Non-learned defenses in naïve populations of songbirds
The hooded warbler (
Wilsonia citrine ), a bird that has relatively recently become a target of parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds, is significantly more responsive to stuffed cowbirds than to the stuffed veeries (
Catharus fuscescens ). Even young, naïve breeders were able to differentiate between the cowbird threat and the harmless veery, and this ability did not vary with the age of the birds. This suggests that the basis for determining the cowbird threat is not learned since age and experience seem to play no part in recognition of cowbirds, but is instead based primarily on a non-learned, genetic component. Given the short time in which the bird has served as host to cowbirds, it is likely that non-learned behavior has evolved quickly as a defense. If such behavior is sufficient to ward off parasites, then learning to differentiate between eggs may not even be necessary.
Discussion questions:
Explain the meaning of each word in the term “obligate interspecific brood parasite.”
What is the difference between a generalist and a specialist brood parasite?
Why is the concept of coevolution important for understanding avian brood parasitism?
How have imprinting experiments demonstrated learning among host birds?
What is an explanation for rejection behavior that is not based on learning through experience?
Explain a situation in which parasitic birds have been known to exploit defensive imprinting.
Describe how experimenters have shown unlearned defensive strategies against parasitism.
Explain how costs and benefits affect whether birds adopt an acceptor or rejecter strategy.
What is the response of birds to different levels of intraclutch variation, and why is this adaptive?
How do levels of parasitism affect adopted acceptor/rejecter strategies?
Explain how the Mafia Hypothesis explains the importance of cost in rejection decisions by hosts.
How do levels of parasitism affect the selection for learning-based defenses?
Glossary
acceptor - In terms of avian brood parasitism, a strategy of response to foreign eggs in which a species always accepts parasitic eggs. This usually occurs when the cost of mistaken recognition and rejection are high, so it is more advantageous to accept all eggs.
rejecter - In terms of avian brood parasitism, a strategy of response to foreign eggs in which a species attempts to distinguish parasitic eggs from its own eggs and then reject them. In cases where the risk of mistake are low, such as in species with low intraclutch variation, learning to reject foreign eggs is favored even at low levels of parasitism.
obligate interspecific brood parasite - A species of bird that must parasitize nests of other species in order to reproduce. Brood parasites fool host birds into accepting their eggs and then raising the young as their own.
passerine - A member of the order Passeriformes, which comprises a number of small perching birds. This group makes up a majority of bird species.
coevolution - a system of interactions in which multiple parties exert selective forces upon each other and drive each other’s evolution.
mimicry - an imitation of something for purposes of protection or deception. In this context, parasitic birds have varying levels of egg mimicry; while cuckoos can have highly mimetic eggs, cowbird eggs can be extremely different from their hosts.
acceptance threshold - the point at which eggs satisfy a host bird’s criteria for “self” eggs and are accepted
intraclutch - characteristic of eggs that were laid in the same clutch. For example, intraclutch variation refers to the extent to which eggs laid in one clutch vary from each other.
mafia hypothesis - Sometimes, when hosts reject eggs, the parasitic birds return to depredate nests. The cost prompts some hosts to adopt an acceptor approach as it is better to accept a few parasitic chicks than to lose everything.
generalist - In this context, a species of bird that parasitizes many different species of hosts, such as the brown cowbird.
specialist - In this context, a species of bird that parasitizes specific hosts. The common cuckoo’s females each specialize on a certain species of host, though each female’s preference may be different.
evolutionary lag hypothesis - Hypothesis on why some birds in a species adopt acceptor strategies while others adopt rejecter strategies. It states that rejection is always adaptive but the behavior may not yet have had enough time to become fixed within the species, which is why some will still accept parasitic eggs.
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About the author
Mary Mao grew up as the daughter of immigrants in the small town of Oxford, Mississippi. It was in this rural setting that she was first exposed to wildlife in the surrounding woods and forests and became interested in the ecosystems in which local fauna and flora. She now resides in Houston, Texas as an undergraduate at Rice University majoring in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and hopes to attend medical school after graduation in spring 2010.
