Begging Behaviour, Food Delivery and Food Acquisition in Nests with Brood Parasitic Nestlings

Soler, Manuel

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-73138-4_27

Cited by 17 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Early-life stress has deleterious effects on a number of cognition-dependent traits in birds, such as spatial memory or vocal learning ( Buchanan et al . 2003 ; Spencer et al . 2003 ; Pravosudov 2009 ).…”

Section: Developmental Conditions and Cognitive Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecophysiology of egg rejection in hosts of avian brood parasites: new insights and perspectives

Ruiz-Raya

2021

Current Zoology

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Egg rejection is the most effective and widespread defence used by host species to counteract the extreme fitness costs frequently imposed by obligate avian brood parasites. Yet, the proximate mechanisms underlying between- and within-individual variation in host responses remain poorly explored. Emerging evidence suggests that egg rejection is dependent on individual physiological state, and draws attention to the role of hormones as mediators of flexible antiparasitic responses. In this perspective article, I outline recent advances in our understanding of the proximate factors that mediate egg rejection. I also point out some areas where knowledge remains still lacking, especially those related to the development and maintenance of effective cognitive functions, the potential role of oxidative stress, immunological state and developmental stressors. I propose new hypotheses that stimulate future research on behavioural host responses towards brood parasitism.

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Section: Developmental Conditions and Cognitive Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecophysiology of egg rejection in hosts of avian brood parasites: new insights and perspectives

Ruiz-Raya

2021

Current Zoology

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“…Avian interspecific brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other species, the hosts, and trick them into raising their young, thereby avoiding the cost of parental care [ 1 , 2 ]. Successful brood parasitism is, in general, costly for the host species as it usually severely reduces or completely obliterates reproductive fitness of the host [ 2 – 5 ]. The high costs of parasitism drive the evolution of anti-parasite traits such as discrimination and rejection of parasitic eggs, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No evidence of host-specific egg mimicry in Asian koels

et al. 2021

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Avian brood parasitism is costly for the host, in many cases leading to the evolution of defenses like discrimination of parasitic eggs. The parasite, in turn, may evolve mimetic eggs as a counter-adaptation to host egg rejection. Some generalist parasites have evolved host-specific races (gentes) that may mimic the eggs of their main hosts, while others have evolved ‘jack-of-all-trades’ egg phenotypes that mimic key features of the eggs of several different host species. The Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) is a widely distributed generalist brood parasite that exploits a wide range of host species. Based on human vision, previous studies have described Asian koel eggs as resembling those of its main host, the house crow (Corvus splendens). Using measurements of egg length and breadth, digital image analysis, reflectance spectrophotometry and avian visual modelling, we examined Asian koel egg variation and potential mimicry in egg size and shape, and eggshell pattern and color in three sympatrically occurring host species in Bangladesh: the common myna (Acridotheres tristis), house crow, and long-tailed shrike (Lanius schach). We found some differences among Asian koel eggs laid in different host nests: a) Asian koel eggs in long-tailed shrike nests were larger than those laid in common myna and house crow nests, and b) Asian koel eggs in house crow nests were less elongated than those in common myna nests. However, these changes in Asian koel egg volume and shape were in the opposite direction with respect to their corresponding host egg characteristics. Thus, our study found no evidence for Asian koel host-specific egg mimicry in three sympatrically occurring host species.

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“…In species that do not eliminate their nest mates ("non-evictors"), chicks have the dual problem of eliciting parental feedings and competing for food within mixed broods. Given these selective pressures, it is not surprising that parasitic young have evolved behavioral and morphological traits that effectively serve to manipulate host parental behaviors in their favor (Davies, 2000;Soler, 2017). The well-known image of a tiny adult reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) diligently feeding an enormous and completely alien common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) chick depicts perfectly the kind of manipulative abilities that have intrigued naturalists since ancient times (Davies, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several non-mutually exclusive mechanisms have been suggested in evictor and non-evictor parasites to exploit host parental behavior to their own benefit (Soler, 2017). Here, we focus on those that serve parasites to evade host discrimination (trickery), or to attune their begging signals to the communication systems or sensory biases of their hosts (tuning).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tricking Parents: A Review of Mechanisms and Signals of Host Manipulation by Brood-Parasitic Young

et al. 2021

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Obligate avian brood parasites depend entirely on heterospecific hosts for rearing their offspring. From hatching until independence, the young parasites must deal with the challenge of obtaining sufficient parental care from foster parents that are attuned to provisioning their own offspring. Parent-offspring communication is mediated by complex begging displays in which nestlings and fledglings exhibit visual (e.g., gaping and postures) and vocal (e.g., begging calls) traits that serve as signals to parents to adjust and allocate parental effort. Parasites can manipulate host parental behavior by exploiting these stable parent-offspring communication systems in their favor. During the past 30 years, the study of host exploitation by parasitic chicks has yielded important insights into the function and evolution of manipulative signals in brood parasites. However, despite these major advances, there are still important gaps in our knowledge about how parasitic nestling and fledglings tune into the host’s communication channels and the adaptive value of the visual and acoustic signals they exhibit. Here we review the literature pertaining to host manipulation by parasitic young, focusing on four non-mutually exclusive mechanisms (i.e., host chick mimicry, begging exaggeration, host-attuned begging calls, and sensory exploitation) and the function and evolution of the signals involved, with the aim to summarize and discuss putative adaptations for stimulating parental feeding and escaping host discrimination. Finally, we bring some concluding remarks and suggest directions for future research on the ways in which brood parasites adapt to the communication systems of other birds to exploit the necessary parental care.

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Begging Behaviour, Food Delivery and Food Acquisition in Nests with Brood Parasitic Nestlings

Cited by 17 publications

References 79 publications

Ecophysiology of egg rejection in hosts of avian brood parasites: new insights and perspectives

Ecophysiology of egg rejection in hosts of avian brood parasites: new insights and perspectives

No evidence of host-specific egg mimicry in Asian koels

Tricking Parents: A Review of Mechanisms and Signals of Host Manipulation by Brood-Parasitic Young

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