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Csaba Moskát - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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bimodal habitat use in brood parasitic common cuckoos Cuculus canorus revealed by gps telemetry
The Auk, 2019Co-Authors: Csaba Moskát, Attila Fülöp, Judit Bereczki, Mark Erno HauberAbstract:Obligate brood parasitic birds have evolved a rare avian strategy for reproduction by laying eggs in the nests of other species. In doing so, their breeding ranges, but not necessarily their foraging habitats, have become intimately related to the nesting territories of their hosts. We studied home range sizes and distribution patterns in Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) on their breeding grounds in central Hungary, where cuckoos parasitize only Great Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) in channel-side reed-beds at a high frequency (>50%). The geographic coordinates of tagged cuckoos were monitored by high-precision, remotely downloadable non-Platform Terminal Transmitter global positioning system (GPS) loggers, attached to 9 females and 6 males. Our results revealed bimodal use of habitat patches: (1) the home ranges of male and female cuckoos were packed densely along the channels where the hosts breed, and their distribution maps had high overlaps between sexes; (2) ∼71% of cuckoos also visited nearby woodland patches, presumably for foraging, where the host species was not present. The size of cuckoo home ranges varied to an unusually great extent: 0.3–185 km2 as calculated by the minimum convex polygon method (85%), or 1–17 km2 when calculated by the more suitable kernel density estimation (KDE) method (Utilization Distribution 85%) for patchy habitats. Male and female cuckoos had similar home range sizes as estimated by the KDE method, consisting of 1–4 areas within the 2 habitat types of channel reed-beds and woodlands. No preference was revealed for night roosting locations between the 2 habitats or sexes. Female cuckoos were more likely to use reed-beds in the afternoons, when females parasitize host nests. Remote downloadable GPS methods offer an effective way of tracking cuckoos across large areas, but the estimation of home range sizes requires caution due to this species' patchy and disconnected habitat use.
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multiple parasitism reduces egg rejection in the host acrocephalus arundinaceus of a mimetic avian brood parasite Cuculus canorus
Journal of Comparative Psychology, 2019Co-Authors: Thomas J Manna, Csaba Moskát, Lainga Tong, Zachary Aidala, Mark Erno HauberAbstract:A host that has been targeted by an avian brood parasite can recover most of its potential fitness loss by ejecting the foreign egg(s) from its nest. The propensity for some hosts to engage in egg rejection behavior has put selective pressure on their parasites to evolve mimetic eggshells resembling the host's own shell colors and maculation. In turn, hosts have counterevolved increasingly more sophisticated detection methods such as narrowing visual egg acceptance thresholds or using social cues to recognize parasitism. However, multiple cognitive mechanisms acting simultaneously could theoretically interfere with one another and ultimately decrease egg rejection accuracy, especially if these heuristics yield differing targets for rejection. By painting hosts own eggs, we studied a host species of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus, and tested its responses to the presence of "foreign" eggs of varying quantity, colors, and uniformity. Using reflectance spectra of egg background coloration and avian perceptual modeling, we then estimated the sensory thresholds triggering egg rejection by this host for each treatment. As previously reported, rejection rates were positively related to the perceptual distance between own and foreign eggs in the nests in all treatments. However, rejection thresholds were more permissive (error prone) both with greater proportions of foreign eggs per clutch and/or when the suite of foreign eggs was perceptually more variable within the nest. These results suggest that parasites, through multiple parasitism, can partially overcome the evolution of hosts' recognition of mimetic parasite eggs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Return migration of Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) between breeding grounds in Hungary and wintering grounds in Africa as documented by non-PTT GPS technology
Journal of Ornithology, 2018Co-Authors: Miklós Bán, Csaba Moskát, Attila Fülöp, Mark Erno HauberAbstract:We tagged 12 adult Common Cuckoos ( Cuculus canorus ) with non-platform terminal transmitter (non-PTT) GPS-UHF telemetry at their breeding grounds in Hungary. One male and two female Cuckoos (one of them twice) were again observed in subsequent years, and GPS fixes documented their migration routes to and from Africa, as far south as Namibia. All four routes showed the species-typical clockwise loop migration. Although currently non-PPT GPS tracking with remotely downloadable data as an ornithological method is primarily suitable to map home ranges of birds, it could be a complement to PTT technology in migration research, especially for delivery of higher spatial accuracy.ZusammenfassungZug des Kuckucks ( Cuculus canorus ) zwischen den Überwinterungsgebieten in Afrika und den Brutgebieten in Ungarn, aufgezeichnet mittels nicht-Satellitenbasierter GPS-Technologie Wir markierten 12 adulte Kuckucke ( Cuculus canorus ) in ihren Brutgebieten in Ungarn mit nicht Satellitenbasierter GPS-UHF-Telemetrie. Ein Männchen und zwei Weibchen (eines davon zweimal) wurden in den folgenden Jahren erneut beobachtet. Die GPS-Daten zeigten ihre Zugrouten von und nach Afrika mit Namibia als südlichstem Punkt. Alle vier Routen zeigten den arttypischen Schleifenzug im Uhrzeigersinn. Obwohl in der Ornithologie derzeit nicht Satellitenbasierte GPS-UHF-Telemetrie mit Datenfernübertragung in erster Linie eingesetzt wird, um Bewegungen im Territorium aufzuzeichnen, könnte sie auch die Vogelzugforschung ergänzen, vor allem dann, wenn eine höhere räumliche Auflösung gewünscht wird.
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Return migration of Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) between breeding grounds in Hungary and wintering grounds in Africa as documented by non-PTT GPS technology
Journal of Ornithology, 2018Co-Authors: Csaba Moskát, Attila Fülöp, Mark Erno HauberAbstract:We tagged 12 adult Common Cuckoos ( Cuculus canorus ) with non-platform terminal transmitter (non-PTT) GPS-UHF telemetry at their breeding grounds in Hungary. One male and two female Cuckoos (one of them twice) were again observed in subsequent years, and GPS fixes documented their migration routes to and from Africa, as far south as Namibia. All four routes showed the species-typical clockwise loop migration. Although currently non-PPT GPS tracking with remotely downloadable data as an ornithological method is primarily suitable to map home ranges of birds, it could be a complement to PTT technology in migration research, especially for delivery of higher spatial accuracy. Zug des Kuckucks ( Cuculus canorus ) zwischen den Überwinterungsgebieten in Afrika und den Brutgebieten in Ungarn, aufgezeichnet mittels nicht-Satellitenbasierter GPS-Technologie Wir markierten 12 adulte Kuckucke ( Cuculus canorus ) in ihren Brutgebieten in Ungarn mit nicht Satellitenbasierter GPS-UHF-Telemetrie. Ein Männchen und zwei Weibchen (eines davon zweimal) wurden in den folgenden Jahren erneut beobachtet. Die GPS-Daten zeigten ihre Zugrouten von und nach Afrika mit Namibia als südlichstem Punkt. Alle vier Routen zeigten den arttypischen Schleifenzug im Uhrzeigersinn. Obwohl in der Ornithologie derzeit nicht Satellitenbasierte GPS-UHF-Telemetrie mit Datenfernübertragung in erster Linie eingesetzt wird, um Bewegungen im Territorium aufzuzeichnen, könnte sie auch die Vogelzugforschung ergänzen, vor allem dann, wenn eine höhere räumliche Auflösung gewünscht wird.
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return migration of common cuckoos Cuculus canorus between breeding grounds in hungary and wintering grounds in africa as documented by non ptt gps technology
Journal of Ornithology, 2018Co-Authors: Csaba Moskát, Attila Fülöp, Mark Erno HauberAbstract:We tagged 12 adult Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) with non-platform terminal transmitter (non-PTT) GPS-UHF telemetry at their breeding grounds in Hungary. One male and two female Cuckoos (one of them twice) were again observed in subsequent years, and GPS fixes documented their migration routes to and from Africa, as far south as Namibia. All four routes showed the species-typical clockwise loop migration. Although currently non-PPT GPS tracking with remotely downloadable data as an ornithological method is primarily suitable to map home ranges of birds, it could be a complement to PTT technology in migration research, especially for delivery of higher spatial accuracy.
Eivin Røskaft - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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sex allocation in relation to host races in the brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus
PLOS ONE, 2012Co-Authors: Frode Fossoy, Csaba Moskát, Anton Antonov, Arne Moksnes, Eivin Røskaft, Peter Sjolte Ranke, Johan Reinert Vikan, Jarkko Rutila, Andrzej Dyrcz, Bård G. StokkeAbstract:Sex allocation theory and empirical evidence both suggest that natural selection should favour maternal control of offspring sex ratio in relation to their ability to invest in the offspring. Generalist parasites constitute a particularly interesting group to test this theory as different females commonly utilize different host species showing large variation in provisioning ability. The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a generalist brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nest of many different passerine birds, but each female tends to specialize on one particular host species giving rise to highly specialized host races. The different host species show large variation in their ability to invest in the parasitic offspring, presenting an opportunity for female cuckoos to bias offspring sex ratio in relation to host species quality. Here, we investigate host-race specific sex allocation controlling for maternal identity in the common cuckoo. We found no evidence of any significant relationship between host race and sex ratio in one sympatric population harbouring three different host races, or in a total of five geographically separated populations. There was also no significant association between host quality, as determined by species-specific female host body mass, and cuckoo sex ratio. Finally, we found no significant relationship between individual cuckoo maternal quality, as determined by her egg volume, and sex ratio within each host race. We conclude that the generalist brood-parasitic common cuckoo show no significant sex-ratio bias in relation to host race and discuss this finding in light of gene flow and host adaptations.
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the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus host
Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2011Co-Authors: Jesus M Aviles, Anton Antonov, Arne Moksnes, Eivin Røskaft, Frode Fossoy, Anders Pape Moller, Johan Reinert Vikan, Jacqui A Shykoff, Henrik Jeldtoft Jensen, Petr ProchazkaAbstract:The obligate avian brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus comprises different strains of females that specialize on particular host species by laying eggs of a constant type that often mimics those of the host. Whether cuckoos are locally adapted for mimicking populations of the hosts on which they are specialized has never been investigated. In this study, we first explored the possibility of local adaptation in cuckoo egg mimicry over a geographical mosaic of selection exerted by one of its main European hosts, the reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. Secondly, we investigated whether cuckoos inhabiting reed warbler populations with a broad number of alternative suitable hosts at hand were less locally adapted. Cuckoo eggs showed different degrees of mimicry to different reed warbler populations. However, cuckoo eggs did not match the egg phenotypes of their local host population better than eggs of other host populations, indicating that cuckoos were not locally adapted for mimicry on reed warblers. Interestingly, cuckoos exploiting reed warblers in populations with a relatively larger number of co-occurring cuckoo gentes showed lower than average levels of local adaptation in egg volume. Our results suggest that cuckoo local adaptation might be prevented when different cuckoo populations exploit more or fewer different host species, with gene flow or frequent host switches breaking down local adaptation where many host races co-occur.
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absence of egg discrimination in a suitable cuckoo Cuculus canorus host breeding away from trees
Journal of Avian Biology, 2010Co-Authors: Anton Antonov, Bård G. Stokke, Arne Moksnes, Frode Fossoy, Peter Sjolte Ranke, Eivin RøskaftAbstract:There is at present considerable variation in the level of antiparasite defences among different host species of avian brood parasites, but in many potential hosts some individuals reject poorly matching parasite eggs. Here we present unique absence of egg discrimination behaviour backed up by a lack of egg recognition abilities in a suitable common cuckoo Cuculus canorus host, the skylark Alauda arvensis. Skylarks did not show any clear rejection response to experimentally added highly non-mimetic foreign eggs in any behavioural context, even before they had started laying or when the whole clutch was exchanged with foreign eggs. This absence of antiparasite defence can be explained by the breeding habitat of larks consisting of largely treeless open landscapes where cuckoos have little access to the nests, thereby eroding the possibility of coevolutionary interactions. Our results are strikingly consistent with the spatial habitat structure hypothesis proposed to explain the occurrence and extent of avian host-parasite co-adaptation.
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egg phenotype differentiation in sympatric cuckoo Cuculus canorus gentes
Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2010Co-Authors: Anton Antonov, Bård G. Stokke, Eivin Røskaft, J R Vikan, Frode Fossoy, Peter Sjolte RankeAbstract:The brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus consists of gentes, which typically parasitize only a single host species whose eggs they often mimic. Where multiple cuckoo gentes co-exist in sympatry, we may expect variable but generally poorer mimicry because of host switches or inter-gens gene flow via males if these also contribute to egg phenotypes. Here, we investigated egg trait differentiation and mimicry in three cuckoo gentes parasitizing great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus, marsh warblers Acrocephalus palustris and corn buntings Miliaria calandra breeding in close sympatry in partially overlapping habitat types. The three cuckoo gentes showed a remarkable degree of mimicry to their three host species in some but not all egg features, including egg size, a hitherto largely ignored feature of egg mimicry. Egg phenotype matching for both background and spot colours as well as for egg size has been maintained in close sympatry despite the possibility for gene flow.
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evolution of defences against cuckoo Cuculus canorus parasitism in bramblings fringilla montifringilla a comparison of four populations in fennoscandia
Evolutionary Ecology, 2010Co-Authors: Johan Reinert Vikan, Bård G. Stokke, Arne Moksnes, Jarkko Rutila, Esa Huhta, Eivin RøskaftAbstract:The brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has a history of coevolution that involves numerous passerine hosts, but today only a subset is known to be regularly parasitised in any area. In some hosts, there is significant variation in the occurrence of parasitism between populations, but still individuals in non-parasitised populations show strong antiparasite defences. In the present study we compared the strength of egg rejection of four distant Fennoscandian brambling Fringilla montifringilla populations experiencing different levels of cuckoo parasitism (0–6%). Egg rejection ability was in general very well developed and we did not find any population differences in the relationship between egg rejection probability and similarity between host and experimental parasitic eggs. Furthermore, bramblings very rarely made errors in rejection, indicating that selection against rejection behaviour is likely to be very weak. The brambling-cuckoo system therefore differs from other well studied systems which are characterised by pronounced spatial and temporal variation in the host’s level of defence. This result is unlikely to reflect independent replication of the same evolutionary trajectory because the weak breeding site tenacity of bramblings should result in an extreme amount of gene flow within the distribution area and thus strongly impede localised responses to selection. Instead, lack of geographic variation has more likely arisen because bramblings respond to selection as one evolutionary unit, and because the average parasitism pressures have been high enough in the past to cause regional fixation of rejection alleles and evolution of clutch characteristics that facilitate cost free egg recognition.
Anders Pape Moller - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Daurian redstart Phoenicurus auroreus is a host for the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus during the second, but not the first cultch
2020Co-Authors: Jinggang Zhang, Anders Pape Moller, Wenhong DengAbstract:Abstract Background: Coevolution in cavity-nesting host-cuckoo systems may differ from those in open-nesting hosts due to unique conditions in cavity nests. We investigated brood parasitism in Daurian redstarts ( Phoenicurus auroreus ), a regular cavity-nesting host of common cuckoos ( Cuculus canorus ).Results: A total of 15.6% ( n =358) of host nests were parasitized by cuckoos. Cuckoos were highly successful in parasitizing Daurian redstart nests: nearly all cuckoo eggs were laid in the nest cup, and all cuckoo chicks evicted all host offspring. However, egg ejection by Daurian redstarts was egg morph specific, i.e. hosts laying white eggs ejected most real cuckoo eggs, while hosts laying blue eggs did not eject any. In contrast, hosts ejected most mimetic cuckoo eggs. Moreover, most Daurian redstarts moved to nearby villages during the second breeding attempts, where the risk of cuckoo parasitism was reduced. Parasitism only occurred during the second breeding attempt, since cuckoos had not yet arrived at the breeding grounds when hosts started to lay their first clutches, which may indicate a novel and unique anti-parasite defense, advancing breeding time of hosts.Conclusions: Our results suggest that Daurian redstarts suffer from high risk of cuckoo parasitism showing more intense egg ejection while building nests closer to human habitation in the second clutch. This suggests that cavity-nesting hosts may show adaptations to brood parasites that differ from those of open-nesting hosts.
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functional significance of cuckoo Cuculus canorus calls responses of conspecifics hosts and non hosts
PeerJ, 2018Co-Authors: Piotr Tryjanowski, Federico Morelli, Tomasz S Osiejuk, Anders Pape MollerAbstract:Male cuckoos Cuculus canorus produce calls that differ in number of syllables depending on environmental conditions and presence of male and female conspecifics. Why different males produce so repeatable calls that vary greatly in duration among males remains an open question. We used playback of cuckoo calls with few or many syllables (hereafter short and long calls), and woodpigeon calls (a control that also produces few or many syllables), predicting that playback of longer cuckoo calls should attract more male cuckoos (if males with such calls are dominant and successfully out-compete other males due to intraspecific competition), and attract more hosts mobbing male cuckoos (cuckoos with such calls and their females attract more hosts because of an increased risk of parasitism). Because cuckoos differentially parasitize hosts away from human habitation, we also tested whether the number of syllables in cuckoo calls differed with distance from buildings. Playback showed significant effects of number of syllables in cuckoo calls, but not woodpigeon Columba palumbus calls, with an additional effect of distance from human habitation decreasing the response to playback. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that longer cuckoo calls, especially played back near human habitation, attract more conspecifics and hosts than shorter calls. To the best of knowledge this is the first study showing that cuckoo call response modified both other cuckoo individuals, as well as hosts response.
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Birds respond similarly to taxidermic models and live cuckoos Cuculus canorus
Journal of Ethology, 2018Co-Authors: Piotr Tryjanowski, Federico Morelli, Zbigniew Kwieciński, Piotr Indykiewicz, Anders Pape MollerAbstract:Stuffed birds are widely used in research for identifying effects of predators and nest parasites on bird behaviour, studying levels of aggression and the size of territories. However, the fact that these models do not move or vocalize may question the results of such studies and open them to criticism. One solution would be to determine how the results of research using stuffed dummies correlate with the response of wild animals to enemies under the same environmental conditions. In a first attempt, we examined the correlation between the intensity of mobbing of a dummy cuckoo Cuculus canorus and interactions with live cuckoos in the field during the breeding season in western Poland. A total of 39 bird species mobbed cuckoo dummies; all 39 were found to attack live cuckoos, while 24 species (61.5%) did so during experiments using a dummy. The number of individual birds involved in mobbing a dummy was positively correlated with the number of individuals attacking real cuckoos in the same areas, even when the most commonly mobbing species, the barn swallow Hirundo rustica , was excluded from the analyses. However, we did not find significant differences in frequency of mobbing behaviour depending on cuckoo behaviour described as flight or sitting, or calling rather than remaining quiet. Therefore, we conclude that the use of a dummy for studying mobbing of hosts and non-hosts of the cuckoo provide results that are similar to those made in response to the behaviour of live hosts.
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number of syllables in cuckoo Cuculus canorus calls a test using a citizen science project
Scientific Reports, 2018Co-Authors: Yanina Benedetti, Federico Morelli, Anders Pape Moller, Karolina Slezak, Piotr TryjanowskiAbstract:Recent studies revealed that the call of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has more inter-individual than intra-individual variation and that the number of syllables depends on environmental conditions, but also the presence of male and female conspecifics. However, still very little is known about how song varies at a global scale, especially considering the wide distribution of this species across most of Europe and Asia. Xeno-canto.org is a vocalization repository for birdsong. We used xeno-canto.org as a data source for investigating the variables that affect the number of syllables in cuckoo calls at a large spatial scale. At a very broad geographical scale, the number of syllables in cuckoo calls predicted bird species richness. Additionally, female calls were associated with shorter males calls, and there was a positive correlation between the interaction between female calls and the number of host races parasitized by the cuckoo. These findings confirm that intraspecific and interspecific interactions significantly affect the number of syllables in cuckoo calls, and both environmental variables and biotic interactions should be considered in future studies of vocalizations in cuckoos. Last but not least, we demonstrated that a citizen science project is a useful source for ecological studies at large spatial scales.
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do cuckoos imprint on hosts micro habitats or nest sites parasitism preferences in the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2018Co-Authors: Canchao Yang, Wei Liang, Anders Pape MollerAbstract:Diverse nest-building behaviors used for constructing delicate and diverse kinds of nests constitute one of the most impressive and typical traits for birds. However, some bird species do not possess nest-building behavior but lay eggs in nests of other species. Such obligate brood parasites account for only 1% of all bird species in the world, but their extraordinary behavior has resulted in numerous studies. Unlike nesting birds, brood parasites such as cuckoos need to find suitable nests for parasitism rather than suitable habitat for nesting. Previous studies hypothesized that cuckoos may achieve this by imprinting on the habitats or nest sites they have experienced, or on host species by whom they have been reared, or simply by natal philopatry. Here, we test for host recognition mechanisms in a coevolutionary system constituted by the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) and its two sympatric hosts Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) and Verditer flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) that build open cup-shaped nests in similar nest sites. Redstarts are partial rejecters of cuckoo eggs and they are parasitized by cuckoos with a parasitism rate of 16.2%, while flycatchers accept cuckoo eggs but no survival of parasite chicks in its nests and also no single case of parasitism was detected. Our results are consistent with the host imprinting hypothesis that cuckoos choose suitable hosts for parasitism by preference for them during the nestling period. The unique system consisting of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) and their two potential redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) and flycatcher hosts (Eumyias thalassinus) provided persuasive evidence to show that common cuckoos have a host preference rather than a nest site preference based on micro-habitat characteristics or just random nest site selection for locating host nests and choosing a suitable host species.
Marcel Honza - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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how to hatch from the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus egg implications of strong eggshells for the hatching muscle musculus complexus
Journal of Ornithology, 2015Co-Authors: Marcel Honza, Petr Prochazka, Kateřina Feikusova, Jaroslav PicmanAbstract:One of the most obvious adaptations to the brood parasitic mode of reproduction is the formation of eggs with unusually strong shells, which apparently reduce chances of egg breakage during laying and puncture ejection attempts of parasitic eggs by the hosts. We tested a hypothesis that strong eggshells of the Common Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, may have also led to a stronger hatching muscle, musculus complexus. First, the Cuckoo hatching muscle had a higher density of fibers than that of the similarly sized Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus chicks; and second, the cross-sectional area of fibers of the hatching muscle was smaller in the Cuckoo than in the Great Reed Warbler. We propose that the increased density of muscle fibers in the Cuckoo facilitates hatching out of structurally strong eggshells because chicks possessing this trait should be able to exert greater pressure on the shell during the hatching process. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the higher density of fibers in the musculus complexus represents another adaptation facilitating hatching from unusually strong parasitic eggs that has presumably evolved during coevolution involving the Cuckoo and its hosts.
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common cuckoos Cuculus canorus change their nest searching strategy according to the number of available host nests
Ibis, 2014Co-Authors: Petr Prochazka, Vaclav Jelinek, Milica Požgayova, Marcel HonzaAbstract:In recent decades, numerous studies have examined factors affecting risk of host nest parasitism in well-known avian host–parasite systems; however, little attention has been paid to the role of host nest availability. In accordance with other studies, we found that nest visibility, reed density and timing of breeding predicted brood parasitism of Great Reed Warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus by the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus. More interestingly, hosts had a greater chance of escaping brood parasitism if nesting was synchronized. Cuckoo nest searching was governed primarily by nest visibility at high host-nest density. However, even well-concealed nests were likely to be parasitized during periods when just a few hosts were laying eggs, suggesting that Cuckoos adjust their nest-searching strategy in relation to the availability of host nests. Our results demonstrate that host vulnerability to brood parasitism varies temporally and that Cuckoo females are able to optimize their nest-searching strategy. Moreover, our study indicated that Cuckoos always manage to find at least some nests to parasitize. Thus, in this case, the co-evolutionary arms race should take place mainly in the form of parasitic egg rejection rather than via frontline pre-parasitism defence.
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Common Cuckoos Cuculus canorus change their nest‐searching strategy according to the number of available host nests
Ibis, 2013Co-Authors: Vaclav Jelinek, Petr Prochazka, Milica Požgayova, Marcel HonzaAbstract:In recent decades, numerous studies have examined factors affecting risk of host nest parasitism in well-known avian host–parasite systems; however, little attention has been paid to the role of host nest availability. In accordance with other studies, we found that nest visibility, reed density and timing of breeding predicted brood parasitism of Great Reed Warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus by the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus. More interestingly, hosts had a greater chance of escaping brood parasitism if nesting was synchronized. Cuckoo nest searching was governed primarily by nest visibility at high host-nest density. However, even well-concealed nests were likely to be parasitized during periods when just a few hosts were laying eggs, suggesting that Cuckoos adjust their nest-searching strategy in relation to the availability of host nests. Our results demonstrate that host vulnerability to brood parasitism varies temporally and that Cuckoo females are able to optimize their nest-searching strategy. Moreover, our study indicated that Cuckoos always manage to find at least some nests to parasitize. Thus, in this case, the co-evolutionary arms race should take place mainly in the form of parasitic egg rejection rather than via frontline pre-parasitism defence.
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Choosing suitable hosts: common cuckoos Cuculus canorus parasitize great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus of high quality
Evolutionary Ecology, 2009Co-Authors: Lenka Polačiková, Petr Prochazka, Michael I. Cherry, Marcel HonzaAbstract:We investigated the hypothesis that the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus selects host pairs of good phenotypic quality. As there is some evidence that cuckoos may select hosts within a population non-randomly based on external cues reflecting their foster abilities, we predicted that great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus pairs parasitized by the cuckoo would exhibit higher quality than unparasitized ones. To test this assumption, we evaluated two different parameters indicating host quality: body condition and characteristics of host eggs. We found that parasitized females showed significantly better body condition than unparasitized ones, and the model showed that the probability of being parasitized by the cuckoos increased with increasing body condition. Moreover, the likelihood of being parasitized by a cuckoo within the great reed warbler population increased with decreasing colour variability within clutches: parasitized females allocated costly blue pigments to eggshells more equally compared with unparasitized ones. Our study revealed that cuckoos parasitize great reed warbler females of higher quality, as reflected in host body condition and egg colour characteristics. In highly mimetic systems, cuckoos may choose to parasitize hosts with eggs displaying low intraclutch variation, both because this leads to reduced rejection and because these hosts are of high quality.
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common cuckoo Cuculus canorus and host behaviour at reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus nests
Ibis, 2008Co-Authors: Arne Moksnes, Eivin Røskaft, Marcel Honza, Lise Greger Hagen, Cecilie Mork, Per H OlsenAbstract:This study is based on continuous video recordings made at 53 Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus nests each day during the laying period. Egg-laying by the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus was recorded in 14 (26.4%) of these nests. By analysing the activity of the host birds around and at the nest, we found that this is probably not the only cue used by the Common Cuckoo when locating suitable nests to parasitize. Furthermore, in most cases there was no significant difference between the length of time the host birds spent at the nest in the morning and afternoon, thus providing little support for the hypothesis that the Common Cuckoo lays in the afternoon because it is less likely to be seen by the nest owners then. Parasitized Reed Warblers rejected the Common Cuckoo egg more frequently when they observed the parasite at their nests. However, contrary to what should be expected, most Common Cuckoos laid their eggs in the presence of the host(s), and in general their egg-laying behaviour (for example duration of stay at the nest) was less secretive than described earlier. When partially depredating host clutches, Cuckoos showed the same behavioural pattern at parasitized and unparasitized nests, indicating that the latter may act as a potential reserve for egg-laying.
Arne Moksnes - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Brood parasitism on Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis by Common Cuckoos Cuculus canorus in two mountain areas in Norway
Ornis Norvegica, 2019Co-Authors: Jan Berstad, Bård G. Stokke, Arne MoksnesAbstract:In the period 2001–2014 we studied Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus brood parasitism on Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis in two mountain areas; one located in the eastern and one in the western part of southern Norway. In the total material of 211 Meadow Pipit nests, 14 (6.6%) were parasitized by the cuckoo. The parasitism rate showed considerable variation both in time and space, with highest rate in one of the areas in 2005 (35.3%). Cuckoo eggs were quite similar in appearance to host eggs. In spite of this, 30% of the cuckoo eggs were rejected by desertion. No host ejection of parasite eggs was observed. Nest predation rates were rather low. Due to climate change, it has been hypothesized that the cuckoo, a long-distance migrant, may arrive too late to successfully utilize the Meadow Pipit because the latter is better able to advance the breeding season due to a shorter migration distance. Our data lend support to the mismatch hypothesis, but the low sample size regarding cases of parasitism does not allow us to make any firm conclusions. Long-term monitoring of host-parasite interactions in specific populations is important to further disclose the mechanisms responsible for the decline in the Norwegian cuckoo population.
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sex allocation in relation to host races in the brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus
PLOS ONE, 2012Co-Authors: Frode Fossoy, Csaba Moskát, Anton Antonov, Arne Moksnes, Eivin Røskaft, Peter Sjolte Ranke, Johan Reinert Vikan, Jarkko Rutila, Andrzej Dyrcz, Bård G. StokkeAbstract:Sex allocation theory and empirical evidence both suggest that natural selection should favour maternal control of offspring sex ratio in relation to their ability to invest in the offspring. Generalist parasites constitute a particularly interesting group to test this theory as different females commonly utilize different host species showing large variation in provisioning ability. The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a generalist brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nest of many different passerine birds, but each female tends to specialize on one particular host species giving rise to highly specialized host races. The different host species show large variation in their ability to invest in the parasitic offspring, presenting an opportunity for female cuckoos to bias offspring sex ratio in relation to host species quality. Here, we investigate host-race specific sex allocation controlling for maternal identity in the common cuckoo. We found no evidence of any significant relationship between host race and sex ratio in one sympatric population harbouring three different host races, or in a total of five geographically separated populations. There was also no significant association between host quality, as determined by species-specific female host body mass, and cuckoo sex ratio. Finally, we found no significant relationship between individual cuckoo maternal quality, as determined by her egg volume, and sex ratio within each host race. We conclude that the generalist brood-parasitic common cuckoo show no significant sex-ratio bias in relation to host race and discuss this finding in light of gene flow and host adaptations.
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the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus host
Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2011Co-Authors: Jesus M Aviles, Anton Antonov, Arne Moksnes, Eivin Røskaft, Frode Fossoy, Anders Pape Moller, Johan Reinert Vikan, Jacqui A Shykoff, Henrik Jeldtoft Jensen, Petr ProchazkaAbstract:The obligate avian brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus comprises different strains of females that specialize on particular host species by laying eggs of a constant type that often mimics those of the host. Whether cuckoos are locally adapted for mimicking populations of the hosts on which they are specialized has never been investigated. In this study, we first explored the possibility of local adaptation in cuckoo egg mimicry over a geographical mosaic of selection exerted by one of its main European hosts, the reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. Secondly, we investigated whether cuckoos inhabiting reed warbler populations with a broad number of alternative suitable hosts at hand were less locally adapted. Cuckoo eggs showed different degrees of mimicry to different reed warbler populations. However, cuckoo eggs did not match the egg phenotypes of their local host population better than eggs of other host populations, indicating that cuckoos were not locally adapted for mimicry on reed warblers. Interestingly, cuckoos exploiting reed warblers in populations with a relatively larger number of co-occurring cuckoo gentes showed lower than average levels of local adaptation in egg volume. Our results suggest that cuckoo local adaptation might be prevented when different cuckoo populations exploit more or fewer different host species, with gene flow or frequent host switches breaking down local adaptation where many host races co-occur.
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absence of egg discrimination in a suitable cuckoo Cuculus canorus host breeding away from trees
Journal of Avian Biology, 2010Co-Authors: Anton Antonov, Bård G. Stokke, Arne Moksnes, Frode Fossoy, Peter Sjolte Ranke, Eivin RøskaftAbstract:There is at present considerable variation in the level of antiparasite defences among different host species of avian brood parasites, but in many potential hosts some individuals reject poorly matching parasite eggs. Here we present unique absence of egg discrimination behaviour backed up by a lack of egg recognition abilities in a suitable common cuckoo Cuculus canorus host, the skylark Alauda arvensis. Skylarks did not show any clear rejection response to experimentally added highly non-mimetic foreign eggs in any behavioural context, even before they had started laying or when the whole clutch was exchanged with foreign eggs. This absence of antiparasite defence can be explained by the breeding habitat of larks consisting of largely treeless open landscapes where cuckoos have little access to the nests, thereby eroding the possibility of coevolutionary interactions. Our results are strikingly consistent with the spatial habitat structure hypothesis proposed to explain the occurrence and extent of avian host-parasite co-adaptation.
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evolution of defences against cuckoo Cuculus canorus parasitism in bramblings fringilla montifringilla a comparison of four populations in fennoscandia
Evolutionary Ecology, 2010Co-Authors: Johan Reinert Vikan, Bård G. Stokke, Arne Moksnes, Jarkko Rutila, Esa Huhta, Eivin RøskaftAbstract:The brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has a history of coevolution that involves numerous passerine hosts, but today only a subset is known to be regularly parasitised in any area. In some hosts, there is significant variation in the occurrence of parasitism between populations, but still individuals in non-parasitised populations show strong antiparasite defences. In the present study we compared the strength of egg rejection of four distant Fennoscandian brambling Fringilla montifringilla populations experiencing different levels of cuckoo parasitism (0–6%). Egg rejection ability was in general very well developed and we did not find any population differences in the relationship between egg rejection probability and similarity between host and experimental parasitic eggs. Furthermore, bramblings very rarely made errors in rejection, indicating that selection against rejection behaviour is likely to be very weak. The brambling-cuckoo system therefore differs from other well studied systems which are characterised by pronounced spatial and temporal variation in the host’s level of defence. This result is unlikely to reflect independent replication of the same evolutionary trajectory because the weak breeding site tenacity of bramblings should result in an extreme amount of gene flow within the distribution area and thus strongly impede localised responses to selection. Instead, lack of geographic variation has more likely arisen because bramblings respond to selection as one evolutionary unit, and because the average parasitism pressures have been high enough in the past to cause regional fixation of rejection alleles and evolution of clutch characteristics that facilitate cost free egg recognition.