Low host recognition tendency revealed by experimentally induced parasitic egg laying in the common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (9) ◽  
pp. 1561-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannu Pöysä
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Host Recognition ◽  
Conspecific Brood Parasitism ◽  
Bucephala Clangula ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Goldeneye

Host-parasite relatedness has been suggested to promote the evolution of conspecific brood parasitism, an alternative reproductive tactic pursued by females in several animal taxa. An essential prerequisite for relatedness to promote brood parasitism is accurate kin recognition, including the recognition of related hosts by parasites. I performed a field experiment to address the accuracy of host recognition by parasites in the common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), a cavity-nesting duck. I studied whether parasites discriminate between experimental nests that did not have a host (i.e., new nest boxes that contained chicken eggs dyed to mimic the colour of common goldeneye eggs) and real nests that did have a host (i.e., active nests that progressed to incubation). Parasitic egg laying in the experimental nests was not constrained by the lack of contemporarily available nests that had a host; it was also not constrained by the lack of suitable and empty nest sites. There was no difference in the start of parasitic laying between the experimental and real nests. The experimental nests and real nests were equally parasitized. The findings suggest that host recognition by parasites is not sophisticated in the common goldeneye, questioning the possible function of accurate kin recognition in brood parasitism in this species.

The role of kin recognition in the evolution of conspecific brood parasitism

2002 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés López-Sepulcre ◽  
Hanna Kokko
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Conspecific Brood Parasitism

No support for relatedness and kin selection to explain high rates of conspecific brood parasitism in colonial Red-breasted Mergansers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Noel ◽  
Rodger Titman ◽  
Shawn R. Craik
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Conspecific Brood Parasitism ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Small Decline ◽  
Diurnal Period

Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) has been observed in approximately half of all species of waterfowl, a philopatric group in which breeding females are frequently locally related. It has been suggested that kin selection can facilitate the evolution of CBP in waterfowl via fitness benefits for the host and parasite. One model demonstrates that discrimination of related and unrelated parasites by the host must be sufficient for kinship to promote CBP, provided that costs of brood parasitism to host fitness are sufficiently low. We parameterized the model using demographic data and behavioural observations from a population of colonial Red-breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator (Linnaeus, 1758)) in which 47% of nests were parasitized by conspecifics. The costs of 1-3 foreign eggs to host hatching success were generally small (decline of 1.8% per additional egg). Nevertheless, model outputs revealed that brood parasites maximize their inclusive fitness by avoiding nests of relatives, primarily because of constraints on a host’s ability to detect parasites at the nest. Indeed, hosts spent <8% of the diurnal period at the nest during egg laying, a period when parasite activity is greatest. It is thus highly unlikely that relatedness and kin selection promote brood parasitism in this population.

scholarly journals Increase of clutch size triggers clutch destruction behaviour in common moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) during the incubation period

Behaviour ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longwu Wang ◽  
Canchao Yang ◽  
Yu-Cheng Hsu ◽  
Anton Antonov ◽  
Arne Moksnes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Incubation Period ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Egg Recognition ◽  
Conspecific Brood Parasitism ◽  
Egg Discrimination ◽  
Incubation Stage ◽  
Egg Colour ◽  
Egg Destruction

Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is common in a variety of animal taxa, including birds. In coots (Fulica spp.), and the closely related moorhens (Gallinula spp.), such parasitism is especially common, and hosts experience considerable costs through increased chick competition soon after hatching. Hence, these birds have evolved egg recognition and rejection abilities, e.g., egg counting, burying the foreign eggs, assigning them suboptimal positions within the mixed clutch, or deserting parasitized clutches. For common moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) it has been shown that desertion of parasitized nests pays most at the early egg laying stage. Later on, the costs of desertion exceed the costs of brood parasitism and acceptance is favoured. Here we tested moorhen egg discrimination behaviour during the incubation stage when acceptance of foreign eggs is expected. Four treatments were applied: (1) single added non-mimetic pale blue egg, (2) single added non-mimetic white chicken egg, (3) four foreign conspecific eggs added to the clutch and (4) four foreign conspecific eggs exchanged for four host eggs. Moorhens responded by egg destruction (47%) only to the increased clutch size but not to foreign egg colour and size match. In three nests where egg destruction occurred, all the eggs in the mixed clutch were destroyed by pecking, in two other nests one of the foreign eggs were pecked, while two other nests were deserted. These results are puzzling since moorhens have been shown to possess refined egg recognition abilities. To our knowledge, such destruction of parasitized clutches by moorhens during incubation has not previously been reported. We suggest that after clutch completion, moorhens use increase in clutch size as a cue to determine if they have been parasitized, and some individuals choose to reject parasitic eggs by deserting or destroying the whole clutch.

scholarly journals Breeding phenology of Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and its reproduction biology with artificial nests in Northeastern Ukraine

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-138
Author(s):  
Olena Yarys ◽  
Angela Chaplygina ◽  
Roman Kratenko
Keyword(s):  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Artificial Nests ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Reproduction Biology ◽  
Phoenicurus Phoenicurus ◽  
The Common ◽  
Nest Height ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Artificial Nest Boxes

Abstract The paper describes investigations on the reproduction biology (nesting, clutching, hatching, fledglings` departure) of the Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) in artificial nest boxes (AN) in Northeastern Ukraine. There were three sites of research: Hetman NNP, NPP “Gomilshansky Forests”, and RLP “Feldman Ecopark”. The research was performed during the nesting period from the first week of April to the first week of July in 2015‒2020. Annually, 5‒8 bird counts were conducted at each site. The first complete egg clutches at Hetman NNP were observed from 08.05 to 17.05 (2015‒2020) and at NPP “Gomilshansky Forests” from 02.05 to28.05 (2017‒2020). Dates of the first egg laying, at various conditions, had inter-annual variability because of unstable weather conditions in May. The average parameters of nests in AN at Hetman NNP were the following: diameter of nests (D) ‒ 124.1±6.3 mm; diameter of trays (d) ‒ 61.5±1.7 mm; nest height (H) ‒ 63.5±9.4 mm; depth of trays (h) ‒ 48.6±2.7 mm; nest mass (m) ‒ 43.7±3.8 mm. The size of complete clutches in Northeastern Ukraine was calculated when eggs were incubated. According to the average indicators, during 2015‒2020, the average size of the clutch was 6.9±0.3 (5‒8) eggs at Hetman NNP, 6.2±0.4 (6‒8) eggs at NPP “Gomilshansky Forests” and 8.5±0.5 (8‒9) eggs at RLP “Feldman Ecopark”. Incubation period of Ph. phoenicurus lasted on average for 15‒20 days.

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.

Prevalence of renal coccidia in wild waterfowl in Saskatchewan

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 2631-2633 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Gajadhar ◽  
R. J. Cawthorn ◽  
Gary A. Wobeser ◽  
P. H. G. Stockdale
Keyword(s):  
Bucephala Clangula ◽  
Cygnus Columbianus ◽  
Eimeria Spp ◽  
Flotation Technique ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Goldeneye ◽  
First Time ◽  
Wild Waterfowl

Using a modified flotation technique, 627 waterfowl were examined for the presence of oocysts of renal coccidia. From kidneys collected during 1980 to 1982 oocysts of Eimeria spp. were detected in 151 of 336 individuals of 11 species of ducks, 130 of 287 birds of two species of geese, and two of four whistling swans (Cygnus columbianus). Renal coccidia are reported for the first time from the common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) and the whistling swan.

DDE, PCB, and mercury residues in Minnesota Common Goldeneye and Hooded Merganser eggs, 1981

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 1871-1876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Zicus ◽  
Mark A. Briggs ◽  
Richard M. Pace III
Keyword(s):  
Polychlorinated Biphenyls ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Aix Sponsa ◽  
Shell Weight ◽  
Bucephala Clangula ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Wood Ducks ◽  
Wet Weight ◽  
Common Goldeneye

DDT and its metabolites, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and mercury (Hg) were measured in Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) and Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) eggs after dead hens were found on clutches. DDE, PCBs, and Hg were detected in all eggs analyzed. Geometric mean concentrations of DDE were low in merganser and goldeneye eggs (0.62 and 0.52 ppm wet weight, respectively). Geometric mean PCB levels were also low, but were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in goldeneye eggs (1.52 vs. 0.66 ppm wet weight). Geometric mean Hg in merganser eggs approached a level for concern and was significantly greater (P < 0.01) than in goldeneye eggs (0.45 vs. 0.11 ppm wet weight, respectively). Merganser and goldeneye eggshells were 9.6 and 15.4% thinner, respectively, and their Ratcliffe indices were 6.0 and 9.2% lower, respectively, than measurements from eggs collected before DDT was in use. Residues and shell thicknesses had among- and within-nest variance structures that differed by species. DDE accounted for 21% of the variation in shell weight controlled for egg size in goldeneyes, but no relationship was evident for mergansers. No dead females were found in about 240 nest boxes monitored in 1982 and 1983 and it is unlikely that contaminant levels measured contributed to hen mortality. Egg breakage in successful nests was greater for goldeneyes than for mergansers or Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa).

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