Cryptic eggs are rejected less frequently by a cuckoo host

Wang, Longwu; He, Gangbin; Zhang, Yuhan; Ma, Jing; Liang, Wei

doi:10.1007/s10071-021-01507-2

Cited by 8 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Egg recognition is one of the most effective means for hosts to combat parasitism, but even different geographic populations of the same host can exhibit significant geographic variation in the recognition and rejection of foreign eggs due to differences in the history of co-evolution and reciprocal pressure (Brooke et al 1998;Lindholm and Thomas 2000;Moskát et al 2002Moskát et al , 2012Li et al 2016;Liang et al 2016). In this study, Oriental Reed Warblers, as one of the most common hosts of cuckoos, have a nearly 100% rejection rate for non-mimetic eggs, similar to the population in northeastern China, which rejected both blue (n = 15) and white (n = 24) model eggs at a rate of 100% (Wang et al 2021) and the Japanese population (94%, n = 33; Lotem et al 1995), suggesting that the Oriental Reed Warbler possesses an extremely strong egg recognition ability. However, egg rejection of another population of Oriental Reed Warblers (Li et al 2016(Li et al , 2020 was slightly lower than that of this population, possibly because the material and size of experimental eggs used may influence on the host's completion of egg rejection (Roncalli et al 2017;Li et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Egg rejection and egg recognition mechanisms in Oriental Reed Warblers

Liang

2021

Avian Res

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Background Nest parasitism by cuckoos (Cuculus spp.) results in enormous reproductive failure and forces hosts to evolve antiparasitic strategies, i.e., recognition of own eggs and rejection of cuckoo eggs. There are often sexual conflicts between male and female individuals in the expression of antiparasitic behavior due to the differences in reproductive inputs and division of labor. Methods By adding a foreign egg made of blue soft clay to the host nest during early incubation period in the field, and by removing several host eggs and adding experimental eggs to control the proportion of two egg types in the nest, we examined egg rejection ability, egg recognition mechanism and sexual difference in egg rejection of the Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), one of the major hosts of Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus). Results Our results indicated that Oriental Reed Warblers can recognize and reject nearly 100% (73/75) of the non-mimetic eggs made of blue soft clay, and they could reject foreign eggs with 100% accuracy, regardless of the ratio of experimental eggs and its own eggs in the nest. Furthermore, all cases of egg rejections recorded by videos were only carried out by females. Conclusions Oriental Reed Warblers have a high egg recognition ability and show a true recognition mechanism. Only female warblers perform egg rejection, suggesting that the sex for host egg incubation seems to play an important role in the evolution of egg recognition mechanisms.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Egg rejection and egg recognition mechanisms in Oriental Reed Warblers

Liang

2021

Avian Res

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“…Furthermore, we suggest that the cryptic egg hypothesis is more suitable for explaining host nests that are enclosed or in dense vegetation cover with poor light conditions rather than open host nests, because dim-coloured eggs with an egg darkness or nest similarity effect are only presumed to have an effect under poor light conditions [17]. This may be one of the major reasons why some studies supported the egg darkness or nest similarity component of the cryptic egg hypothesis [13,21,24,25] while others did not [23,26–28]. Although poor light conditions may favour cuckoos evolving dark eggs, egg colour mimicry is still an alternate strategy in such conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A dark egg is difficult to recognize because it is inconspicuous in particular environments, such as in poor light conditions [20][21][22]. By contrast, an egg that looks similar to a nest was hypothesized to be difficult to discover, because the host confuses the egg with the nest material [19,23,24]. Numerous studies have focused on the recognition of mimetic eggs, but very few have investigated the recognition of cryptic eggs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revealing the roles of egg darkness and nest similarity for a cryptic parasite egg versus host's cognition: an alternate coevolutionary trajectory

Yang

Yao

et al. 2023

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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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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“…Local ORWs prefer to nest in reedbeds along riverbanks or ditches, and ORW was highly aggressive host to cuckoos (Chen et al, 2022; Wang et al, 2022; Yu et al, 2019), which even strongly attack the sparrowhawk ( Accipiter nisus ) in dummy experiments (Ma, Yang, & Liang, 2018). Cuckoos are the main parasites of ORWs and have a high parasitism rate of 34.3%–65.5% (Li et al, 2015; Wang et al, 2020, 2021; Yang et al, 2014, 2016). To record a video of cuckoo parasitism, we systematically searched for ORW nests throughout the study area and then mounted a microcamera (Uniscom‐T71, 70 × 26 × 12 mm; Mymahdi Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China) above the nest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cuckoos are the main parasites of ORWs and have a high parasitism rate of 34.3%-65.5% (Li et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2020Wang et al, , 2021Yang et al, 2014Yang et al, , 2016. To record a video of cuckoo parasitism, we systematically searched for ORW nests throughout the study area and then mounted a microcamera (Uniscom-T71, 70 × 26 × 12 mm; Mymahdi Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China) above the nest.…”

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confidence: 99%

Fatal mobbing and attack of the common cuckoo by its warbler hosts

Zhao

Luo

Yan

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Nest defense is an effective strategy of hosts against parasites. Typically, hosts will aggressively attack brood parasites that approach or visit their nests, which can prevent the parasites from laying eggs or may even lead to the death of the parasites. Few previous studies have specifically reported such fatal cases involving brood parasites and have attributed the cause of death to either drowning or hypothermia after falling into the water following an attack from hosts. In this study, we recorded the process of multiple host individuals of the Oriental reed warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) mobbing and attacking a female common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) in the field. We discovered that the immediate cause of the cuckoo's death was the fatal physical damage resulting from the aggressive defense from the hosts, suggesting that frantic pecking and scratching by the hosts is the most proximate cause of mortality among egg‐laying female cuckoos. This finding enhances our essential understanding of the effectiveness of host attacks.

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Cryptic eggs are rejected less frequently by a cuckoo host

Cited by 8 publications

References 46 publications

Egg rejection and egg recognition mechanisms in Oriental Reed Warblers

Egg rejection and egg recognition mechanisms in Oriental Reed Warblers

Revealing the roles of egg darkness and nest similarity for a cryptic parasite egg versus host's cognition: an alternate coevolutionary trajectory

Fatal mobbing and attack of the common cuckoo by its warbler hosts

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