Why is mimicry in cuckoo eggs sometimes so poor?

被引:36
作者
Grim, T [1 ]
机构
[1] Palacky Univ, Ornithol Lab, Tv Svobody 26, Olomouc, Czech Republic
关键词
D O I
10.1034/j.1600-048X.2002.330312.x
中图分类号
Q95 [动物学];
学科分类号
071002 ;
摘要
I propose that the existence of imperfect adaptations (e.g. egg mimicry) in brood parasites and their hosts (e.g. discrimination abilities) could reflect age-dependent territory and nest-site selection patterns of the host. Studies of various passerines indicate that (1) older breeders tend to occupy nest sites of higher quality than do young birds (ideal despotic distribution resulting from interference competition), (2) nest-site selection affects the risk of parasitism in various habitats, (3) egg recognition in passerines has a strong learning component (therefore naive breeders tend to accept whereas older birds tend to reject parasitic eggs). Because young naive birds, who tend to accept parasitic eggs, usually breed in low-quality areas where they are frequently parasitised, while old experienced birds, who tend to reject parasitic eggs, breed in high-quality areas where they are rarely parasitised, the distribution of acceptors and rejecters with respect to the risk of parasitism is non-random, i.e. populations of some host species may consist of heavily parasitised acceptors and weakly parasitised rejecters. Therefore, the selection pressure exerted by the host on the parasite should be weaker than if brood parasitism was randomly distributed among naive and experienced breeders and affect adaptations such as egg mimicry. This could explain the existence of imperfect adaptations in some brood parasite-host systems.
引用
收藏
页码:302 / 305
页数:4
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