Abstract
Higher interclutch colour variation can evolve under the pressure of brood parasitism to increase the detection of parasitic eggs. Nest sanitation could be a prerequisite for the evolution of anti-parasite defence in terms of egg ejection. In this respect, we used nest sanitation behaviour as a tool to identify: i) motivation and its underlying function and, ii) which features provoke ejection behaviour. Therefore, we experimentally tested whether size, colour or shape may influence ejection behaviour using artificial flat objects. We found a high interclutch variation in egg colouration and egg size in our tree sparrow (Passer montanus) population. Using colour and size we were in fact able to predict clutch affiliation for each egg. Our experiments further revealed the existence of direct anti-parasite behaviours and birds are able to recognise conspecific eggs, since only experimentally-deposited eggs have been removed. Moreover, experiments with different objects revealed that the motivation of tree sparrows to remove experimental objects from their nests was highest during egg laying for objects of varying size, most likely because of parasitism risk at this breeding stage. In contrary, motivation to remove white objects and objects with edges was higher during incubation stage as behavioural patterns connected to hatching started to emerge. The fact that rejection rate of our flat objects was higher than real egg ejection, suggests that egg ejection in tree sparrows and probably more general in small passerines, to be limited by elevated costs to eject eggs with their beaks. The presence of anti-parasite behaviour supports our suggestion that brood parasitism causes variation in egg features, as we have found that tree sparrows can recognise and reject conspecific eggs in their clutch. In conclusion, in tree sparrows it seems that nest sanitation plays a key role in the evolution of the removal of parasitic eggs.
Highlights
Brood parasitism is a reproductive tactic observed in many bird species where eggs are left under the parental care of the host parents [1,2,3]
We focused on conspecific brood parasitism in the cavity breeding tree sparrow (Passer montanus)
Our results reveal that in our tree sparrow population several prerequisites in response to conspecific brood parasitism do exist
Summary
Brood parasitism is a reproductive tactic observed in many bird species where eggs are left under the parental care of the host parents [1,2,3]. Some species recognise and eject conspecific eggs or eggs of brood parasites and in this way, significantly save fitness and energy costs. Hosts may move parasitic eggs to outer incubation positions [10], bury them in the nest material [11] or abandon the clutch and build a new nest [12,13,14]. Theoretical models suggest that, in general, egg ejection should be the superior anti-parasite strategy to nest abandonment, but increasing parasitism rates and increasing fitness values of host eggs may influence fitness payoffs in favour of nest abandonment [15]
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