A shared chemical basis of avian host-parasite egg colour mimicry.
Branislav Igic,Phillip Cassey,Phillip Cassey,Tomáš Grim,David R. Greenwood,David R. Greenwood,Csaba Moskát,Jarkko Rutila,Mark E. Hauber,Mark E. Hauber +9 more
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TLDR
Analysis of pigment composition reveals a novel proximate dimension of coevolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and hosts, and implies that alternative phenotypes may arise by the modifications of already existing biochemical and physiological mechanisms and pathways.Citations
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Host–parasite coevolution beyond the nestling stage? Mimicry of host fledglings by the specialist screaming cowbird
TL;DR: The results strongly support the occurrence of host fledgling mimicry in screaming cowbirds and suggest a role of visual and vocal cues in fledgling discrimination by baywings.
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Simultaneous viewing of own and parasitic eggs is not required for egg rejection by a cuckoo host
TL;DR: Hosts can rely on comparisons of foreign egg colors against an internal recognition template of acceptable (own) egg phenotypes to reject foreign eggs, suggesting a role for discordancy and/or online self-referent phenotype matching.
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Using 3D printed eggs to examine the egg-rejection behaviour of wild birds.
Branislav Igic,Valerie Nunez,Henning U. Voss,Rebecca Croston,Rebecca Croston,Zachary Aidala,Zachary Aidala,Analía V. López,Aimee Van Tatenhove,Mandë Holford,Matthew D. Shawkey,Mark E. Hauber +11 more
TL;DR: It is shown that robins accept mimetically coloured and reject non-mimetically coloured artificial eggs, and 3D printing will provide an opportunity for more extensive experimentation on the potential biological or evolutionary significance of size and shape variation of foreign eggs in rejection decisions.
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Different recognition cues reveal the decision rules used for egg rejection by hosts of a variably mimetic avian brood parasite
TL;DR: It is found that the presence of spotting significantly decreased the probability of rejection while increments in brightness significantly increased rejection frequencies, and the cognitive rules underlying mockingbird rejection behavior can be explained by a decision-making model which predicts changes in the levels of rejection in direct relation to the number of relevant attributes shared between host and parasite eggs.
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Spectral tuning and perceptual differences do not explain the rejection of brood parasitic eggs by American robins ( Turdus migratorius )
TL;DR: The research combined avian visual perceptual modeling and behavioral experimentation to investigate chromatic cues eliciting parasitic egg rejection in American robins, and suggests that robins respond specifically to parasitism by cowbirds, despite an apparent lack of sensory tuning toward the detection of the background color of cowbird eggs.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Arms races between and within species.
Richard Dawkins,John R. Krebs +1 more
TL;DR: The arms race concept is suggested to help to resolve three long-standing questions in evolutionary theory: one lineage may drive the other to extinction, one may reach an optimum, thereby preventing the other from doing so, and both sides may reach a mutual local optimum.
Journal ArticleDOI
Receptor noise as a determinant of colour thresholds.
Misha Vorobyev,Daniel Osorio +1 more
TL;DR: Spectral sensitivities, measured under bright conditions, for di–, tri–, and tetrachromatic eyes from a range of animals can be modelled by assuming that thresholds are set by colour opponency mechanisms whose performance is limited by photoreceptor noise, the achromatic signal being disregarded.
Book
Cuckoos, cowbirds and other cheats
Nicholas B. Davies,David Quinn +1 more
TL;DR: This book discusses the co-evolution of host defences and Common Cuckoo trickery, as well as one hundred species of brood parasitic birds and some puzzles.
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Cuckoos versus reed warblers: Adaptations and counteradaptations
TL;DR: Reed warblers did not discriminate against unlike chicks (another species) and did not favour either a cuckoo chick or their own chicks when these were placed in two nests side by side and experiments showed that host discrimination selects for egg mimicry by cuckoos.