The Evolution of Nest Sharing and Nest Mate Killing Strategies in Brood Parasites

Moskát, Csaba; Hauber, Márk E.; Louder, Matthew I. M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-73138-4_26

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…The better performance of shiny cowbirds when they were reared alone in baywing nests adds evidence to the idea of opposing selective pressures driving the evolution of nest mate killing versus nest mate acceptance strategies (Gloag et al 2012;Soler and de Neve 2013;Moskát et al 2017). The trade-off hypothesis states that the extent of virulence of parasitic nestlings reflects a balance between the costs and benefits of eliminating host nest mates (Kilner 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…On the other hand, nest mate acceptance can be favoured when hosts are brood-reducers and feed preferentially the largest nestling in the brood, as it is the case of baywing parents. Under this scenario, if parasitic nestlings enjoy a size advantage and are thus able to outcompete host nestlings, nest mate acceptance would be a successful and less costly strategy (Soler and de Neve 2013;Moskát et al 2017;Soler 2017). The larger size of cowbird nestlings relative to baywings', which becomes more pronounced from day 5 of age onwards, may also explain why they were able to compensate initial differences in mass growth curves compared with cowbird nestlings in singleton broods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Non-mimetic shiny cowbird nestlings escape discrimination by baywings in absence of host nest mates

Ripari

Segura

Reboreda

et al. 2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Nestlings of obligate brood parasites must obtain resources from heterospecific hosts that are attuned to the solicitation behaviours of their own progeny. Failing to match the appropriate stimuli may result in suboptimal provisioning or even the starvation of parasite young. Parasitic nestlings could overcome it by sharing the nest with host young, as long as they are able to compete efficiently for parental feedings. Here, we examined if non-mimetic shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) nestlings reared alone fail to elicit sufficient parental care from the grayish baywing (Agelaioides badius), a host that discriminates between their own and parasitic nestlings based on species-specific begging cues. We manipulated baywing broods to assess the ability of shiny cowbird nestlings to elicit parental provisioning and survive without host nest mates. Host provisioning rates and survival did not differ between shiny cowbirds reared alone and host nestlings in singleton broods. Also, growth patterns of experimental nestlings reared alone were similar to those reported for shiny cowbirds reared alongside baywing young. Hence, we did not find support for the hypothesis that non-mimetic nestlings require the assistance of host nest mates to elicit sufficient parental care from its baywing host. Furthermore, we found that shiny cowbirds that were reared alone continued receiving care from baywings after fledging, unlike shiny cowbirds from mixed broods. Our results add evidence to the idea of opposing selective pressures on the evolution of nest mate acceptance in cowbirds and suggest context-dependent host's discrimination abilities that deserve further investigation. Significance statementThe evolution of nest mate killing versus tolerance strategies is a long-standing question in the study of brood parasitism. Parasitic nestlings may benefit from sharing the nest with host young if they collectively induce more parental provisioning and the parasite can benefit from it. Host nest mates could also confer protection against discrimination when hosts respond preferentially to stimuli of their own kind. We examined this idea in a generalist brood parasite, the shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis), and a host able to discriminate species-specific begging cues. The results showed that shiny cowbirds reared alone performed well and circumvent host discrimination also after leaving the nest. Our study supports the existence of trade-offs on the evolution of nest mate killing behaviours and adds evidence that context-dependent host's discrimination abilities similar to those observed towards parasitic eggs can be at play towards parasitic fledglings.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-mimetic shiny cowbird nestlings escape discrimination by baywings in absence of host nest mates

Ripari

Segura

Reboreda

et al. 2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…In our study area, more than one female cuckoos could lay into the same host nests (e.g., Moskát et al 2009;Zölei et al 2015), which means that female cuckoos' attempts to monopolize territories or egg-laying ranges are far from perfect. Except for the hole-nesting redstarts (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) (e.g., Rutila et al 2002;Grim et al 2009), the young cuckoo chick evicts all eggs or nestlings from the nest (Honza et al 2002;Moskát et al 2017b), so consequently only one cuckoo chick can be fledged from a great reed warbler nest. This means the waste of other cuckoo eggs laid into multiple parasitized nests (Takasu and Moskát 2011).…”

Section: Call Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-specific responses to simulated territorial intrusions in the common cuckoo: a dual function of female acoustic signaling

Moskát

Hauber

2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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The two-note call of the male common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), the so-called "cu-coo", is well known to people as a natural and cultural signal. However, the so-called "bubbling" call of the female cuckoo is almost unknown to most, and its function in the social organization of cuckoos remains understudied. We carried out a study of a possible intraspecific communication function of female bubbling calls, using playbacks to female cuckoos in their natural environment. Regarding vocal responses, both female and male cuckoos paid attention to the bubbling calls as they consistently responded acoustically by calling but did not so during control playbacks of collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) calls. Accordingly, in about 63% of trials, females approached the loudspeaker closely and 81% uttered bubbling calls themselves during the experiment. These results are consistent with a function that the bubbling call plays a role in territorial signaling and defense among females. Male cuckoos also showed strong responses to playbacks of bubbling calls, as they approached the speaker and themselves called in 94% of playbacks; this is consistent with a scenario that they are interested in unfamiliar, new females in the area. Specifically, males approached the speaker repeatedly by flight, often flew around it and then perched on a tree, and uttered different call types beside the general "cu-coo" (e.g., quick "cu-cu-coo", "gowk" call, and "guo" call). Our results represent an illustrative example that a simple female call may have multiple functions, as the cuckoo bubbling call advertises territory need for female cuckoos and attracts males. Significance statement Avian brood parasites lay their eggs in nests of other bird species, causing hosts to incubate, feed, and rear the parasitic offspring. Parasitic adult common cuckoos maintain a complex acoustic communication system, but female cuckoo calls are only beginning to be studied. The basic intraspecific functions of females' sparrowhawk-like "bubbling calls" have not yet been characterized, whereas interspecifically, they use it for reducing antiparasitic attacks by their hosts. Our playback experiments with bubbling calls revealed that both female and male cuckoos responded acoustically to unfamiliar bubbling calls and more males than females approached the speaker, relative to control playbacks. We conclude that bubbling call has dual basic intraspecific functions: mate attraction, and territorial spacing.

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“…Brood parasitism, in which parasites rely solely on other species to raise their young (Davies, 2000;Schulze-Hagen et al, 2009;Feeney et al, 2014;Soler, 2017), exploits parental care and imposes severe fitness costs on hosts. A parasitised host may incur fitness costs that decrease reproductive success, such as parasitic hatchlings evicting host eggs and nestlings (Soler et al, 1995;Kilner et al, 2004), outcompeting host offspring for food and space (Lorenzana and Sealy, 1997;Moskát et al, 2017), or causing carry-over effects which delay and decrease future nesting attempts in subsequent breeding seasons (Mark and Rubenstein, 2013). To combat these costs, many host species have evolved antiparasitic defences that reduce the impact of parasitism on lifetime reproductive success (Rothstein, 1990;Davies, 2000;Roldán and Soler, 2011;Medina and Langmore, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clutch Abandoning Parasitised Yellow Warblers Have Increased Circulating Corticosterone With No Effect of Past Corticosterone or Differences in Egg Maculation Characteristics

et al. 2022

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Parental care can be costly to parents’ fitness. As such, abandonment of the current reproductive attempt may benefit potential future opportunities, maximising lifetime reproductive success. Obligate brood parasitism, a reproductive strategy in which parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other species and rely solely on them to raise the parasitic young, is an ideal system to study brood abandonment. Some parasitised host species have evolved anti-parasitic defences, notably clutch abandonment (egg burial and nest desertion), that may mitigate negative consequences of parasitism. Abandonment of clutches due to parasitism is not unlike abandonment of reproduction in times of stress, suggesting that host responses to parasitism could be triggered at least partly by elevated stress hormones that mediate individual decisions. Yet, the mechanistic basis for clutch abandonment remains unclear. Here, we experimentally parasitised clutches of yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia), a common host of the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), with model cowbird eggs to examine whether host circulating corticosterone (CORT) differed among females that accepted parasitic eggs or rejected them through clutch abandonment. We also assessed whether feather CORT, a measure of past corticosterone exposure, differed between accepters and abandoners. Finally, we investigated whether egg visual signals, specifically differences in maculation characteristics between model cowbird and host eggs, predicted abandonment of experimentally parasitised clutches. Circulating CORT was higher in females who abandoned their parasitised clutches, but not in those who accepted, relative to controls with no egg addition. Past stress and differences in maculation characteristics did not predict whether individuals accepted or abandoned experimentally parasitised clutches. Moreover, differences in maculation characteristics between the host and model cowbird eggs did not predict CORT levels or nest abandonment. Thus, parasitism with subsequent clutch abandonment may be associated with elevated circulating CORT, but neither past stress nor differences in maculation characteristics influenced abandonment. The combination of these results contributes to our understanding of the roles of corticosterone and egg visual signals in the context of clutch abandonment in brood parasitism specifically, and of parental care more broadly.

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The Evolution of Nest Sharing and Nest Mate Killing Strategies in Brood Parasites

Cited by 11 publications

References 79 publications

Non-mimetic shiny cowbird nestlings escape discrimination by baywings in absence of host nest mates

Non-mimetic shiny cowbird nestlings escape discrimination by baywings in absence of host nest mates

Sex-specific responses to simulated territorial intrusions in the common cuckoo: a dual function of female acoustic signaling

Clutch Abandoning Parasitised Yellow Warblers Have Increased Circulating Corticosterone With No Effect of Past Corticosterone or Differences in Egg Maculation Characteristics

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