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Ma L, Liu W, Pan P, Hou J, Liang W. Oriental reed warblers retain strong egg recognition abilities during the nestling stage. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11063. [PMID: 38380067 PMCID: PMC10877555 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Egg recognition and rejection are the most common and effective anti-parasitic strategies against avian brood parasitism in terms of maintaining stability over time and plasticity in response to environmental cues. Conversely, parasites have evolved multiple counter-adaptations to the anti-parasitic defenses of hosts. Among them, the crypsis hypothesis suggests that eggs that appear more cryptic in color and are closely matched to the environment are helping to counter the egg recognition strategy of the host. In this study, we investigated whether the egg recognition ability of Oriental reed warblers (Acrocephalus orientalis), a common host of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus), changed during different reproductive stages by using model egg experiments. The effect of the crypsis hypothesis on the egg recognition ability of the hosts was also investigated by controlling the color contrast between the inside of the experimental nests and the model eggs. The results showed that the Oriental reed warbler retained strong egg recognition abilities, which were similar to the incubation stage (GLMMs: F 1,27 = 0.424, p = .521), even after entering the nestling stage and preferentially rejected model eggs with distinct contrasting colors (binomial test: Fisher's exact, p = .016). These results are consistent with the crypsis hypothesis. The present study suggests that the host retains a strong egg recognition ability even during the nestling stage and that cryptic-colored eggs that are closely matched with the breeding nest environment help counter the host's egg recognition abilities and increase the chances of successful parasitism by cuckoos. However, the effectiveness of cryptic egg may be weaker than mimic egg in countering egg recognition and rejection by hosts with open-cup nests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laikun Ma
- School of Life SciencesHebei UniversityBaodingChina
- Department of Biology and Food ScienceHebei Normal University for NationalitiesChengdeChina
| | - Wei Liu
- School of Life SciencesHebei UniversityBaodingChina
| | - Peng Pan
- School of Life SciencesHebei UniversityBaodingChina
| | - Jianhua Hou
- School of Life SciencesHebei UniversityBaodingChina
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life SciencesHainan Normal UniversityHaikouChina
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2
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Liu J, Wang X, Liang W. Attractive egg color? Red eggs facilitate egg acceptance in a cavity-nesting host. Curr Zool 2024; 70:112-114. [PMID: 38476137 PMCID: PMC10926254 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoad003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jianping Liu
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan 750021, China
| | - Xingyu Wang
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan 750021, China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
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Zhang Y, Zhong G, Wan G, Wang L, Liang W. Brood parasitism and egg recognition in three bunting hosts of the cuckoos. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10659. [PMID: 37869426 PMCID: PMC10587740 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparative studies of egg recognition and rejection between various sympatric hosts provide insight into the coevolutionary history of the hosts and parasites, as well as the degree of antagonism between the species. Although buntings are widely considered to be a suitable host taxon for cuckoos, there has been relatively little research on this example of parasitism and host antiparasitic behaviour. Here we provided the first report on brood parasitism and egg recognition in three sympatric ground-nesting bunting hosts of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), namely the yellow-throated bunting (Emberiza elegans), south rock bunting (E. yunnanensis), and crested bunting (E. lathami). The results show that for the five breeding seasons during 2018-2022, the parasitism rate by common cuckoos was 0.87% and 0.45% in yellow-throated buntings and south rock buntings, respectively, whereas the parasitism rate by an unidentified parasite was 4% during 2018-2023 in the crested bunting. The rejection rates of the three bunting hosts for blue non-mimetic eggs were 89.3%, 88.9%, and 100% for yellow-throated buntings, south rock buntings, and crested buntings, respectively. The rejection rates for red non-mimetic eggs by yellow-throated buntings and south rock buntings were lower at 76.9% and 82.4%, respectively. All three sympatric bunting hosts examined had high levels of egg recognition and egg rejection, suggesting that it may have been subjected to high parasitic history and that egg recognition ability was retained after the loss of parasitism, which needs to be further verified by future experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhan Zhang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life SciencesHainan Normal UniversityHaikouChina
| | - Guo Zhong
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life SciencesHainan Normal UniversityHaikouChina
| | - Guixia Wan
- School of Life SciencesGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Longwu Wang
- School of Life SciencesGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life SciencesHainan Normal UniversityHaikouChina
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Yang C, Ye P, Wu N, Yao X, Liang W. Revealing the roles of egg darkness and nest similarity for a cryptic parasite egg versus host's cognition: an alternate coevolutionary trajectory. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230103. [PMID: 37132235 PMCID: PMC10154918 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
As a text-book example of coevolution, the escalating interactions between egg mimicry by parasitic cuckoos and egg recognition by their hosts constitute a key battlefield for parasitism and anti-parasitism strategies. However, some parasite-host systems have deviated from this coevolutionary trajectory because some cuckoos do not lay mimetic eggs, while the hosts do not recognize them, even under the high costs of parasitism. The cryptic egg hypothesis was proposed to explain this puzzle, but the evidence to date is mixed and the relationship between the two components of egg crypticity, egg darkness (dim egg coloration) and nest similarity (similarity to host nest appearance), remains unknown. Here, we developed a 'field psychophysics' experimental design to dissect these components while controlling for undesired confounding factors. Our results clearly show that both egg darkness and nest similarity of cryptic eggs affect recognition by hosts, and egg darkness plays a more influential role than nest similarity. This study provides unambiguous evidence to resolve the puzzle of absent mimicry and recognition in cuckoo-host systems and explains why some cuckoo eggs were more likely to evolve dim coloration rather than similarity to host eggs or host nests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Canchao Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Ye
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, People's Republic of China
| | - Neng Wu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaogang Yao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, People's Republic of China
- Kuankuoshui National Nature Reserve, Suiyang 563300, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, People's Republic of China
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Hauber ME, Bond AL, Kouwenberg AL, Robertson GJ, Hansen ES, Holford M, Dainson M, Luro A, Dale J. The chemical basis of a signal of individual identity: shell pigment concentrations track the unique appearance of Common Murre eggs. J R Soc Interface 2020; 16:20190115. [PMID: 30966949 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In group-living species with parental care, the accurate recognition of one's own young is critical to fitness. Because discriminating offspring within a large colonial group may be challenging, progeny of colonial breeders often display familial or individual identity signals to elicit and receive parental provisions from their own parents. For instance, the common murre (or common guillemot: Uria aalge) is a colonially breeding seabird that does not build a nest and lays and incubates an egg with an individually unique appearance. How the shell's physical and chemical properties generate this individual variability in coloration and maculation has not been studied in detail. Here, we quantified two characteristics of the avian-visible appearance of murre eggshells collected from the wild: background coloration spectra and maculation density. As predicted by the individual identity hypothesis, there was no statistical relationship between avian-perceivable shell background coloration and maculation density within the same eggs. In turn, variation in both sets of traits was statistically related to some of their physico-chemical properties, including shell thickness and concentrations of the eggshell pigments biliverdin and protoporphyrin IX. These results illustrate how individually unique eggshell appearances, suitable for identity signalling, can be generated by a small number of structural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E Hauber
- 1 Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign, IL , USA.,2 American Museum of Natural History , New York, NY , USA
| | - Alexander L Bond
- 3 Bird Group, Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum , Tring, Hertfordshire , UK
| | | | - Gregory J Robertson
- 5 Environment and Climate Change Canada , Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador , Canada
| | - Erpur S Hansen
- 6 South Iceland Nature Research Centre , Vestmannaeyjar , Iceland
| | - Mande Holford
- 2 American Museum of Natural History , New York, NY , USA.,7 Department of Chemistry, Hunter College and Graduate Center, City University of New York , New York, NY , USA
| | - Miri Dainson
- 1 Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign, IL , USA
| | - Alec Luro
- 1 Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign, IL , USA
| | - James Dale
- 8 School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University , Auckland , New Zealand
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Ruiz-Raya F, Soler M. Signal detection and optimal acceptance thresholds in avian brood parasite-host systems: implications for egg rejection. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190477. [PMID: 32420851 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Signal detection theory addresses the challenge of successfully identifying informative signals in noisy information contexts, allowing optimal behavioural decisions in diverse ecological contexts. The optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis proposed by Reeve (Reeve 1989 Am. Nat. 133, 407-435. (doi:10.1086/284926)) is an elegant theoretical model to predict the flexibility of acceptance thresholds for conspecific discrimination. This model has provided a robust framework used to explore recognition systems in a broad range of contexts such as animal communication, nest-mate discrimination or anti-parasitic host responses. In this review, we discuss key concepts related to the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis applied to egg rejection decisions in avian brood parasite-host interactions. We explore those factors determining signal detectability in parasitized nests and how hosts adjust their rejection decisions to both the risk of parasitism and the potential costs associated with egg rejection. In addition, we discuss recent results that challenge some traditional assumptions of the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis and provide a novel perspective to explore rejection decisions, such as the existence of single-threshold decision rules or acceptance decisions. An integrative view combining current evidence with traditional theory is needed to further advance the comprehension of optimal acceptance thresholds. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Ruiz-Raya
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Manuel Soler
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain
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7
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Wang J, Li Q, Wang L, Yang C, Liang W. Do swallows (Hirundo daurica) use the visual cue of hatchling down-feathers to discriminate parasite alien nestlings? Integr Zool 2020; 15:441-446. [PMID: 32301245 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Egg recognition is a variable but common anti-parasitism defense among different species of birds with brood parasites. In contrast, nestling recognition is rare. Very few studies have found nestling recognition in brood parasite hosts and determined the rejection mechanism behind this behavior. Hosts may use the number of hatchling down-feathers to reject parasite nestlings. We tested whether hatchling down-feathers is a visual cue for the red-rumped swallow, a host that can recognize and reject parasite nestlings. Our results indicated that red-rumped swallows do not recognize foreign nestlings based on hatchling down-feathers. The closed nest structure and hatchling morph may explain the absence of such a mechanism. None of the rejection mechanisms found in previous studies could explain the nestling recognition in swallows. Olfactory cues, tactile cues, or other visual cues, except for single nestling or hatchling down-feathers, may provide nestling recognition in red-rumped swallows. More study is needed to evaluate these possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaojiao Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
| | - Qihong Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
| | - Longwu Wang
- State Forestry Administration of China Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Conservation in Mountainous Areas of Southwest Karst, School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Canchao Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
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8
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Hanley D, López AV, Fiorini VD, Reboreda JC, Grim T, Hauber ME. Variation in multicomponent recognition cues alters egg rejection decisions: a test of the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 374:20180195. [PMID: 30967077 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis provides a general predictive framework for testing behavioural responses to discrimination challenges. Decision-makers should respond to a stimulus when the perceived difference between that stimulus and a comparison template surpasses an acceptance threshold. We tested how individual components of a relevant recognition cue (experimental eggs) contributed to behavioural responses of chalk-browed mockingbirds, Mimus saturninus, a frequent host of the parasitic shiny cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis. To do this, we recorded responses to eggs that varied with respect to two components: colour, ranging from bluer to browner than the hosts' own eggs, and spotting, either spotted like their own or unspotted. Although tests of this hypothesis typically assume that decisions are based on perceived colour dissimilarity between own and foreign eggs, we found that decisions were biased toward rejecting browner eggs. However, as predicted, hosts tolerated spotted eggs more than unspotted eggs, irrespective of colour. These results uncover how a single component of a multicomponent cue can shift a host's discrimination threshold and illustrate how the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis can be used as a framework to quantify the direction and amount of the shift (in avian perceptual units) of the response curve across relevant phenotypic ranges. This article is part of the theme issue 'The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Hanley
- 1 Department of Biology, Long Island University - Post , Brookville, NY 11548 , USA
| | - Analía V López
- 2 Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires , C1428EGA Buenos Aires , Argentina
| | - Vanina D Fiorini
- 2 Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires , C1428EGA Buenos Aires , Argentina.,3 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires , C1428EGA Buenos Aires , Argentina
| | - Juan C Reboreda
- 2 Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires , C1428EGA Buenos Aires , Argentina.,3 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires , C1428EGA Buenos Aires , Argentina
| | - Tomáš Grim
- 4 Department of Zoology, Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University , Olomouc 77146 , Czech Republic
| | - Mark E Hauber
- 5 Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana, IL 61801 , USA
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Luro AB, Igic B, Croston R, López AV, Shawkey MD, Hauber ME. Which egg features predict egg rejection responses in American robins? Replicating Rothstein's (1982) study. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:1673-1679. [PMID: 29435242 PMCID: PMC5792560 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Revised: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Rothstein (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 11, 1982, 229) was one of the first comprehensive studies to examine how different egg features influence egg rejection behaviors of avian brood parasite-hosts. The methods and conclusions of Rothstein (1982) laid the foundation for subsequent experimental brood parasitism studies over the past thirty years, but its results have never been evaluated with replication. Here, we partially replicated Rothstein's (1982) experiments using parallel artificial model egg treatments to simulate cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism in American robin (Turdus migratorius) nests. We compared our data with those of Rothstein (1982) and confirmed most of its original findings: (1) robins reject model eggs that differ from the appearance of a natural robin egg toward that of a natural cowbird egg in background color, size, and maculation; (2) rejection responses were best predicted by model egg background color; and (3) model eggs differing by two or more features from natural robin eggs were more likely to be rejected than model eggs differing by one feature alone. In contrast with Rothstein's (1982) conclusion that American robin egg recognition is not specifically tuned toward rejection of brown-headed cowbird eggs, we argue that our results and those of other recent studies of robin egg rejection suggest a discrimination bias toward rejection of cowbird eggs. Future work on egg recognition will benefit from utilizing a range of model eggs varying continuously in background color, maculation patterning, and size in combination with avian visual modeling, rather than using model eggs which vary only discretely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alec B. Luro
- Department of Animal BiologySchool of Integrative BiologyUniversity of IllinoisUrbana‐ChampaignILUSA
| | - Branislav Igic
- Division of Ecology & EvolutionResearch School of BiologyAustralian National UniversityCanberraACTAustralia
| | - Rebecca Croston
- U.S. Geological SurveyWestern Ecological Research CenterDixonCAUSA
| | - Analía V. López
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y EvoluciónFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesUniversidad de Buenos AiresBuenos AiresArgentina
| | - Matthew D. Shawkey
- Department of Biology, Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures GroupUniversity of GhentGhentBelgium
| | - Mark E. Hauber
- Department of Animal BiologySchool of Integrative BiologyUniversity of IllinoisUrbana‐ChampaignILUSA
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