Host-parasite relatedness in wood ducks: patterns of kinship and parasite success

Egg Morphology Is An Unreliable Indicator of Intraspecific Nest Parasitism in Wood Ducks

“…We explored the possibility that the MED method may be influenced by genetic similarities in characteristics of eggs of related hosts and parasites. In the Wood Duck, hosts and their primary parasites are more related than expected by chance (Roy Nielsen et al 2006c), and egg size has a large heritable component (Ojanen et al 1979, Van Noordwijk et al 1980. Relatedness of host and parasites may make the MED method less effective by reducing variation in the characteristics of eggs in parasitized clutches so that clutches parasitized by relatives may have lower MED values than similarly sized clutches parasitized by nonrelatives.…”

“…Recently, this behavior has received considerable attention in waterfowl (Anderson and Åhlund 2000, Semel and Sherman 2001, Roy Nielsen et al 2006a, 2006b, 2006c, 2008, Pöysä and Pesonen 2007. Studies of this behavior rely on numerous methods to detect parasitism, some of which can be fairly labor intensive and expensive.…”

Conspecific Brood Parasitism and Population Dynamics

“…For example, several models have included egg rejection behavior in relation to the degree of relatedness between hosts or parasites and to the ability to recognize kin (Zink 2000;Andersson 2001;Lopez-Sepulcre and Kokko 2002). Empirical studies of such inclusive fitness benefits are mixed in their support (Andersson andAhlund 2000, 2001;Pöysä 2003aPöysä , 2004Nielsen et al 2006;Waldeck and Andersson 2006), but evidence is increasing that host-parasite interactions among conspecifics may be more complex than considered in many existing models of CBP. Recent work by Pöysä and colleagues demonstrates that, in at least some species, parasites are able to assess the relative safety of nests with respect to the risk of nest predation and differentially parasitize safe nest sites (Pöysä 1999(Pöysä , 2003b(Pöysä , 2006Pöysä et al 2001;Pöysä and Pesonen 2007).…”

Variation in Size and Composition of Bufflehead (Bucephala Albeola) and Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala Islandica) Eggs

“…We explored the possibility that the MED method may be influenced by genetic similarities in characteristics of eggs of related hosts and parasites. In the Wood Duck, hosts and their primary parasites are more related than expected by chance (Roy Nielsen et al 2006c), and egg size has a large heritable component (Ojanen et al 1979, Van Noordwijk et al 1980. Relatedness of host and parasites may make the MED method less effective by reducing variation in the characteristics of eggs in parasitized clutches so that clutches parasitized by relatives may have lower MED values than similarly sized clutches parasitized by nonrelatives.…”

“…Recently, this behavior has received considerable attention in waterfowl (Anderson and Åhlund 2000, Semel and Sherman 2001, Roy Nielsen et al 2006a, 2006b, 2006c, 2008, Pöysä and Pesonen 2007. Studies of this behavior rely on numerous methods to detect parasitism, some of which can be fairly labor intensive and expensive.…”