The Value of Artificial Stimuli in Behavioral Research: Making the Case for Egg Rejection Studies in Avian Brood Parasitism

Hauber, Márk E.; Tong, Lainga; Bán, Miklós; Croston, Rebecca; Grim, Tomáš; Waterhouse, Geoffrey I. N.; Shawkey, Matthew D.; Barron, Andrew B.; Moskát, Csaba

doi:10.1111/eth.12359

Cited by 46 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…We employed multiple experimental treatments because use of some particular egg types may fail to reveal a realistic picture of host egg discrimination abilities (Hauber et al 2015). First, for puncture ejecter hosts hard plastic model eggs may be impossible to eject (Martín-Vivaldi et al 2002).…”

Section: Egg Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation in egg ejection rate by great tits across 2 continents

Liang

Møller

Stokke

et al. 2016

BEHECO

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Section: Egg Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation in egg ejection rate by great tits across 2 continents

Liang

Møller

Stokke

et al. 2016

BEHECO

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“…These studies assess chromatic reflectance and/or pattern data to characterize how the tetrachromatic avian visual system assesses the foreign eggshell's appearance (Avilés et al 2010 ;Stoddard and Stevens 2011 ;Hanley et al 2013 ;Igic et al 2012 ;Poláček et al 2013 ;Stoddard et al 2014 ), and have repeatedly confirmed long-standing conclusions that foreign eggs are rejected more often when they are perceived as more dissimilar to the hosts' own eggs (Cassey et al 2008 ;Spottiswoode and Stevens 2010 ;Stevens et al 2013 ;Croston and Hauber 2014 ;Hauber et al 2015 ; Fig. 1 ).…”

Section: Aq4mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…a The relationship between egg rejection rates and egg-egg contrasts plotted as the mean just noticeable differences (JNDs) between unmanipulated host eggs versus dyed host eggs, unmanipulated eggs of the cuckoo, and unmanipulated other conspecifics of the hosts (data replotted from Hauber et al 2015 ). b The relationship between egg-nest contrast, plotted as the mean JNDs between unmanipulated host nest lining However, egg rejection behaviours of hosts are also influenced by the physical and biotic properties of the nest environment.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In nearly all egg rejection studies, to date researchers have conducted experiments by replacing/adding a model/real egg with a different colour/pattern from the host's own eggs (Davies 2000 ;Hauber et al 2015 ) into an active host nest. However, there are alternative explanations for the observed egg rejection patterns in these studies.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To manipulate eggshell appearance in this study, we used a long-lasting, non-toxic, soft-tip highlighter pen (Stabilo Boss™) to cover the egg surface with one of five artificial http://eproofing.springer.com/journals/printpage.php?token=b9mqTlEcHag-yjrMCQpRnb06UNwEVQK7b6HMqw2QD-0qQdvzlytPzA colours (blue, green, orange, red, and yellow, N = 12-16 eggs per colour; for spectral details, methodology, and egg rejection results, see Bán et al 2013 ). We collated additional data on the experimental rejection rates of a single unmanipulated conspecific (N = 16, Bártol et al 2002 ) or a common cuckoo egg (N = 13; Hauber et al 2015 ) inserted into active, non-parasitized great reed warbler nests at the same study site during prior years; for all of these data sources, we used the percentage of eggs rejected per stimulus type within the 6-day monitoring period.…”

Section: Experimental Egg Rejection Data From Natural Nestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental shifts in egg–nest contrasts do not alter egg rejection responses in an avian host–brood parasite system

et al. 2015

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Obligate brood parasitic birds exploit their hosts to provide care for unrelated young in the nest. Potential hosts can reduce the cost of parasitism by rejecting foreign eggs from the nest. Observational, comparative, and experimental studies have concluded that most hosts use the coloration and patterning of eggshells to discriminate between own and foreign eggs in the nest. However, an alternative hypothesis is that birds use the colour contrasts between eggshells and the nest lining to identify parasitic eggs (egg-nest contrast hypothesis). In support of this hypothesis, we found that the avian perceivable chromatic contrasts between dyed eggs and unmanipulated nest linings significantly and negatively covaried with the rejection rates of different dyed eggs of the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus, a frequently parasitized host of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus. To experimentally test whether egg-nest contrasts influence rejection, we reciprocally dyed both eggs and the nest lining of this host species with one of two colours: orange and green. Contrary to the egg-nest contrast hypothesis, host rejection patterns in response to dyed eggs were not altered by dyeing nests, relative to unmanipulated control eggs and nests. In turn, experimental egg colour was the only significant predictor of egg rejection rate. Our results demonstrate that egg-nest contrast is a collateral, not a causal factor in egg rejection, and confirm the conclusions of previous studies that hosts can rely on the parasitic egg's appearance itself to recognize the foreign egg in the nest.

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Defense behavior of two closely related but geographically distant host species against cuckoo parasitism: A next test for the parallel coevolution

Trnka

Yan

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Interactions between avian brood parasites, such as common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus), and their hosts are one of the best-studied examples of the coevolutionary arms race. Different stages of this arms race can be seen in different races of common cuckoos and their hosts across their range. However, little is known whether selected populations of two closely related but geographically distant species with probably different coevolutionary histories with the common cuckoo are also at different stages of the arms race. In this study, we tested this prediction experimentally using the same non-mimetic model eggs and three-dimensional (3D) printed models of the gray adult common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). We examined egg recognition and egg rejection and aggression against the common cuckoo in the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and Oriental reed warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), in Slovakia of Europe and northeast China of Asia. The results showed that the great reed warbler exhibited stronger responses to experimental model eggs and 3D models of the common cuckoo than the Oriental reed warbler. We conclude that both the great reed warbler and Oriental reed warbler have well-developed antiparasitic behaviors against common cuckoos in the studied populations, but with different levels of defense intensity, which may be due to local differences in parasitic pressure and the risk of parasitism.This provides an opportunity to study coevolutionary processes between the brood parasite and its hosts together in both species at large geographical scales.

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The Value of Artificial Stimuli in Behavioral Research: Making the Case for Egg Rejection Studies in Avian Brood Parasitism

Abstract: 24 25 Experimentation is at the heart of classical and modern behavioral ecology research. The

Cited by 46 publications

References 45 publications

Geographic variation in egg ejection rate by great tits across 2 continents

Geographic variation in egg ejection rate by great tits across 2 continents

Experimental shifts in egg–nest contrasts do not alter egg rejection responses in an avian host–brood parasite system

Defense behavior of two closely related but geographically distant host species against cuckoo parasitism: A next test for the parallel coevolution

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