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Koleček J, Piálková R, Piálek L, Šulc M, Hughes AE, Brlík V, Procházka P, Požgayová M, Capek M, Sosnovcová K, Štětková G, Valterová R, Honza M. Spatiotemporal patterns of egg laying in the common cuckoo. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Tosi-Germán RA, Tassino B, Reboreda JC. Female and male rufous horneros eject shiny cowbird eggs using a mental template of the size of their own eggs. Behav Processes 2020; 178:104152. [PMID: 32473280 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Hosts of interspecific brood parasites often evolve antiparasitic defences, like the recognition and rejection of parasite's eggs. Most hosts use differences in coloration and maculation to discriminate between their own and parasitic eggs, but there are a few cases of hosts using the size of eggs as a cue. To recognize parasite eggs, hosts may require the presence of their own eggs and use a discordancy rule or may use a mental template of their own eggs. Females are responsible for egg rejection in hosts in which they incubate alone, but if incubation is shared, males can also reject parasitic eggs. The rufous hornero, Furnarius rufus, a host of the shiny cowbird Molothrus bonariensis, ejects parasite eggs using egg size as a cue. We studied the cognitive mechanism underlying the recognition and ejection of parasitic eggs by this host. We experimentally parasitized hornero nests with eggs of different size, with and without the presence of host eggs and determined which sex was responsible for the ejection. We found that horneros ejected parasitic eggs using the size of the egg as a cue and did not need to compare parasitic eggs with their own eggs, which is consistent with the hypothesis of a mental template. Females and males ejected eggs at similar frequencies. We also found that cowbird eggs laid in hornero nests were longer and wider than those laid in nests of other host in the same area, which is consistent with the hypothesis of host-specific female cowbird lineages evolving larger eggs to deceit horneros from recognizing and ejecting their eggs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bettina Tassino
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Juan Carlos Reboreda
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1428EGA Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Batisteli AF, Costiuc MY, Santieff IZ, Costa RO, Sarmento H, Pizo MA. Breeding biology of the Creamy-bellied Thrush ( Turdus amaurochalinus) in southeast Brazil. STUDIES ON NEOTROPICAL FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/01650521.2020.1728032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mariana Yamamoto Costiuc
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | | | - Rosane Oliveira Costa
- Departamento de Hidrobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Hugo Sarmento
- Departamento de Hidrobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Marco Aurélio Pizo
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Rio Claro, Brazil
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Batisteli AF, da Silva Neto EN, Soares TP, Pizo MA, Sarmento H. Breeding biology of the Sayaca Tanager (Thraupis sayaca) in southeast Brazil. J NAT HIST 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1704462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. F. Batisteli
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - E. N. da Silva Neto
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - T. P. Soares
- Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - M. A. Pizo
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - H. Sarmento
- Departamento de Hidrobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
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Size matters: shiny cowbirds secure more food than host nestmates thanks to their larger size, not signal exaggeration. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Egg pecking and puncturing behaviors in shiny and screaming cowbirds: effects of eggshell strength and degree of clutch completion. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2289-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Louder MIM, Schelsky WM, Albores AN, Hoover JP. A generalist brood parasite modifies use of a host in response to reproductive success. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.1615. [PMID: 26336180 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Avian obligate brood parasites, which rely solely on hosts to raise their young, should choose the highest quality hosts to maximize reproductive output. Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are extreme host generalists, yet female cowbirds could use information based on past reproductive outcomes to make egg-laying decisions thus minimizing fitness costs associated with parasitizing low-quality hosts. We use a long-term (21 years) nest-box study of a single host, the prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea), to show that local cowbird reproductive success, but not host reproductive success, was positively correlated with the probability of parasitism the following year. Experimental manipulations of cowbird success corroborated that female cowbirds make future decisions about which hosts to use based on information pertaining to past cowbird success, both within and between years. The within-year pattern, in particular, points to local cowbird females selecting hosts based on past reproductive outcomes. This, coupled with high site fidelity of female cowbirds between years, points to information use, rather than cowbird natal returns alone, increasing parasitism rates on highly productive sites between years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew I M Louder
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Wendy M Schelsky
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Amber N Albores
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Jeffrey P Hoover
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
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de la Colina MA, Hauber ME, Strausberger BM, Reboreda JC, Mahler B. Molecular tracking of individual host use in the Shiny Cowbird - a generalist brood parasite. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:4684-96. [PMID: 27547305 PMCID: PMC4979699 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2015] [Revised: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Generalist parasites exploit multiple host species at the population level, but the individual parasite's strategy may be either itself a generalist or a specialist pattern of host species use. Here, we studied the relationship between host availability and host use in the individual parasitism patterns of the Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis, a generalist avian obligate brood parasite that parasitizes an extreme range of hosts. Using five microsatellite markers and an 1120-bp fragment of the mtDNA control region, we reconstructed full-sibling groups from 359 cowbird eggs and chicks found in nests of the two most frequent hosts in our study area, the Chalk-browed Mockingbird Mimus saturninus and the House Wren Troglodytes aedon. We were able to infer the laying behavior of 17 different females a posteriori and found that they were mostly faithful to a particular laying area and host species along the entire reproductive season and did not avoid using previously parasitized nests (multiple parasitism) even when other nests were available for parasitism. Moreover, we found females using the same host nest more than once (repeated parasitism), which had not been previously reported for this species. We also found few females parasitizing more than one host species. The use of an alternative host was not related to the main hosts' nest availability. Overall, female shiny cowbirds use a spatially structured and host species specific approach for parasitism, but they do so nonexclusively, resulting in both detectable levels of multiple parasitism and generalism at the level of individual parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ma Alicia de la Colina
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Psychology Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York 695 Park Avenue New York New York 10065; School of Biological Sciences University of Auckland 3A Symonds Street PB 92019 Auckland New Zealand
| | - Bill M Strausberger
- Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution Field Museum of Natural History 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago Illinois 60605
| | - Juan Carlos Reboreda
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Bettina Mahler
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
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Tuero DT, Gloag R, Reboreda JC. Nest environment modulates begging behavior of a generalist brood parasite. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [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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Domínguez M, de la Colina MA, Di Giacomo AG, Reboreda JC, Mahler B. Host switching in cowbird brood parasites: how often does it occur? J Evol Biol 2015; 28:1290-7. [PMID: 25903962 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Revised: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 04/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Avian obligate brood parasites lay their eggs in nests of host species, which provide all parental care. Brood parasites may be host specialists, if they use one or a few host species, or host generalists, if they parasitize many hosts. Within the latter, strains of host-specific females might coexist. Although females preferentially parasitize one host, they may occasionally successfully parasitize the nest of another species. These host switching events allow the colonization of new hosts and the expansion of brood parasites into new areas. In this study, we analyse host switching in two parasitic cowbirds, the specialist screaming cowbird (Molothrus rufoaxillaris) and the generalist shiny cowbird (M. bonariensis), and compare the frequency of host switches between these species with different parasitism strategies. Contrary to expected, host switches did not occur more frequently in the generalist than in the specialist brood parasite. We also found that migration between hosts was asymmetrical in most cases and host switches towards one host were more recurrent than backwards, thus differing among hosts within the same species. This might depend on a combination of factors including the rate at which females lay eggs in nests of alternative hosts, fledging success of the chicks in this new host and their subsequent success in parasitizing it.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Domínguez
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - M A de la Colina
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - A G Di Giacomo
- Departamento de Conservación, Aves Argentinas/Asociación Ornitológica del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - J C Reboreda
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - B Mahler
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Shiny cowbirds share foster mothers but not true mothers in multiply parasitized mockingbird nests. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1682-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Tuero DT, Fiorini VD, Mahler B, Reboreda JC. Do sex ratio and development differ in sexually size-dimorphic shiny cowbirds ( Molothrus bonariensis) parasitizing smaller and larger hosts? Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Diego T. Tuero
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGS; Buenos Aires; Argentina
| | - Vanina D. Fiorini
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGS; Buenos Aires; Argentina
| | - Bettina Mahler
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGS; Buenos Aires; Argentina
| | - Juan C. Reboreda
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGS; Buenos Aires; Argentina
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Tuero DT, Fiorini VD, Reboreda JC. Do shiny cowbird females adjust egg pecking behavior according to the level of competition their chicks face in host nests? Behav Processes 2012; 89:137-42. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2011] [Revised: 10/18/2011] [Accepted: 10/19/2011] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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Ladies and gentes: maternally inherited DNA and ancient honeyguide host races. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 108:17859-60. [PMID: 22006330 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1115041108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Gloag R, Tuero DT, Fiorini VD, Reboreda JC, Kacelnik A. The economics of nestmate killing in avian brood parasites: a provisions trade-off. Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Ancient host specificity within a single species of brood parasitic bird. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 108:17738-42. [PMID: 21949391 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1109630108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites that exploit multiple hosts often experience diversifying selection for host-specific adaptations. This can result in multiple strains of host specialists coexisting within a single parasitic species. A long-standing conundrum is how such sympatric host races can be maintained within a single parasitic species in the face of interbreeding among conspecifics specializing on different hosts. Striking examples are seen in certain avian brood parasites such as cuckoos, many of which show host-specific differentiation in traits such as host egg mimicry. Exploiting a Zambian egg collection amassed over several decades and supplemented by recent fieldwork, we show that the brood parasitic Greater Honeyguide Indicator indicator exhibits host-specific differentiation in both egg size and egg shape. Genetic analysis of honeyguide eggs and chicks show that two highly divergent mitochondrial DNA lineages are associated with ground- and tree-nesting hosts, respectively, indicating perfect fidelity to two mutually exclusive sets of host species for millions of years. Despite their age and apparent adaptive diversification, however, these ancient lineages are not cryptic species; a complete lack of differentiation in nuclear genes shows that mating between individuals reared by different hosts is sufficiently frequent to prevent speciation. These results indicate that host specificity is maternally inherited, that host-specific adaptation among conspecifics can be maintained without reproductive isolation, and that host specificity can be remarkably ancient in evolutionary terms.
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DE LA COLINA MALICIA, MAHLER BETTINA, REBOREDA JUANCARLOS. Differences in morphology and colour pattern of shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) eggs found in nests of two hosts. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01605.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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De Mársico MC, Mahler B, Chomnalez M, Di Giácomo AG, Reboreda JC. Host Use by Generalist and Specialist Brood-Parasitic Cowbirds at Population and Individual Levels. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/s0065-3454(10)42003-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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Mahler B, Sarquis Adamson Y, Di Giacomo AG, Confalonieri VA, Reboreda JC. Utilization of a new host in the screaming cowbird Molothrus rufoaxillaris, a host specialist brood parasite: host switch or host acquisition? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-009-0755-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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23
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Fiorini VD, Tuero DT, Reboreda JC. Shiny cowbirds synchronize parasitism with host laying and puncture host eggs according to host characteristics. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.11.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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De Mársico MC, Reboreda JC. Differential reproductive success favours strong host preference in a highly specialized brood parasite. Proc Biol Sci 2008; 275:2499-506. [PMID: 18647716 PMCID: PMC2603199 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Obligate avian brood parasites show dramatic variation in the degree to which they are host specialists or host generalists. The screaming cowbird Molothrus rufoaxillaris is one of the most specialized brood parasites, using a single host, the bay-winged cowbird (Agelaioides badius) over most of its range. Coevolutionary theory predicts increasing host specificity the longer the parasite interacts with a particular avian community, as hosts evolve defences that the parasite cannot counteract. According to this view, host specificity can be maintained if screaming cowbirds avoid parasitizing potentially suitable hosts that have developed effective defences against parasitic females or eggs. Specialization may also be favoured, even in the absence of host defences, if the parasite's reproductive success in alternative hosts is lower than that in the main host. We experimentally tested these hypotheses using as alternative hosts two suitable but unparasitized species: house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) and chalk-browed mockingbirds (Mimus saturninus). We assessed host defences against parasitic females and eggs, and reproductive success of the parasite in current and alternative hosts. Alternative hosts did not discriminate against screaming cowbird females or eggs. Egg survival and hatching success were similarly high in current and alternative hosts, but the survival of parasitic chicks was significantly lower in alternative hosts. Our results indicate that screaming cowbirds have the potential to colonize novel hosts, but higher reproductive success in the current host may favour host fidelity.
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Affiliation(s)
- María C De Mársico
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EGA Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Mahler B, Confalonieri VA, Lovette IJ, Reboreda JC. Eggshell spotting in brood parasitic shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis) is not linked to the female sex chromosome. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-008-0548-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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