scholarly journals No change in common cuckoo Cuculus canorus parasitism and great reed warblers’ Acrocephalus arundinaceus egg rejection after seven decades

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 570-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anikó Zölei ◽  
Miklós Bán ◽  
Csaba Moskát
Keyword(s):  
Acrocephalus Arundinaceus ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo

scholarly journals Fast and furious: host aggression modulates behaviour of brood parasites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Václav Jelínek ◽  
Michal Šulc ◽  
Gabriela Štětková ◽  
Marcel Honza
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Nest Defence ◽  
Great Reed Warbler ◽  
Acrocephalus Arundinaceus ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
The Common

ABSTRACTAvian brood parasites pose a serious threat for hosts, substantially reducing their fitness which selects for the evolution of host defences. A classic example of a host frontline defence is mobbing which frequently includes contact attacking of brood parasites. Here, we investigated how the nest defence of a very aggressive great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) host influences the speed of egg-laying and egg-removing behaviour of its brood parasite – the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). We video-recorded 168 brood parasitic events at 102 active host nests and found that cuckoos avoided host mobbing in only 62% of cases. If hosts spotted the cuckoo at their nests, they almost always attacked it (in 91 of 104 cases), however, such attacks only rarely and temporarily prevented cuckoos from parasitizing (11 additional cases). When attacked, cuckoos parasitized host nests significantly faster and left them immediately. However, when not attacked, cuckoos frequently stayed at or near the nest suggesting that host aggression, rather than the risk of being spotted, influences the speed of brood parasitism in this species. Further, we found that cuckoos performed egg-removing behaviour in all parasitic events without regard to host aggression. As a result, cuckoos removed at least one egg during all brood parasitism events except those when an egg slipped from their beaks and fell back into the nest (in 9 of 73 cases). This indicates that egg-removing behaviour is not costly for the common cuckoo and is an essential part of its parasitism strategy, widening understanding of this currently unexplained behaviour.

scholarly journals Evidence for egg discrimination preceding failed rejection attempts in a small cuckoo host

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Antonov ◽  
Bård G Stokke ◽  
Arne Moksnes ◽  
Eivin Røskaft
Keyword(s):  
Structural Strength ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Egg Discrimination ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
The Common ◽  
Hippolais Pallida ◽  
Host Behaviour ◽  
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Given the high costs of avian obligate brood parasitism, host individuals are selected to reject parasitic eggs they recognize as foreign. We show that rejection may not necessarily follow egg discrimination when selective removal of the parasitic egg is difficult. We studied egg rejection behaviour in a small host of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus , the eastern olivaceous warbler Hippolais pallida , by experimental parasitism with model and real non-mimetic cuckoo eggs and video recordings of host behaviour. Hosts pecked 87 per cent (20 out of 23) of the model eggs but eventually accepted 43.5 per cent (10 out of 23) of them. A similar pattern was found for real cuckoo eggs, which were all pecked, but as many as 47 per cent (7 out of 15) of them were accepted. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a cuckoo host discriminating against real parasitic eggs but often accepting them. Our results also show that in host species experiencing difficulties in performing puncture ejection, non-mimetic cuckoo eggs may avoid rejection by means of their unusually high structural strength.

scholarly journals Egg Rejection in Marsh Warblers (Acrocephalus Palustris) Heavily Parasitized by Common Cuckoos (Cuculus Canorus)

The Auk ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Antonov ◽  
Bård G. Stokke ◽  
Arne Moksnes ◽  
Eivin Røskaft
Keyword(s):  
Rejection Rate ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Recognition Ability ◽  
Acrocephalus Palustris ◽  
High Rejection Rate ◽  
Host Parasite

Abstract In the coevolutionary “arms race” between Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) and their hosts, several adaptations and counter-adaptations have evolved. Here, we investigated natural parasitism and host sensitivity to egg rejection in Marsh Warblers (Acrocephalus palustris) in Bulgaria. The level of Common Cuckoo parasitism was high (28%), and average mimicry of Common Cuckoo eggs was good. Experimental parasitism with four egg-types that showed various degrees of mimicry of the host eggs revealed a generally high rejection rate of foreign eggs (37.5–100%). In addition, naturally laid Common Cuckoo eggs were rejected at a moderate rate (50%). The Marsh Warbler's ability to reject foreign eggs was strongly dependent on the degree of mimicry of the parasite egg but apparently not on differences in size between host and foreign eggs. Furthermore, intraclutch variation in host egg appearance was not related to the probability of egg rejection. The Marsh Warbler's highly developed egg-recognition ability and the good mimicry of Common Cuckoo eggs suggests that this poorly known host-parasite arms race has reached an advanced stage. The present study provides new insight into variables that are important for egg rejection in a heavily parasitized host population. Rechazo de Huevos en Nidos de Acrocephalus palustris Fuertemente Parasitados por Cuculus canorus

scholarly journals Experimental shift in hosts' acceptance threshold of inaccurate-mimic brood parasite eggs

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márk E Hauber ◽  
Csaba Moskát ◽  
Miklós Bán
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Modulation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Acrocephalus Arundinaceus ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Acceptance Threshold ◽  
Resistance Strategies ◽  
The Common

Hosts are expected to evolve resistance strategies that efficiently detect and resist exposure to virulent parasites and pathogens. When recognition is not error-proof, the acceptance threshold used by hosts to recognize parasites should be context dependent and become more restrictive with increasing predictability of parasitism. Here, we demonstrate that decisions of great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus to reject parasitism by the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus vary adaptively within a single egg-laying bout. Hosts typically accept one of their own eggs with experimentally added spots and the background colour left visible. In contrast, hosts reject such spotted eggs when individuals had been previously exposed to and rejected one of their own eggs whose background colour had been entirely masked. These results support patterns of adaptive modulation of antiparasitic strategies through shifts in the acceptance threshold of hosts and suggest a critical role for experience in the discrimination decisions between inaccurate-mimic parasite eggs and hosts' own eggs.

Multiple parasitism reduces egg rejection in the host (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) of a mimetic avian brood parasite (Cuculus canorus).

2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Manna ◽  
Csaba Moskát ◽  
Lainga Tong ◽  
Miklós Bán ◽  
Zachary Aidala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acrocephalus Arundinaceus ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Cuculus Canorus

scholarly journals Does experimentally simulated presence of a common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) affect egg rejection and breeding success in the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio)?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Tryjanowski ◽  
Artur Golawski ◽  
Mariusz Janowski ◽  
Tim H. Sparks
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Success ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Host Nest ◽  
Lanius Collurio ◽  
The Common ◽  
Experimental Treatments

AbstractProviding artificial eggs is a commonly used technique to understand brood parasitism, mainly by the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). However, the presence of a cuckoo egg in the host nest would also require an earlier physical presence of the common cuckoo within the host territory. During our study of the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio), we tested two experimental approaches: (1) providing an artificial “cuckoo” egg in shrike nests and (2) additionally placing a stuffed common cuckoo with a male call close to the shrike nest. We expected that the shrikes subject to the additional common cuckoo call stimuli would be more sensitive to brood parasitism and demonstrate a higher egg rejection rate. In the years 2017–2018,  in two locations in Poland, a total of 130 red-backed shrike nests were divided into two categories: in 66 we added only an artificial egg, and in the remaining 64 we added not only the egg, but also presented a stuffed, calling common cuckoo. Shrikes reacted more strongly if the stuffed common cuckoo was present. However, only 13 incidences of egg acceptance were noted, with no significant differences between the locations, experimental treatments or their interaction. Analysis of breeding success revealed significant differences between the locations, between experimental treatments and their interaction, which suggests a strong location effect. The red-backed shrike is an efficient rejector of foreign eggs. It would be interesting to see how similar tests affect hosts that have much higher rates of brood parasitism and egg acceptance.

Cuckoo chicks evicting their nest mates: coincidental observations by Edward Jenner in England and Antoine Joseph Lottinger in France

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer G. Sealy ◽  
Mélanie F. Guigueno
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Cuckoo Chick ◽  
The Common ◽  
Made In ◽  
Royal Society Of London

For centuries, naturalists were aware that soon after hatching the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) chick became the sole occupant of the fosterer's nest. Most naturalists thought the adult cuckoo returned to the nest and removed or ate the fosterer's eggs and young, or the cuckoo chick crowded its nest mates out of the nest. Edward Jenner published the first description of cuckoo chicks evicting eggs and young over the side of the nest. Jenner's observations, made in England in 1786 and 1787, were published by the Royal Society of London in 1788. Four years before Jenner's observations, in 1782, Antoine Joseph Lottinger recorded eviction behaviour in France and published his observations in Histoire du coucou d'Europe, in 1795. The importance of Lottinger's and Jenner's observations is considered together.

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