Proximate predictors of variation in egg rejection behavior by hosts of avian brood parasites.

Āboliņš-Ābols, Mikus; Hauber, Márk E.

doi:10.1037/com0000225

Cited by 20 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…The eggs were painted a deep‐blue color (ultramarine series 1; Winsor & Newtown Galeria Acrylic, Galesburg, IL, USA) in three overlapping coats. Model eggs of this size and color are known to be rejected by female robins at intermediate (30‐70%) rates (Luro and Hauber 2017, Abolins‐Abols and Hauber 2019a,b, this study) and in an individually consistent manner across repeated exposures (e.g., the same female either predominantly rejects–rejects or accepts–accepts it in subsequent trials; Croston and Hauber 2014b, Luro and Hauber 2017). Following the onset of incubation by female robins, the modal and median rejection latencies of this kind of model egg are both one day (Croston and Hauber 2014b, Abolins‐Abols and Hauber 2020a,b).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…1) was not experimental, but rather a correlative test of our focal hypothesis and, even with the statistically significant result, our ability to explain our result remains severely limited (i.e., PC3 only explained 4% of variance in receptor reflectance, and its model had R 2 = 12%; see Results). Therefore, beyond self‐referencing, other aspects of the ecological, life history, and physiological (including endocrine) traits of female robins must also contribute to their rejection patterns in this particular study paradigm (e.g., Abolins‐Abols and Hauber 2020a,b, Hauber et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nests with two or more and warm‐to‐the‐touch eggs were used for experimentation, assuring that our experiments took place during the incubation period. Egg‐rejection propensity does not vary in this species once incubation has begun (Abolins‐Abols and Hauber 2020a).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1) and did not have an experimental comparison or control. Therefore, our approach must be classified as a correlational study (e.g., Abolins‐Abols and Hauber 2020a, Hauber et al 2020), where we quantified egg rejection as a function of the impact of variation in the natural robin‐egg coloration and size or shape between individuals. Moreover, we did not capture and band robins.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self‐referent phenotype matching is a poor predictor of egg rejection by American Robins

Hauber¹,

Kim²,

Goethe³

et al. 2020

J. Field Ornithol.

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Many hosts of obligate brood‐parasitic birds use variation in the coloration and pattern of eggshells to identify and reject foreign eggs from their nests. However, egg‐rejection behavior of several hosts is not tightly predicted by the modeled output of overall avian‐perceivable chromatic differences between foreign and host eggs. This demands a re‐investigation into the proximate sensory cues and perceptual processes used for egg recognition. One plausible mechanism is that rejection by hosts depends on the relative stimulation of one (or a combination) of their photoreceptors when comparing their own and parasitic eggs (i.e., self‐referencing). To test this, we placed dark‐blue egg models (with a known ~ 50% rejection rate) in nests of American Robins (Turdus migratorius), which are occasional hosts of Brown‐headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater). We found that relative metrics of individually repeatable size or shape and overall avian‐perceivable differences in color between American Robin eggs and model eggs did not explain the probability of an experimental egg being rejected. However, despite a limited R2 value, hosts were significantly more likely to reject a model egg when the estimated contrast between their own egg and the model egg was greater for the blue (SWS) photoreceptor. These results are consistent with female American Robins using a simple physiological algorithm that would confer widespread benefits by reducing the likelihood of rejecting their own eggs, while still eliminating parasitic eggs because of their dissimilar novel coloration.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Self‐referent phenotype matching is a poor predictor of egg rejection by American Robins

Hauber¹,

Kim²,

Goethe³

et al. 2020

J. Field Ornithol.

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“…(ii) a robin was flushed from the nest, and/or (iii) robin eggs were warm to human touch. These methods yielded nests for experimental treatments during the laying and incubation stages, for which the data were combined based on a lack of difference in egg-rejection rates between these stages during our own prior experiments on robins at this study area [35]. Adult robins were not captured or marked in this study, and we used each nest as the unit of biological and statistical analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The limits of egg recognition: testing acceptance thresholds of American robins in response to decreasingly egg-shaped objects in the nest

et al. 2021

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Some hosts of avian brood parasites reduce or eliminate the costs of parasitism by removing foreign eggs from the nest (rejecter hosts). In turn, even acceptor hosts typically remove most non-egg-shaped objects from the nest, including broken shells, fallen leaves and other detritus. In search for the evolutionary origins and sensory mechanisms of egg rejection, we assessed where the potential threshold between egg recognition and nest hygiene may lie when it comes to stimulus shape. Most previous studies applied comparisons of egg-sized objects with non-continuous variation in shape. Here, instead, we used two series of three-dimensional-printed objects, designed a priori to increasingly diverge from natural eggs along two axes (width or angularity) of shape variation. As predicted, we detected transitions from mostly acceptance to mostly rejection in the nests of American robins Turdus migratorius along each of the two axes. Our methods parallel previous innovations in egg-rejection studies through the use of continuous variation in egg coloration and maculation contrast, to better understand the sensory limits and thresholds of variation in egg recognition and rejection in diverse hosts of avian brood parasites.

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Ground nesting by arboreal American robins (Turdus migratorius)

Winnicki

Hauber

Benson

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Locating a site suitable for successful reproduction is an essential task of many mobile organisms. Breeding animals often need to find denning, burrowing, or other nesting locations that simultaneously provide access to nearby resources and limit resource competition while, critically, also protect both the parents and developing offspring from adverse weather/microclimates, parasites, competitors, and/or predators (Mainwaring et al., 2016). These constraints have led to many species evolving to use relatively consistent breeding sites and substrates among individuals. Accordingly, most songbird species can be readily classified into categories such as tree, ground, or cavity nesters (Nagy et al., 2019), although some species show plasticity in nest site preference depending on the shifting habitat structure (e.g., song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) raise their nest height from the ground to shrubs as the breeding season progresses: Morse Nice, 1931). Other species may shift their nest placement to avoid predators (e.g., orange-crowned warblers (Vermivora celata) place nests increasingly off the ground and into shrubs on islands where ground predators are more prevalent and avian predator pressure is reduced: Peluc et al., 2008). Observing such instances of nest-site switching allows us to address both the drivers of this behavioral plasticity and their implications for reproductive success.American robins (Turdus migratorius, hereafter "robin") are an iconic backyard songbird species in North America that build a bulky mud-lined nest off the ground in trees, shrubs, and human-made

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Proximate predictors of variation in egg rejection behavior by hosts of avian brood parasites.

Cited by 20 publications

References 97 publications

Self‐referent phenotype matching is a poor predictor of egg rejection by American Robins

Self‐referent phenotype matching is a poor predictor of egg rejection by American Robins

The limits of egg recognition: testing acceptance thresholds of American robins in response to decreasingly egg-shaped objects in the nest

Ground nesting by arboreal American robins (Turdus migratorius)

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