GROWTH STRATEGIES OF PASSERINE BIRDS ARE RELATED TO BROOD PARASITISM BY THE BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD (MOLOTHRUS ATER)

Evolution ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 60 (8) ◽  
pp. 1692
Author(s):  
VladimÍr Reme&sbreve;
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Growth Strategies

scholarly journals Evidence of Brood Parasitism and Quantification of Rangewide Overlap between the Olive Warbler and Brown-headed Cowbird

Western Birds ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-75
Author(s):  
Jessie L. Williamson ◽  
Matthew J. Baumann
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Apparent Lack ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Diurnal Patterns ◽  
New Hosts ◽  
Evolutionary Aspects ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Occurrence Records

Brood parasitism is a fascinating natural history phenomenon that provides a window into the coevolution of antagonistic interactions. Many ecological and evolutionary aspects of brood parasitism remain unknown, and new hosts of brood parasites are still being discovered. We document the second instance of brood parasitism of the Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus) by the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). Apparent lack of habitat and elevation overlap across the ranges of these two species prompted us to examine how frequently they come into contact. We analyzed >3 million Olive Warbler and Brown-headed Cowbird occurrence records from two open-source repositories, eBird and GBIF, to examine both synchronous and asynchronous locality overlap during the breeding season. We found that the two species were documented together simultaneously in only 3.1% of analyzed instances, but that they co-occurred in similar habitat types and/or at similar elevations at 11.8% of localities analyzed across the Olive Warbler’s range. Additional research on aspects of ecology and evolution, such as host selection, the cowbird’s diurnal patterns of movement, and the dynamics of intracellular pathogens infecting brood parasites and their hosts, may shed light more broadly on the ecological interactions and mechanisms underlying brood parasitism.

scholarly journals Persistence of host defence behaviour in the absence of avian brood parasitism

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 670-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Peer ◽  
Michael J. Kuehn ◽  
Stephen I. Rothstein ◽  
Robert C. Fleischer
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
New World ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Bombycilla Cedrorum ◽  
Defence Behaviour ◽  
Cedar Waxwing ◽  
Host Parasite

The fate of host defensive behaviour in the absence of selection from brood parasitism is critical to long-term host–parasite coevolution. We investigated whether New World Bohemian waxwings Bombycilla garrulus that are allopatric from brown-headed cowbird Molothrus ater and common cuckoo Cuculus canorus parasitism have retained egg rejection behaviour. We found that egg rejection was expressed by 100 per cent of Bohemian waxwings. Our phylogeny revealed that Bohemian and Japanese waxwings Bombycilla japonica were sister taxa, and this clade was sister to the cedar waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum . In addition, there was support for a split between Old and New World Bohemian waxwings. Our molecular clock estimates suggest that egg rejection may have been retained for 2.8–3.0 Myr since New World Bohemian waxwings inherited it from their common ancestor with the rejecter cedar waxwings. These results support the ‘single trajectory’ model of host–brood parasite coevolution that once hosts evolve defences, they are retained, forcing parasites to become more specialized over time.

scholarly journals Convergent evolution of reduced eggshell conductance in avian brood parasites

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1769) ◽  
pp. 20180194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie C. McClelland ◽  
Gabriel A. Jamie ◽  
Katy Waters ◽  
Lara Caldas ◽  
Claire N. Spottiswoode ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Physiological Traits ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
General Adaptation ◽  
Parasitic Lifestyle ◽  
Eggshell Structure ◽  
Eggshell Conductance

Brood parasitism has evolved independently in several bird lineages, giving rise to strikingly similar behavioural adaptations that suggest convergent evolution. By comparison, convergence of physiological traits that optimize this breeding strategy has received much less attention, yet these species share many similar physiological traits that optimize this breeding strategy. Eggshell structure is important for embryonic development as it controls the flux of metabolic gases, such as O 2 , CO 2 and H 2 O, into and out of the egg; in particular, water vapour conductance ( G H 2 O ) is an essential process for optimal development of the embryo. Previous work has shown that common cuckoos ( Cuculus canorus ) have a lower than expected eggshell G H 2 O compared with their hosts. Here, we sought to test whether this is a trait found in other independently evolved avian brood parasites, and therefore reflects a general adaptation to a parasitic lifestyle. We analysed G H 2 O for seven species of brood parasites from four unique lineages as well as for their hosts, and combined this with species from the literature. We found lower than expected G H 2 O among all our observed brood parasites both compared with hosts (except for brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater )) and compared with the expected rates given their phylogenetic positions. These findings suggest that a lowered G H 2 O may be a general adaptation for brood parasitism, perhaps helping the parasite nestling to develop greater aerobic fitness. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern’.

scholarly journals Geographic Variation in Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus Ater) Parasitism on Dickcissels (Spiza Americana) in Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie

The Auk ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 648-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Jensen ◽  
Jack F. Cully
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Tallgrass Prairie ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Grassland Birds ◽  
Spiza Americana ◽  
Flint Hills ◽  
Cowbird Parasitism ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract The incidence of brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater; hereafter “cowbirds“) within host species typically reflects the continental pattern in cowbird abundance across North America, where parasitism is heaviest in the Great Plains. However, we found considerable variation in cowbird parasitism on Dickcissel (Spiza americana) nests within a subregion of the Great Plains (the Flint Hills), where the highest levels of cowbird parasitism on grassland bird nests had been previously reported. Local parasitism frequencies on Dickcissel nests varied latitudinally across the Flint Hills, ranging from 0% to 92% of nests parasitized. Interestingly, we found no obvious patterns in habitat or host attributes that were associated with this steep geographic gradient in brood parasitism. Cowbird parasitism on Dickcissel nests was not correlated with the vertical density of local prairie vegetation, mean nest distance to edge, proportion of forest to grassland habitat surrounding study sites (≤5 to 10 km), geographic variation in host abundance, or Dickcissel density or nest initiation dates. Parasitism frequencies and intensities (number of cowbird eggs per parasitized nest) on Dickissel nests were only significantly related to variation in local female cowbird density. Dickcissel clutch size and apparent fledging success were negatively correlated with local cowbird parasitism levels. Geographic patterns in cowbird abundance within and among regions should be considered when establishing conservation areas for grassland birds or other cowbird hosts of concern.

scholarly journals Eavesdropping on Referential Yellow Warbler Alarm Calls by Red-Winged Blackbirds Is Mediated by Brood Parasitism Risk

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby L. Lawson ◽  
Janice K. Enos ◽  
Sharon A. Gill ◽  
Mark E. Hauber
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Agelaius Phoeniceus ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Yellow Warbler ◽  
Incubation Stage ◽  
Yellow Warblers ◽  
Current Risk ◽  
Setophaga Petechia

Referential alarm calls that denote specific types of dangers are common across diverse vertebrate lineages. Different alarm calls can indicate a variety of threats, which often require specific actions to evade. Thus, to benefit from the call, listeners of referential alarm calls must be able to decode the signaled threat and respond to it in an appropriate manner. Yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia) produce referential “seet” calls that signal to conspecifics the presence of nearby obligate brood parasitic brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), which lay their eggs in the nests of other species, including yellow warblers. Our previous playback experiments have found that red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), a species also parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds, eavesdrop upon and respond strongly to yellow warbler seet calls during the incubation stage of breeding with aggression similar to responses to both cowbird chatters and predator calls. To assess whether red-winged blackbird responses to seet calls vary with their own risk of brood parasitism, we presented the same playbacks during the nestling stage of breeding (when the risk of brood parasitism is lower than during incubation). As predicted, we found that blackbirds mediated their aggression toward both cowbird chatter calls and the warblers’ anti-parasitic referential alarm calls in parallel with the low current risk of brood parasitism during the nestling stage. These results further support that red-winged blackbirds flexibly respond to yellow warbler antiparasitic referential calls as a frontline defense against brood parasitism at their own nests.

Age-dependent costs of cowbird parasitism in Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia)

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (7) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.A. Rock ◽  
S.P. Quinlan ◽  
M. Martin ◽  
D.J. Green
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Breeding Cycle ◽  
Yellow Warbler ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Annual Productivity ◽  
Yellow Warblers ◽  
Cowbird Parasitism ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
Setophaga Petechia

Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783)) often reduces the reproductive success of their hosts. We examined whether the ability of females to avoid or mitigate the costs of brood parasitism improved with age in a population of Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia (L., 1766)) breeding near Revelstoke, British Columbia, between 2004 and 2011. Cowbirds parasitized 18% of Yellow Warbler nesting attempts and females rejected 24% of parasitized nests, principally by deserting the nest and initiating a new breeding attempt. We found no evidence that older females were better at avoiding parasitism or more likely to reject parasitized nests than yearlings. On average, brood parasitism reduced clutch sizes by 0.8 eggs, had no effect on nest success, but reduced the number of young fledged from successful nests by 1.3 offspring. Despite age-related improvement in some measures of breeding performance, the costs of brood parasitism at each period of the breeding cycle did not vary with age. There was, however, some evidence, that brood parasitism reduced the annual productivity (total number of young fledged) of older females less than the annual productivity of yearlings suggesting that the cumulative costs of brood parasitism varied with age.

scholarly journals First Evidence of Conspecific Brood Parasitism and Egg Ejection in Song Sparrows, With Comments on Methods Sufficient to Document These

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 452-458
Author(s):  
Quresh S. Latif ◽  
J. Letitia Grenier ◽  
Sacha K. Heath ◽  
Grant Ballard ◽  
Mark E. Hauber
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Separate Study ◽  
Conspecific Brood Parasitism ◽  
Egg Ejection ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Cowbird Parasitism ◽  
Egg Marking

Abstract Conspecific brood parasitism occurs in many songbird species but has not been reported in Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia). In three separate study areas where breeding Song Sparrows experience heavy nest predation pressure and Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism, we observed six instances in which newly laid eggs were attributable to female Song Sparrows other than the nest owners. We also recorded the ejection of a sparrow egg from each of two videotaped nests. In a fourth study area without cowbird parasitism, genetic analysis of parentage revealed no conspecific brood parasitism. Given that egg ejection can accompany conspecific parasitism in Song Sparrows, we suggest that daily nest checks are insufficient to document the frequency of this tactic in some species in the absence of egg marking, videotaping, or genetic analyses. Since standard nest monitoring techniques may fail to detect conspecific brood parasitism, this behavior could be more prevalent than currently thought.

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