Diet specialization and brood parasitism in cuckoo species

Abstract

Brood parasitism is a breeding strategy adopted by many species of cuckoos across the world. This breeding strategy influences the evolution of life histories of brood parasite species. In this study, we tested whether the degree on diet specialization is related to the breeding strategy in cuckoo species, by comparing brood parasite and nonparasite species. We measured the gradient of diet specialization of cuckoos, by calculating the Gini coefficient, an index of inequality, on the multiple traits describing the diet of species. The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion on a scale between 0 and 1, reflecting a gradient from low to high specialization, respectively. First, we tested the strength of the phylogenetic signal of diet specialization index among cuckoo species worldwide. Then, we ran phylogenetic generalized least square (PGLS) models to compare diet specialization, distribution range, and body mass of parasitic and nonparasitic cuckoo species, considering the phylogenetic signal of data. After adjusting for the phylogenetic signal of the data and considering both, species distribution range and species body mass, brood parasitic cuckoos were characterized by higher diet specialization than nonbrood parasitic species. Brood parasitic species were also characterized by a larger breeding distribution range than nonparasitic species. The findings of this study provide an additional understanding of the cuckoos’ ecology, relating diet and breeding strategies, information that could be important in conservation ecology.

Whole Genome Resequencing Identifies Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers of Growth and Reproduction Traits in Zhedong and Zi Crossbred Geese

“…Birds in nature also have similar behaviors [23]. Broodiness is essential for the breeding of wild birds [24], with the exception of brood parasitism by cuckoos [25]. The artificial domestication of geese is far from the effect in hens.…”

The overlooked complexity of avian brood parasite–host relationships

“…With the exception of the Cuckoo-finch (Anomalospiza imberbis), viduid finches specialise on estrildid finches (Estrildidae), which are not parasitised by cuckoos or honeyguides. This is possibly related to the granivorous diet of nestling estrildid finches (Jamie et al, 2021) compared to the typically insectivorous diet of cuckoos and honeyguides (Morelli et al, 2020;Short & Horne, 1985). Furthermore, there is little overlap in host species among Vidua species as speciation among members of this genus has been facilitated by host specialisation (Jamie et al, 2021;Sorenson et al, 2003).…”

From micro- to macroevolution: brood parasitism as a driver of phenotypic diversity in birds

“…2019 ). It was also recently found that brood parasitic cuckoos have a higher degree of dietary specialization compared with nonparasitic cuckoos, although the mechanisms behind this association are unknown ( Morelli et al. 2020 ).…”