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63 results for “nest parasitism”
Chickadee breeding and parasite survey from Boulder, Sugarloaf, and MRS nest boxes, 2019 - 2021.
Between the years 2019 and 2021 chickadees were sampled at the NWT LTER as part of a broader study encompassing multiple projects (The Boulder Chickadee Study). Here we provide data on the presence of infections with haemosporidian parasites for Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and Mountain Chickadees (P. gambeli). Haemosporidian parasites are a diverse group of apicomplexans that infect vertebrate hosts during a portion of their life cycle (Valkiunas, G. 2004). We screened chickadees for infections with three haemosporidian genera: Leucocytozoon, Plasmodium, and Haemoproteus using a nested PCR protocol (Hellgren et al. 2004). Both nestlings and adults were screened for parasites in 2019 and 2020 but we only screened adults in 2021. Chickadees sampled at NWT LTER did not have detectable infections with Haemoproteus or Plasmodium, however, we found multiple infections with Leucocytozoon. In conjunction with findings at other field sites, infections with Leucocytozoon parasites appear more common for adult chickadees sampled at higher elevation, while Plasmodium parasites were almost exclusively found in the city of Boulder (Theodosopoulos et al. 2023).
Data for: Termite nest evolution fostered social parasitism by termitophilous rove beetles
<p>Colonies of social insects contain large amounts of resources often exploited by specialized social parasites. While some termite species host numerous parasitic arthropod species, called termitophiles, others host none. The reason for this large variability remains unknown. Here we report that the evolution of termitophily in rove beetles is linked to termite nesting strategies. We compared one-piece nesters, whose entire colony life is completed within a single wood piece, to foraging species, which exploit multiple physically separated food sources. Our epidemiological model predicts that characteristics related to foraging (e.g., extended colony longevity and frequent interactions with other colonies) increase the probability of parasitism by termitophiles. We tested our prediction using literature data. We found that foraging species are more likely to host termitophilous rove beetles than one-piece nesters: 99.6% of known termitophilous species were associated with foraging termites, while 0.4% were associated with one-piece nesters. Notably, the few one-piece nesting species hosting termitophiles were those having foraging potential and access to soil. Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed that termitophily primarily evolved with foraging termites. These results highlight that the evolution of complex termite societies fostered social parasitism, explaining why some species have more social parasites than others.</p>
Brood parasites that care: alternative nesting tactics in a subsocial wasp
<div> <p>Hosts and brood parasites are a classic example of conflict. Parasites typically provide no offspring care after laying eggs, imposing costs on hosts. Female subsocial wasps, <em>Ammophila pubescens</em>, alternated between initiating their own nests and an 'intruder' tactic of replacing eggs in nests of unrelated conspecifics. Hosts could respond by substituting new eggs of their own, with up to eight reciprocal replacements. Remarkably, intruders usually provisioned offspring in host nests, often alongside hosts. We used field data to investigate why intruders provision and to understand the basis of interactions. We found that intruders could not increase their fitness payoffs by using the typical brood parasite tactic of not provisioning offspring. Intruders using the typical tactic would benefit when hosts provisioned in their stead, but their offspring would starve when hosts failed to provision. Although some hosts obtained positive payoffs when intruders mistakenly provisioned their offspring, on average utilizing a conspecific nest represents parasitism: hosts pay costs while intruders benefit. Both females used the same tactic of egg replacement, but intruders more often laid the final egg. Selection should favour better discrimination of offspring, which could lead to repeated cycles of costly egg replacement.</p> </div>
Wood duck nest survival and duckling recruitment is minimally affected by interspecific brood parasitism from hooded mergansers and black-bellied whistling-ducks
<p>In the southeastern United States, wood ducks (<em>Aix sponsa</em>) have historically experienced interspecific brood parasitism (IBP) primarily from hooded mergansers (<em>Lophodytes cucullatus</em>), but the recent northward expansion of black-bellied whistling-ducks (<em>Dendrocygna autumnalis</em>) has added a new complexity to these interactions. We monitored nest boxes in Louisiana to evaluate the influence IBP had on wood duck daily nest survival rate (after, DSR) and duckling recruitment. We monitored 1,295 wood duck nests from 2020−2023 and found 112 (8.7%) were parasitized by hooded mergansers and 148 (11.5%) by whistling-ducks. Parasitic egg-laying by hooded mergansers lowered wood duck DSR, while DSR for nests parasitized by whistling-ducks was comparable to clutches containing only wood duck eggs. We considered the wood duck capture histories of 2,465 marked female ducklings and 540 banded adult females to estimate a duckling recruitment probability for the entire study period. We recaptured 50 ducklings as adults; 6 (12.0%) hatched from clutches parasitized by hooded mergansers, 1 (2.0%) from a clutch parasitized by a whistling-duck, and 43 (86.0%) from clutches containing only wood duck eggs. The duckling recruitment probability was 0.039 (95% credible interval = 0.028, 0.051). Nest initiation date had a negative effect on recruitment, wherein most recruits hatched from nests initiated earlier in the season. Given only ~9% of wood duck nests contained hooded merganser eggs, we conclude IBP writ large had no detrimental effect on DSR at a population level. The lower DSR of clutches parasitized by hooded mergansers is potentially linked to a high abundance of early-season parasites that produce "dump nests" and these clutches are often abandoned without being incubated. Despite ongoing parasitism by hooded mergansers and the range expansion of whistling-ducks, wood duck productivity in Louisiana appears to be minimally affected by interspecific brood parasitism.</p>
Fig. 1 in Pufferfish nests vs. parasite hooks: A bizarre resemblance
Fig. 1. Two different views of a pupperfish nest is shown in a and c. A row of hooks of a Hymenolepis genus tapeworm can be observed in b, and one of Taenia in d. a,c: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWtmSoimhcM. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2017.03.005
Fig. 2. Predicted probabilities and 95 in Is it best on the nest? Effects of avian life-history on haemosporidian parasitism
Fig. 2. Predicted probabilities and 95% confidence intervals of haemosporidian parasitism (Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon). Expected prevalence illustrated according to haemosporidia genera; Plasmodium represented with "P" (a), Haemoproteus represented with "H" (b–c), Leucocytozoon represented with "L" (d–f). Note that in some instances symbol size exceeded the range of confidence intervals.
Fig. 4 in Experimental manipulation of cavity temperature produces differential effects on parasite abundances in blue tit nests at two different latitudes
Fig. 4. Differences in the body mass of adult blue tit males by heat treatment of nest boxes and locality. Means ± intervals of confidence at 95% are shown.
Fig. 2 in Experimental manipulation of cavity temperature produces differential effects on parasite abundances in blue tit nests at two different latitudes
Fig. 2. Blowfly pupae abundance observed in control and heated nests of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in both localities (Spain and Germany). The data presented was controlled for the locality and the interaction between locality and treatment. Means ± intervals of confidence at 95% are shown.
Fig. 3 in Experimental manipulation of cavity temperature produces differential effects on parasite abundances in blue tit nests at two different latitudes
Fig. 3. Differences in the abundance of Haemoproteus/Plasmodium in blue tit males by treatment and locality. Means ± intervals of confidence at 95% are shown.
Fig. 1 in Experimental manipulation of cavity temperature produces differential effects on parasite abundances in blue tit nests at two different latitudes
Fig. 1. Daily variation of temperature in nests of blue tits. Temperature is decreasing at 00:00 and lower values for the day are attained close to 8:00 h. Data from two different nests with nestling of 7 days old are represented from A) Spain and B) Germany.
Data for: Brood parasitism of Hooded Warblers by Brown-headed Cowbirds: Severe impact on individual nests but modest consequences for seasonal fecundity and conservation
<div> <div> <div> <div> <p>Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (<em>Molothrus ater</em>) often has pronounced negative effects on host nests. However, the extent to which parasitism reduces annual reproduction and presents conservation challenges for host species is unclear. We address this issue with data from a color-banded population of Hooded Warblers (<em>Setophaga citrina</em>) in Pennsylvania, where Hooded Warblers have increased dramatically despite frequent nest parasitism. Our analysis is based on both an extensive dataset (8 years, 847 nests) on the per-nest impacts of cowbird parasitism, and female-based stochastic simulations that accurately reflect the reproductive biology and parasitism rate (30%) of our study population. Cowbird parasitism has multiple negative consequences for Hooded Warbler nests, including: (1) reduced host clutch size, (2) increased nest abandonment, (3) increased risk of complete failure due to predation, and (4) in surviving nests increased egg loss, hatching failure, and nestling mortality. We estimate that parasitism reduces success of Hooded Warbler nests 68%, from 1.29 to 0.41 fledglings per nest. For females and populations, however, the consequences of nest parasitism are considerably less extreme; female annual fecundity decreases 25% for each nesting attempt parasitized, and population-level fecundity drops 5.6% for each 10% increase in the frequency of parasitism. These more modest impacts are attributable to: (1) steep declines in rates of cowbird parasitism as the nesting season progresses, (2) rapid re-nesting following abandonment or failure of parasitized nests, and (3) regular double brooding, with second broods initiated in late June and July when the incidence of cowbird parasitism is low. Our results help resolve the paradox of how cowbird parasitism can have both severe consequences for individual host nests but more modest and sustainable conservation impacts on the seasonal fecundity of females and populations. They further underscore the importance of determining population-level effects of brood parasites before investing in costly management efforts.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div>
Data for: Termite nest evolution fostered social parasitism by termitophilous rove beetles
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Wood duck nest survival and duckling recruitment is minimally affected by interspecific brood parasitism from hooded mergansers and black-bellied whistling-ducks
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Brood parasites that care: alternative nesting tactics in a subsocial wasp
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Data for: Brood parasitism of Hooded Warblers by Brown-headed Cowbirds: Severe impact on individual nests but modest consequences for seasonal fecundity and conservation
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Data from: Limited evidence of biased offspring sex allocation in a cavity-nesting conspecific brood parasite
<p>Sex allocation theory predicts that mothers should bias investment in offspring toward the sex that yields higher fitness returns; one such bias may be a skewed offspring-sex ratio. Sex allocation is well-studied in birds with cooperative breeding systems, with theory on local resource enhancement and production of helpers at the nest, but little theoretical or empirical work has focused on birds with brood parasitic breeding systems. Wood ducks (<em>Aix sponsa</em>) are conspecific brood parasites, and rates of parasitism appear to increase with density. Because female wood ducks show high natal philopatry and nest sites are often limiting, local resource competition (LRC) theory predicts that females should overproduce male offspring—the dispersing sex—when competition (density) is high. However, the unique features of conspecific brood parasitism generate alternative predictions from other sex allocation theories, which we develop and test here. We experimentally manipulated the nesting density of female wood ducks in four populations from 2013-2016 and analyzed the resulting sex allocation of >2000 ducklings. In contrast to predictions we did not find overproduction of male offspring by females in high-density populations, females in better condition, or parasitic females; modest support for LRC was found in overproduction of only female parasitic offspring with higher nest box availability. The lack of evidence for sex ratio biases, as expected for LRC and some aspects of brood parasitism, could reflect conflicting selection pressures from nest competition and brood parasitism, or that mechanisms of adaptive sex ratio bias are not possible.</p>
No evidence of adaptive tolerance of parasitism in a cavity-nesting brood parasite host
<p>Acceptance of avian brood parasitism by hosts is one of the most enigmatic aspects of brood parasite-host coevolution. The most common explanation for acceptance of parasitism by hosts of the brown-headed cowbird (<em>Molothrus ater</em>) is evolutionary lag, which suggests that hosts have not had enough time to evolve defenses against parasitism. Alternatively, acceptance may be the optimal strategy when the costs of rejecting parasitism exceed the benefits. The lack of nest site hypothesis applies to secondary cavity-nesting birds that cannot excavate their own nests and predicts that hosts accept parasitism instead of deserting a parasitized nest when there are no vacant nest sites available in which to renest. I tested this hypothesis using the prothonotary warbler (<em>Pronotaria citrea</em>), a commonly parasitized, cavity-nesting cowbird host. I used a paired nest box design and predicted that if hosts accept parasitism because of a lack of alternative nest sites, they should desert parasitized nests and renest in the vacant nest box on their territory. I recorded 37 cases where a nest was parasitized and warblers only deserted 2 parasitized nest boxes for a vacant nest box. Both desertions were attributable to factors other than parasitism and the rate of desertion did not differ from controls that only had a single nest box. Moreover, seven of the warblers initiated clutches in nest boxes that already contained cowbird egg despite having vacant nest boxes available on their territories. These results indicate that warblers do not accept parasitism because of tolerance, but likely due to evolutionary lag.</p>
Data from: The socially parasitic ant Polyergus mexicanus has host-associated genetic population structure and related neighboring nests
<p>The genetic structure of populations can be both a cause and a consequence of ecological interactions. For parasites, genetic structure may be a consequence of preferences for host species or of mating behavior. Conversely, genetic structure can determine where conspecific interactions among parasites lay on a spectrum from cooperation to conflict. We used microsatellite loci to characterize the genetic structure of a population of the socially parasitic dulotic (aka "slave-making") ant (<i>Polyergus mexicanus</i>), which is known for its host-specificity and conspecific aggression. First, we assessed whether the pattern of host species use by the parasite has influenced parasite population structure. We found that host species use was correlated with subpopulation structure, but this correlation was imperfect: some subpopulations used one host species exclusively, while others used several. Second, we examined the viscosity of the parasite population by measuring the relatedness of pairs of neighboring parasitic ant nests at varying distances from each other. Although natural history observations of local dispersal by queens suggested the potential for viscosity, there was no strong correlation between relatedness and distance between nests. However, 35% of nests had a closely related neighboring nest, indicating that kinship could potentially affect the nature of some interactions between nests of this social parasite. Our findings confirm that ecological forces like host species selection can shape the genetic structure of parasite populations, and that such genetic structure has the potential to influence parasite-parasite interactions in social parasites via inclusive fitness.</p>
Asian koels recognize the host, but not their nests, for brood parasitism
<p>Avian brood parasites depend upon finding host nests to lay their eggs. However, how brood parasites find the nests of their hosts and select the nests for parasitism remains mostly unresolved. Here, we examined how a non-evicting brood parasite, the Asian koel (<em>Eudynamys</em> <em>scolopaceus</em>) selects the hosts' nests to lay their eggs. We provided a novel habitat (nest box, n=100) to the Asian koel and its host, the common myna (<em>Acridotheres</em> <em>tristis</em>), at a field site in central Bangladesh. A total of 99 nests across 59 boxes were used by common mynas, of which 21.2% of these nests were parasitized by the Asian koel. Moreover, non-host species, the Oriental magpie robin (<em>Copsychus</em> <em>saularis</em>) (n=8) and jungle myna (<em>Acridotheres</em> <em>fuscus</em>) (n=6) also built nests in the boxes but none of these nests were parasitized. We found that active boxes were significantly more parasitized than inactive nest boxes. Among the active nest boxes, only common myna nests were parasitized by the Asian koel. We found a strong tendency for Asian koel selecting common myna nests more than the non-host species, Oriental magpie robin and jungle myna. Our results provide robust experimental support for the importance of host activity suggesting that Asian koels actively select occupied boxes. Our study shows support for the host imprinting hypothesis, where the Asian koel uses the host activity as a cue to search for potential nests, and then decide whether to parasitize.</p>
A solitary ground-nesting wasp truncates its parental investment in response to detection of parasites
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