Štětková, Gabriela and Šulc, Michal and Jelínek, Václav and Hughes, Anna and Honza, Marcel (2023) Egg mimicry, not the sight of a common cuckoo, is the cue for parasitic egg rejection. Behavioral Ecology, 34 (5). pp. 891-897. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arad058
Štětková, Gabriela and Šulc, Michal and Jelínek, Václav and Hughes, Anna and Honza, Marcel (2023) Egg mimicry, not the sight of a common cuckoo, is the cue for parasitic egg rejection. Behavioral Ecology, 34 (5). pp. 891-897. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arad058
Štětková, Gabriela and Šulc, Michal and Jelínek, Václav and Hughes, Anna and Honza, Marcel (2023) Egg mimicry, not the sight of a common cuckoo, is the cue for parasitic egg rejection. Behavioral Ecology, 34 (5). pp. 891-897. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arad058
Abstract
Many studies have found that if hosts observe a brood parasite at their nest, they use it as a cue to reject parasitic eggs. However, most previous work has simulated brood parasitic events by exposing a stuffed parasite near a host’s nest. Responses to the presence of a real parasite have not yet been adequately studied under natural conditions. We therefore investigated whether great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) are more likely to reject a parasitic egg if they see a parasitizing common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) at their nest than if the parasite approaches the host nest unnoticed. Using video recordings of 70 nests, we showed that spotting a cuckoo at the nest did not increase the rejection rate of parasitic eggs, even if hosts saw the cuckoo repeatedly. Hosts instead used the level of mimicry in the background color for cuckoo egg rejection. Since not every visit by the cuckoo leads to parasitism, seeing the brood parasite may not be a reliable enough cue for the host. Therefore, our results suggest that the sight of a cuckoo at the nest may not have as severe consequences for it as previously thought.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | animal behavior; brood parasitism; coevolution; egg rejection; mimicry; video recording |
Divisions: | Faculty of Science and Health Faculty of Science and Health > Psychology, Department of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 16 Nov 2023 13:43 |
Last Modified: | 07 Aug 2024 15:04 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/36674 |
Available files
Filename: Egg mimicry not the sight of a common cuckoo is the cue for parasitic egg rejection - version for press.pdf