Costs of brood parasitism and the lack of defenses on the yellow-winged blackbird - shiny cowbird system |
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Authors: | Viviana Massoni Juan Carlos Reboreda |
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Institution: | (1) Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental-CONICET, Vuelta de Obligado 2490, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina, AR;(2) Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina E-mail: massoni@bg.fcen.uba.ar, Fax: +(541)-782-0620, AR |
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Abstract: | The shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) is a generalist brood parasite that lays either white-immaculate or spotted egg morphs in eastern Argentina and Uruguay.
Some hosts accept both morphs, others accept spotted eggs and reject the white morph, but no host has been found to accept
white eggs and reject spotted ones. It has been suggested that the yellow-winged blackbird (Agelaius thilius) may be that type of host. The finding of a white acceptor-spotted rejector species would help to explain the occurrence
and maintenance of the parasite egg polymorphism. We studied the incidence of shiny cowbird parasitism on this host, its costs
for their reproductive success and the presence of antiparasitic defenses in the yellow-winged blackbird - shiny cowbird system.
The parasite affected the reproductive success of the host in two ways. Cowbirds punctured host eggs causing a reduction in
clutch size, and yellow-winged blackbirds deserted their nests whenever they suffered high egg loss. In addition, parasitized
nests suffered higher predation during the nestling stage, but not during egg stages, indicating that the difference found
was related to the presence of the cowbird chick, and not to higher exposure of parasitized nests to both parasites␣and predators.
Despite the costs imposed by the parasite, yellow-winged blackbirds have not evolved antiparasitic defenses. This host did
not reject any egg morph of the shiny cowbird nor desert parasitized nests unless it had suffered high egg loss. Current explanations
for the host lack of defenses, the “time lag” and the “equilibrium” hypothesis, are discussed.
Received: 29 August 1997 / Accepted after revision: 10 January 1998 |
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Keywords: | Brood parasitism Shiny cowbirds Yellow-winged blackbirds Molothrus bonariensis Agelaius thilius |
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