental observations by Edward Jenner in England and Antoine Joseph Lottinger in France

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer G. Sealy ◽  
Mélanie F. Guigueno
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Cuckoo Chick ◽  
The Common ◽  
Made In ◽  
Royal Society Of London

For centuries, naturalists were aware that soon after hatching the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) chick became the sole occupant of the fosterer's nest. Most naturalists thought the adult cuckoo returned to the nest and removed or ate the fosterer's eggs and young, or the cuckoo chick crowded its nest mates out of the nest. Edward Jenner published the first description of cuckoo chicks evicting eggs and young over the side of the nest. Jenner's observations, made in England in 1786 and 1787, were published by the Royal Society of London in 1788. Four years before Jenner's observations, in 1782, Antoine Joseph Lottinger recorded eviction behaviour in France and published his observations in Histoire du coucou d'Europe, in 1795. The importance of Lottinger's and Jenner's observations is considered together.

scholarly journals Heterospecific alarm-call recognition in two warbler hosts of common cuckoos

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1149-1157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangping Yu ◽  
Hailin Lu ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Haitao Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alarm Call ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Call Recognition ◽  
Accipiter Nisus ◽  
Main Host ◽  
The Common

Abstract Species facing similar selection pressures should recognize heterospecific alarm signals. However, no study has so far examined heterospecific alarm-call recognition in response to parasitism by cuckoos. In this study, we tested whether two sympatric host species of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, Oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis (ORW, main host), and black-browed reed warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps (BRW, rare host), could recognize each other’s alarm calls in response to cuckoos. Dummies of common cuckoo (parasite) and Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (predator) were used to induce and record alarm calls of the two warbler species, respectively. In the conspecific alarm-call playback experiments, ORW responded more strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls, while BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls. In the heterospecific alarm-call playback experiments, both ORW and BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than sparrowhawk alarm calls. BRW seemed to learn the association between parasite-related alarm calls of the ORW and the cuckoo by observing the process of ORW attacking cuckoos. In contrast, alarm calls of BRW to cuckoos were rarely recorded in most cases. BRW with low parasite pressure still developed recognition of heterospecific parasite-related alarm call. Unintended receivers in the same community should recognize heterospecific alarm calls precisely to extract valuable information.

The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus host

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. AVILÉS ◽  
J. R. VIKAN ◽  
F. FOSSØY ◽  
A. ANTONOV ◽  
A. MOKSNES ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Acrocephalus Scirpaceus ◽  
The Common
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