The effects of reed density, surface and management on the probability of cuckoo (<i>Cuculus canorus</i>) parasitism on great reed warbler (<i>Acrocephalus arundinaceus</i>) nests

Mérő, Thomas Oliver; Žuljević, Antun

doi:10.1080/03949370.2018.1477838

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Once hatched, the brood parasitic chicks greatly reduce the breeding success of the hosts, by outcompeting the hosts' offspring or by killing their nestmates altogether (Davies, 2000). Therefore, hosts have evolved multifaceted defenses to avoid being parasitized (Feeney et al, 2012;Welbergen & Davies, 2009), such as building highly concealed nests (Jelínek et al, 2014;Mérő & Žuljević, , 2019, gathering social information regarding the presence of brood parasites (Lawson et al, 2020(Lawson et al, , 2021Thorogood & Davies, 2012, and by mobbing adult brood parasites (Požgayová et al, 2009;Trnka et al, 2013). Brood parasites bypass these defenses by fast egg-laying (Jelínek et al, 2021), color dimorphism (Thorogood & Davies, 2012), visual and acoustic mimicry (Marton et al, 2021;Trnka & Prokop, 2012;Welbergen & Davies, 2008;York & Davies, 2017), and sometimes also by retaliatory strikes and brood destruction (Soler et al, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quintuple parasitism of a great reed warbler nest by common cuckoos

Marton

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Multiple parasitism in obligate avian brood parasites occurs when several brood parasitic females lay their eggs in the nest of the same host. While multiple parasitism is common in the highly social, nonevicting cowbird species (Molothrus sp.), in which multiple parasitic nestlings can be raised simultaneously by the same hosts, it is less common in the case of cuckoo species (Cuculus sp.). The first cuckoo nestling to hatch from the egg evicts all nestmates; therefore, it is costly for cuckoo females to lay eggs in already parasitized nests. However, this can occur in sites with very high parasitism rates, and it can even increase the breeding success of the brood parasites, as the presence of multiple parasitic eggs in the nest of the host decreases rejection rates. Here, we present a case of a quintuple brood parasitism of a great reed warbler ( Acrocephalus arundinaceus ) nest, an extreme form of multiple brood parasitism.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quintuple parasitism of a great reed warbler nest by common cuckoos

Marton

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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“…We collected data on the breeding performance and alarm calls of great reed warblers, a facultatively polygynous 42,62 host widely used by cuckoos across several parts of Europe 21,22,39,63,64 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host alarm calls attract the unwanted attention of the brood parasitic common cuckoo

Marton

Fülöp

Ozogány

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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It is well known that avian brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, called hosts. It remains less clear, however, just how parasites are able to recognize their hosts and identify the exact location of the appropriate nests to lay their eggs in. While previous studies attributed high importance to visual signals in finding the hosts’ nests (e.g. nest building activity or the distance and direct sight of the nest from vantage points used by the brood parasites), the role of host acoustic signals during the nest searching stage has been largely neglected. We present experimental evidence that both female and male common cuckoos Cuculus canorus pay attention to their host’s, the great reed warbler’s Acrocephalus arundinaceus alarm calls, relative to the calls of an unparasitized species used as controls. Parallel to this, we found no difference between the visibility of parasitized and unparasitized nests during drone flights, but great reed warblers that alarmed more frequently experienced higher rates of parasitism. We conclude that alarm calls might be advantageous for the hosts when used against enemies or for alerting conspecifics, but can act in a detrimental manner by providing important nest location cues for eavesdropping brood parasites. Our results suggest that host alarm calls may constitute a suitable trait on which cuckoo nestlings can imprint on to recognize their primary host species later in life. Our study contributes to the growing body of knowledge regarding the context-dependency of animal signals, by providing a novel example of a beneficial acoustic trait intercepted by a heterospecific and used against the emitter.

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“…The effects of habitat management on the probability of brood parasitism and brood parasite offspring survival have been addressed only in a few North American studies that focused on how habitats should be managed in order to decrease the rate of parasitism of Neotropical song‐bird nests and prairie grassland bird by brown‐headed cowbirds Molothrus ater (Patten et al, 2006 ; Robinson et al, 1993 ). Although there are approximately 400 studies (Web of Science, Microsoft Academic) on brood parasitism by Cuckoos, none has addressed the effects of habitat management on Cuckoo brood parasitism, except for one small pilot study (Mérő & Žuljević, 2019 ). The latter study did not find a link between reed management and brood parasitism in a mining pond (Mérő & Žuljević, 2019 ), but we have no information from other habitat and management types.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there are approximately 400 studies (Web of Science, Microsoft Academic) on brood parasitism by Cuckoos, none has addressed the effects of habitat management on Cuckoo brood parasitism, except for one small pilot study (Mérő & Žuljević, 2019 ). The latter study did not find a link between reed management and brood parasitism in a mining pond (Mérő & Žuljević, 2019 ), but we have no information from other habitat and management types. Understanding how habitat characteristics and management influence Cuckoo brood parasitism and reproductive success is important because recent studies detected a decline of Cuckoo populations in Europe (Denerley et al, 2019 ; Sparks et al, 2017 ), even though the species has a stable global population trend (BirdLife International, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, host availability itself is not enough for successful parasitism. For example, ponds with high availability of reed edges and high host abundance attract a number of adult Cuckoos for breeding, but due to unfavorable habitat characteristics, host nests remain poorly parasitized, and those being parasitized have low nesting success because of egg ejection, predation pressure, and adverse weather circumstances, which can lead Cuckoos into an ecological trap (Mérő & Žuljević, 2019 ; Moskát et al, 2008 ). The availability and proximity of potential perches, such as solitary shrubs, trees, shrub, or tree‐rows, or electric wires near reedbeds are of crucial importance for the probability of nest parasitism (“perch proximity hypothesis”) (Antonov et al, 2007 ; Moskát & Honza, 2000 ; Øien et al, 1996 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of reed management and habitat quality on brood parasitism and chick survival of the brood parasitic Common Cuckoo

Mérő

Žuljević²,

Lengyel

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Despite efforts on ecosystem restoration and management, biodiversity loss remains one of the major environmental concerns of our time. Beyond the focus on threatened species, animals that indicate regional biodiversity hotspots and population trends, such as brood parasites, should also be targeted by conservation actions. We studied how reed habitat quality and management influence brood parasitism rate and offspring survival in Common Cuckoos Cuculus canorus parasitizing nests of Great Reed Warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus in six reed habitats in an intensive agricultural landscape. Data collected from 45 sites over 13 years showed that the brood parasitism rate was highest on large canals and was positively influenced by the availability of potential perches (Cuckoo vantage points) and the height where host nests were built. Cuckoo chick survival decreased with water depth and was not affected by other factors. Our results suggest that the habitat‐dependent detectability of host nests was central in brood parasitism rate and that water level was central in Cuckoo chick survival. Our study shows that a maintenance of intermediate water levels is the most optimal for maintaining Cuckoo populations in intensive agricultural landscapes. Because brood parasites are excellent bioindicators as their presence predicts regional hotspots of taxonomic and functional diversity as well as population trends in bird communities, knowledge on their habitat requirements is relevant in management targeting diverse bird communities.

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The effects of reed density, surface and management on the probability of cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) parasitism on great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) nests

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

Quintuple parasitism of a great reed warbler nest by common cuckoos

Quintuple parasitism of a great reed warbler nest by common cuckoos

Host alarm calls attract the unwanted attention of the brood parasitic common cuckoo

The role of reed management and habitat quality on brood parasitism and chick survival of the brood parasitic Common Cuckoo

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