Molecular phylogeny of cuckoos supports a polyphyletic origin of brood parasitism

Aragon,; Möller,; Soler,

doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.1999.00052.x

Cited by 37 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Solid arrows represent significant evolutionary pathways ( p!0.05) and dashed arrows represent trends ( p!0.1). Modified after Krü ger & Davies (2002) and based on the phylogeny of Aragon et al (1999). higher aggressive behaviour in these older females. The authors argue that old females advertise their nest location to invite parasitism and prevent subsequent predation by the cowbird, whereas young females do not show aggressive behaviour because they cannot afford to raise a cowbird chick on top of their own brood, hence they take a gamble.…”

Section: Adaptations and Counter-adaptations (A) Before Egg Layingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cuckoos, cowbirds and hosts: adaptations, trade-offs and constraints

Krüger

2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

126

117

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The interactions between brood parasitic birds and their host species provide one of the best model systems for coevolution. Despite being intensively studied, the parasite-host system provides ample opportunities to test new predictions from both coevolutionary theory as well as life-history theory in general. I identify four main areas that might be especially fruitful: cuckoo female gentes as alternative reproductive strategies, non-random and nonlinear risks of brood parasitism for host individuals, host parental quality and targeted brood parasitism, and differences and similarities between predation risk and parasitism risk. Rather than being a rare and intriguing system to study coevolutionary processes, I believe that avian brood parasites and their hosts are much more important as extreme cases in the evolution of life-history strategies. They provide unique examples of trade-offs and situations where constraints are either completely removed or particularly severe.

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Section: Adaptations and Counter-adaptations (A) Before Egg Layingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cuckoos, cowbirds and hosts: adaptations, trade-offs and constraints

Krüger

2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

126

117

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“…Two variables that were important in all three analyses based on the phylogeny reported by Hughes (2000) were migration pattern Figure 1. Flow diagram of the most probable evolutionary pathways between breeding strategy and (a) migration pattern and (b) breeding range size, based on the phylogeny described by Hughes (2000); and between breeding strategy and (c) egg size and (d ) diet type, based on the phylogeny described by Aragon et al (1999). In each figure part, the presumed ancestral state is shaded in light grey, whereas the common current state in parasitic cuckoos is the boldly lined box.…”

Section: (C) Evolutionary Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and breeding-range size, and the corresponding two variables from analyses based on the phylogeny reported by Aragon et al (1999) were egg size and diet. The flow diagrams of the most likely evolutionary pathways are presented in figure 1.…”

Section: (C) Evolutionary Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, a broader, comparative analysis is needed to understand how life-history and ecological factors shape host-parasite coevolution. Here, we use the two recently published phylogenies for the cuckoo family (Aragon et al 1999;Hughes 2000) to address two questions: (i) What were the changes in ecology and life history when cuckoos evolved brood parasitism from an ancestor with parental care and did these changes precede the evolution of brood parasitism, or were they consequences? (ii) Once parasitism had evolved, how were parasite breeding strategies (costs inflicted on the host fitness) shaped by ecological factors, cuckoo life histories and host defences?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolution of cuckoo parasitism: a comparative analysis

Krüger

Davies

2002

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Cuckoos (family Cuculidae) show the highest diversity of breeding strategies within one bird family (parental care, facultative and obligate brood parasites). We used independent contrasts from two phylogenies to examine how this variation was related to 13 ecological and life-history variables. The ancestral state was probably tropical, resident, forest cuckoos with parental care. The evolution of brood parasitism was correlated with a shift to more open habitats, a change in diet, increases in species breeding-range size and migration, and a decrease in egg size. Once parasitism had evolved, more elaborate parasitic strategies (more harmful to host fitness) were correlated with decreased egg size, a change in diet, increased breeding-range size and migration, a shortened breeding season and a decrease in local abundance. Establishing the most probable evolutionary pathways, using the method of Pagel, shows that changes in ecological variables (such as migration, range size and diet type) preceded the evolution of brood parasitism, which is likely to be a later adaptation to reduce the cost of reproduction. By contrast, brood parasitism evolved before changes in egg size occurred, indicating that egg size is an adaptive trait in host-parasite coevolution. Our results suggest that the evolution of cuckoo brood parasitism reflects selection from both ecological pressures and host defences.

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“…Molecular phylogenies (Sibley and Ahlquist, 1990;Aragón et al, 1999;Payne and Sorenson, 2005) diverge most significantly from anatomical, ecological and behavioural studies (Seibel, 1988;Hughes, 1996 and, primarily on whether Neomorphinae is or is not defined as a monophyletic group. The last authors pointed out that Neomorphinae is not monophyletic because Tapera and Dromococcyx are considered to be more closely related with Old World cuckoos (Cuculinae) than with other cuckoos.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When decisions on homologous structures cause ambiguous taxa relationships: the Neomorphinae (Aves, Cuculidae) example

Posso

Donatelli

2010

Braz. J. Biol.

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The anatomy of Neomorphinae is poorly understood and the systematics of this sub-family is also the most controversial of the cuckoo taxa, mainly with regard to the systematic position of Tapera and Dromococcyx. In this study, morphological similarities of the Neomorphinae are discussed after a comprehensive description of the cranial osteology was conducted in seven species, embracing all the Neomorphinae genera. This description is followed by comparisons with other cuckoos in order to contribute to the anatomy and systematics of this sub-family. In this way, we provide illustrations that enable the osteological descriptions and the proposed primary homologies to be visualised and compared. Even though Neomorphinae species share many cranial osteological characteristics, there are some anatomical divergences that allowed us to divide them into two distinct groups: (Dromococcyx/ Tapera) and (Morococcyx(Neomorphus/Geococcyx)). After comparisons among all cuckoos this study suggests that Neomorphinae are more similar to Crotophaginae and Couinae than to other sub-families of cuckoos. Our results contrast with a recent phylogenetic study based on morphological features, mainly because alternative interpretations to the primary osteological homologies in this study grouped Tapera and Dromococcyx with Cuculinae. Although morphological studies can be used in phylogenetic analysis, we demonstrated here that decisions in the interpretation of the homologies can provide ambiguous results.Keywords: Neomorphinae, Cuculidae, cranial osteology, homology, phylogeny. Interpretações de homologias primárias e ambiguidade nas posições filogenéticas dos táxons: o exemplo nos Neomorphinae (Aves, Cuculidae) ResumoNeomorphinae é o grupo filogeneticamente mais controverso entre os cucos, em virtude da ambígua posição de Tapera e Dromococcyx, ainda, a anatomia do grupo é pouco compreendida. Neste estudo, as homologias primárias são discutidas em relação à osteologia craniana desta subfamília e comparadas aos demais Cuculiformes. O estudo propõe interpretações alternativas para homologias primárias dos caracteres cranianos em relação àquelas encontradas em filogenias com base nesta fonte de caracteres, na qual se observa Tapera e Dromococcyx agrupados dentro de Cuculinae. De modo a melhor demonstrar isto, os crânios foram descritos e ilustrados, apontando-se as homologias propostas e contrapondo-as com a literatura. Os resultados sugerem algumas variações entre os táxons que compõem a subfamília que permitem agrupá-los da seguinte maneira: (Dromococcyx/Tapera) e (Morococcyx(Neomorphus/ Geococcyx)). Ainda, comparando com as demais subfamílias, os Neomorphinae são similares a Crotophaginae e Couinae. Não obstante, os resultados demonstraram os táxons de Neomorphinae (incluindo Tapera e Dromococcyx) nitidamente mais similares entre si do que com qualquer outro grupo de cucos, indicando provável monofiletismo da subfamília, conforme sugerem os dados moleculares. No entanto a descrição da osteologia aqui apresentada difere do observ...

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Molecular phylogeny of cuckoos supports a polyphyletic origin of brood parasitism

Cited by 37 publications

References 56 publications

Cuckoos, cowbirds and hosts: adaptations, trade-offs and constraints

Cuckoos, cowbirds and hosts: adaptations, trade-offs and constraints

The evolution of cuckoo parasitism: a comparative analysis

When decisions on homologous structures cause ambiguous taxa relationships: the Neomorphinae (Aves, Cuculidae) example

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