Seasonal increase in nest defense,but not egg rejection,in a cuckoo host

The interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts provide an informative and easy-to-handle system for studying coevolution.Avian brood parasitism reduces the reproductive success of hosts,and thus,hosts have evolved anti-parasitic strategies,such as rejecting parasitic eggs and adopting aggressive nest defense strategies,to avoid the cost brought on by brood parasitism.To test whether host anti-parasitic strategies are adjusted with the risk of being parasitized when the breeding seasons of brood parasites and hosts are not synchronous,we conducted a field experiment assessing nest defense and egg recognition behaviors of the Isabelline Shrike(Lanius isabellinus),a host of the Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus).In the local area,the host Isabelline Shrike begins to breed in April,whereas the summer migratory Common Cuckoo migrates to the local area in May and begins to lay parasitic eggs.Results showed that nest defense behaviors of the Isabelline Shrike increases significantly after cuckoo arrival,showing higher aggressiveness to cuckoo dummies,with no significant difference in attack rates among cuckoo,sparrowhawk and dove dummies,but their egg rejection did not change significantly.These results imply that Isabelline Shrikes may adjust their nest defense behavior,but not egg rejection behavior,with seasonality.

Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus)nestlings adapt their begging behavior to the host signal system

Common Cuckoos(Cuculus canorus)dependent on parental care for post-hatching demonstrate an intriguing ability to modify their begging vocalizations to ensure maximum care and resources from their interspecific foster parents.Here,we compared begging calls of the Common Cuckoo nestlings fed by four host species,the Grey Bushchat(Saxicola ferreus),Siberian Stonechat(Saxicola maurus),Daurian Redstart(Phoenicurus auroreus),and Oriental Magpie-robin(Copsychus saularis).Results showed that begging calls of the stonechat-,redstart-,and robin-cuckoo resemble those of host species'nestlings in various aspects like low frequency,high frequency,frequency bandwidth and peak frequency,while the bushchat-cuckoo chicks'begging calls were only comparable to their host species in terms of how long they lasted and their peak frequency.In addition,cuckoo nestlings raised in different host nests displayed significant variations in their begging calls in low and peak frequency.This study suggests that cuckoo nestlings do not mimic host species nestlings'begging calls throughout the nestling period,but may tune their begging calls according to host species,while begging calls vary with cuckoo and host species nestlings'ages.Future research should study the parents'reactions to these calls in different host species for a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying such adaptations.

Do brood parasitic Common Cuckoos develop brood patches during the breeding season?

Many birds develop brood patches on their ventral apterium under hormonal regulation to effectively transmit body heat to eggs during incubation.The developed patch has several characteristics,including de-feathering,vascularization,and edema.However,little is known about whether avian brood parasites that do not incubate their eggs exhibit brood patch development during the breeding season.In this study,we measured the size of the ventral apterium in 114 Common Cuckoos(Cuculus canorus)captured in the field throughout the breeding season and examined the appearance of the ventral apterium to confirm the development of brood patches.We also examined whether morphological traits and various factors correlated with the size of the ventral apterium(sternal apterium and abdominal apterium)and how it changed during the breeding season.We found no clear signs of brood patch development in Common Cuckoos captured throughout the breeding season,indicating that they likely did not develop brood patches on the ventral apterium during this period.We also found that ventral apterium size was positively correlated with wing length and body weight.In addition,Common Cuckoos with newly growing feathers on the boundary of the ventral apterium with pteryla were frequently observed as seasons progressed to the end.In conclusion,Common Cuckoos exhibit neither brood patch development nor the vestigial characteristics of ancestral brood patches,except for the growth of feathers on boundary the ventral apterium.Further studies examining brood patches across different groups of avian brood parasites are valuable for enhancing our understanding of the developmental and physiological adaptations of avian brood parasites.

Oriental Reed Warblers do not abandon Common Cuckoo chicks during prolonged nestling periods

The Oriental Reed Warbler(Acrocephalus orientalis)is one of the most commonly used hosts for the parasitic Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus).However,as hosts that feed unrelated parasitic nestlings may suffer extra reproductive costs,they may be less willing to care for nestlings that have prolonged nestling periods.To test this hypothesis,the duration of feeding by Oriental Reed Warblers under natural conditions for their own nestlings was compared with the duration of feeding under natural conditions for Common Cuckoo nestlings and for artificially prolonged cuckoo nestlings.The results showed that Oriental Reed Warblers did not starve,drive away,or desert any of the nestlings in the experiment,and neither parent was left alone.Our experimental study indicates that both Oriental Reed Warbler parents were willing to care for nestlings with a prolonged nestling period(up to 30 days,twice the average duration time that the Oriental Reed Warblers fed their own chicks in natural conditions).However,further experiments and observations are required in other host bird species to examine whether both parents or one of the parents may exhibit the behavior of abandoning nestlings with a prolonged nestling period.

Adaptive allocation strategy for cooperatively jamming netted radar system based on improved cuckoo search algorithm

The jamming resource allocation problem of the aircraft formation cooperatively jamming netted radar system is investigated.An adaptive allocation strategy based on dynamic adaptive discrete cuckoo search algorithm(DADCS)is proposed,whose core is to adjust allocation scheme of limited jamming resource of aircraft formation in real time to maintain the best jamming effectiveness against netted radar system.Firstly,considering the information fusion rules and different working modes of the netted radar system,a two-factor jamming effectiveness evaluation function is constructed,detection probability and aiming probability are adopted to characterize jamming effectiveness against netted radar system in searching and tracking mode,respectively.Then a nonconvex optimization model for cooperatively jamming netted radar system is established.Finally,a dynamic adaptive discrete cuckoo search algorithm(DADCS)is constructed by improving path update strategies and introducing a global learning mechanism,and a three-step solution method is proposed subsequently.Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed optimization strategy and the effectiveness of the improved algorithm.

Application of a Parallel Adaptive Cuckoo Search Algorithm in the Rectangle Layout Problem

The meta-heuristic algorithm is a global probabilistic search algorithm for the iterative solution.It has good performance in global optimization fields such as maximization.In this paper,a new adaptive parameter strategy and a parallel communication strategy are proposed to further improve the Cuckoo Search(CS)algorithm.This strategy greatly improves the convergence speed and accuracy of the algorithm and strengthens the algorithm’s ability to jump out of the local optimal.This paper compares the optimization performance of Parallel Adaptive Cuckoo Search(PACS)with CS,Parallel Cuckoo Search(PCS),Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO),Sine Cosine Algorithm(SCA),Grey Wolf Optimizer(GWO),Whale Optimization Algorithm(WOA),Differential Evolution(DE)and Artificial Bee Colony(ABC)algorithms by using the CEC-2013 test function.The results show that PACS algorithmoutperforms other algorithms in 20 of 28 test functions.Due to the superior performance of PACS algorithm,this paper uses it to solve the problem of the rectangular layout.Experimental results show that this scheme has a significant effect,and the material utilization rate is improved from89.5%to 97.8%after optimization.

A novel method to collect sperm from brood parasitic cuckoos:Urodeum stimulation(UroS)method

Sperm competition has been studied in numerous species as a representative example of postcopulatory sexual selection,where sampling sperm from male is the most basic and important step.Sperm collection can be tricky in birds,however,because unlike mammals,the genitals of birds are generally latent in the cloacal region and their characteristics vary among species.Various methods to collect sperm from different birds have been tested,such as cloacal massage,feces collection,and electro-stimulation,but their applicability varies depending on species.In this study,we introduced the urodeum stimulation method(UroS method)to collect sperm from Cuculus cuckoos,such as the Common Cuckoo(C.canorus).These species are expected to have interesting patterns of pair bonding and sperm competition because of their unique breeding strategy called brood parasitism;however,it remains unexplored.In this study,we described the application of our new method to expel semen from male common cuckoos,measured the volume of semen collected,checked the presence of sperm in the semen sample,and finally estimated its success rate among 82 males.Samples were successfully collected from 76 cuckoos(approximately 93%)and the colors and volumes of the samples were very diverse.Sperm was present in 43 of these samples(57%),showing a sperm observation rate approximately twice as high as that of the conventional cloacal massage method.We believe that this novel method will contribute to a better understanding of postcopulatory sexual selection in avian brood parasites and facilitate the process of sperm collection and artificial insemination in other medium-sized birds.

Cuckoo search algorithm-based optimal deployment method of heterogeneous multistatic radar for barrier coverage

This paper proposes an optimal deployment method of heterogeneous multistatic radars to construct arc barrier coverage with location restrictions.This method analyzes and proves the properties of different deployment patterns in the optimal deployment sequence.Based on these properties and considering location restrictions,it introduces an optimization model of arc barrier coverage and aims to minimize the total deployment cost of heterogeneous multistatic radars.To overcome the non-convexity of the model and the non-analytical nature of the objective function,an algorithm combining integer line programming and the cuckoo search algorithm(CSA)is proposed.The proposed algorithm can determine the number of receivers and transmitters in each optimal deployment squence to minimize the total placement cost.Simulations are conducted in different conditions to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Artificial Bee Colony with Cuckoo Search for Solving Service Composition

In recent years,cloud computing has provided a Software As A Service(SaaS)platform where the software can be reused and applied to fulfill compli-cated user demands according to specific Quality of Services(QoS)constraints.The user requirements are formulated as a workflow consisting of a set of tasks.However,many services may satisfy the functionality of each task;thus,searching for the composition of the optimal service while maximizing the QoS is formulated as an NP-hard problem.This work will introduce a hybrid Artificial Bee Colony(ABC)with a Cuckoo Search(CS)algorithm to untangle service composition problem.The ABC is a well-known metaheuristic algorithm that can be applied when dealing with different NP-hard problems with an outstanding record of performance.However,the ABC suffers from a slow convergence problem.Therefore,the CS is used to overcome the ABC’s limitations by allowing the abandoned bees to enhance their search and override the local optimum.The proposed hybrid algorithm has been tested on 19 datasets and then compared with two standard algorithms(ABC and CS)and three state-of-the-art swarm-based composition algorithms.In addition,extensive parameter study experiments were conducted to set up the proposed algorithm’s parameters.The results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the standard algorithms in the three comparison criteria(bestfitness value,averagefitness value,and average execution time)overall datasets in 30 different runs.Furthermore,the proposed algorithm also exhibits better performance than the state–of–the–art algorithms in the three comparison criteria over 30 different runs.

Ensuring Information Security in Electronic Health Record System Using Cryptography and Cuckoo Search Algorithm

In the contemporary era,the abundant availability of health information through internet and mobile technology raises concerns.Safeguarding and maintaining the confidentiality of patients’medical data becomes paramount when sharing such information with authorized healthcare providers.Although electronic patient records and the internet have facilitated the exchange of medical information among healthcare providers,concerns persist regarding the security of the data.The security of Electronic Health Record Systems(EHRS)can be improved by employing the Cuckoo Search Algorithm(CS),the SHA-256 algorithm,and the Elliptic Curve Cryptography(ECC),as proposed in this study.The suggested approach involves usingCS to generate the ECCprivate key,thereby enhancing the security of data storage in EHR.The study evaluates the proposed design by comparing encoding and decoding times with alternative techniques like ECC-GA-SHA-256.The research findings indicate that the proposed design achieves faster encoding and decoding times,completing 125 and 175 iterations,respectively.Furthermore,the proposed design surpasses other encoding techniques by exhibiting encoding and decoding times that are more than 15.17%faster.These results imply that the proposed design can significantly enhance the security and performance of EHRs.Through the utilization of CS,SHA-256,and ECC,this study presents promising methods for addressing the security challenges associated with EHRs.

车联网环境下基于Cuckoo过滤器的轻量V 2 I认证算法

基于假名认证机制是保护车与路边设施间通信(V2I)隐私的有效方法,传统的基于证书撤销清单(CRL)方法存在通信和计算开销大的问题。为此,提出基于布谷鸟(Cuckoo)过滤器的轻量V2I认证算法(CFLA)。CFLA算法通过局部信任中心(LTA)给其覆盖内的车辆分配假名,并利用Merkle散列树(MHT)存储车辆假名,每辆车维持一棵独立MHT。同时,采用布谷鸟过滤器(CF)数据结构,降低存储、计算和通信开销。安全性能分析表明,提出的CFLA算法能够具有防御中间攻击、重放攻击的能力。相比于相关的同类算法,CFLA算法降低了认证开销。

PDM中基于cuckoo filter的数据完整性校验算法设计与实现

为满足PDM海量数据存储与高并发访问要求,构建基于企业私有云的PDM系统成为未来的必然选择。现有文件系统数据完整性校验算法多是基于RSA公钥密码技术,但这种技术突出问题是需要大量的模指数运算,其计算开销较大,尤其在大数据存储的条件下。针对PDM文件的大数据校验和数据动态性问题,提出基于cuckoo filter的数据完整性校验算法,以cuckoo filter作为校验标签存储结构,将基于哈希算法中的校验哈希值进行压缩,在满足PDM动态数据校验要求的前提下,实现轻量级的完整性校验。最后论证了该方案的安全性,并通过性能分析和实验验证了该方法是高效可行的。

Structural reliability analysis using enhanced cuckoo search algorithm and artificial neural network

The present study proposed an enhanced cuckoo search(ECS) algorithm combined with artificial neural network(ANN) as the surrogate model to solve structural reliability problems. In order to enhance the accuracy and convergence rate of the original cuckoo search(CS) algorithm, the main parameters namely, abandon probability of worst nests paand search step sizeα0 are dynamically adjusted via nonlinear control equations. In addition, a global-best guided equation incorporating the information of global best nest is introduced to the ECS to enhance its exploitation. Then, the proposed ECS is linked to the well-trained ANN model for structural reliability analysis. The computational capability of the proposed algorithm is validated using five typical structural reliability problems and an engineering application. The comparison results show the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed algorithm.

Brood parasitism on the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia) by the Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) in an artificial nestbox in Beijing

The artificial nestbox on an Asian White Birch (Betula platyphylla) (1360 m in elevation) was used by a pair of Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia) in Beijing, and five eggs were found in the nest in 2005. One was much larger and was identified as the Oriental Cuckoo’s (Cuculus optatus) egg.

Potential cuckoo hosts have similar egg rejection rates to parasitized host species

Background:Thrush species are rarely parasitized by cuckoos,but many have a strong egg recognition ability.To date,there is a limited understanding of the relationship between host egg rejection and cuckoo parasitism rate.Methods:By using egg experiments in the field,we compared egg rejection between two non‑parasitized potential host species and two parasitized hosts of cuckoos in the same region.Results:The White‑bellied Redstart(Luscinia phoenicuroides),a host of the Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus),rejected 66.6%of blue model eggs;the Elliot’s Laughingthrush(Trochalopteron elliotii),a host of the Large Hawk Cuckoo(Hierococcyx sparverioides),rejected 25%of blue model eggs and 46.1%of white model eggs;and the Chestnut Thrush(Turdus rubrocanus)and the Chinese Thrush(T.mupinensis),in which cuckoo parasitism has not been recorded,rejected 41.1 and 83.3%of blue model eggs,respectively.There were no significant differences in the egg rejection among them,although the Chinese Thrush showed the highest rate of egg rejection.Conclusions:This study indicates that the egg recognition ability of cuckoo hosts has no correlation with the actual parasitism rate of cuckoos.We suggest that the egg recognition ability of the two potential host species may have been retained from a parasitic history with the cuckoo,while the two common host species have developed their egg rejection abilities due to current parasitism pressure.In addition,our study highlights the importance of the multicuckoo parasite system for better understanding the selection pressure of parasitism on the evolution of host egg recognition abilities.

Species identification of sympatric cuckoo nestlings in a multiple-cuckoo system,China

Interaction between a parasite and its host could lead to a co-evolutionary arms race. Cuckoo-host system is among the most studied of all brood parasite systems, but the cuckoos of Asia, on the other hand, are much less well known. China has the most abundant cuckoo species in Asia. Many of these co-occur in sympatric areas, posing a potential risk of mis-identification of cuckoo nestlings, especially in Cuculus species. In this study we have provided a practical criterion to identify cuckoo nestlings species in the field and performed molecular phylogeny to confirm our empirical results. These results indicate that two distinct characteristics of cuckoo nestlings, i.e., the gape color pattern and feather traits can be considered as reliable species identification. To our knowledge, this is the first report for species identification of Cuculus nestlings through molecular analysis.

Linking individual attributes and host specialization in brood parasitic cuckoos

Generalist avian brood parasites vary considerably in their degree of host specialization(e.g.,number of hosts);some parasitize the nests of just a few host species,whereas others exploit more than 100 species.Several factors,including habitat range,habitat type,and geographic location,have been suggested to account for these variations.However,inter-specific differences in individual attributes,such as personality and plasticity,have rarely been considered as potential factors of such variation,despite their potential relationship to,for example,range expansion.Using cage experiments,we tested the hypothesis that parasitic species exploiting more host species may be more active and exploratory.To this end,we quantified behaviors exhibited by two Cuculus cuckoos(Common Cuckoo C.canorus and Oriental Cuckoo C.optatus)that vary greatly in their number of host species.Specifically,we evaluated exploratory behavior displayed by birds in the cage,such as the number of movements,head-turning,wing-flapping,and stepping.The Common Cuckoo,which has a higher number of host species,tended to exhibit higher levels of exploratory behaviors than the Oriental Cuckoo.Our study showed that the two cuckoo species exhibited different exploratory levels,as predicted by the differences in their number of hosts.Further studies regarding the causality between individual attributes and host specialization with improved experimental methodology would greatly enhance our understanding of the role of individual characteristics in the coevolution of avian brood parasites and their hosts.

Modified Cuckoo Search Algorithm to Solve Economic Power Dispatch Optimization Problems

A modified cuckoo search(CS) algorithm is proposed to solve economic dispatch(ED) problems that have nonconvex, non-continuous or non-linear solution spaces considering valve-point effects, prohibited operating zones, transmission losses and ramp rate limits. Comparing with the traditional cuckoo search algorithm, we propose a self-adaptive step size and some neighbor-study strategies to enhance search performance.Moreover, an improved lambda iteration strategy is used to generate new solutions. To show the superiority of the proposed algorithm over several classic algorithms, four systems with different benchmarks are tested. The results show its efficiency to solve economic dispatch problems, especially for large-scale systems.

Parameter estimation for chaotic systems using the cuckoo search algorithm with an orthogonal learning method

We study the parameter estimation of a nonlinear chaotic system,which can be essentially formulated as a multidimensional optimization problem.In this paper,an orthogonal learning cuckoo search algorithm is used to estimate the parameters of chaotic systems.This algorithm can combine the stochastic exploration of the cuckoo search and the exploitation capability of the orthogonal learning strategy.Experiments are conducted on the Lorenz system and the Chen system.The proposed algorithm is used to estimate the parameters for these two systems.Simulation results and comparisons demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is better or at least comparable to the particle swarm optimization and the genetic algorithm when considering the quality of the solutions obtained.

Hawk mimicry does not reduce attacks of cuckoos by highly aggressive hosts

Background: Resemblance to raptors such as hawks(Accipiter spp.) is considered to be an adaptive strategy of cuckoos(Cuculus spp.), which has evolved to protect cuckoos against host attacks. However, the effectiveness of the mimicry remains controversial, and is not yet fully studied for highly aggressive hosts.Methods: We evaluated the effectiveness of sparrowhawk(Accipiter nisus) mimicry by common cuckoos(Cuculus canorus) in oriental reed warblers(Acrocephaus orientalis), which are highly aggressive hosts. Using a both the single and the paired dummy experiment, defense behaviors and attack intensities of oriental reed warblers against common cuckoos, sparrowhawks and oriental turtle doves(Streptopelia orientalis) were assessed.Results: Oriental reed warblers exhibit strong nest defense behaviors, and such behaviors do not change with breeding stage(i.e., egg stage and nestling stage). Furthermore, assistance from conspecific helpers may increase attack intensities. However, they were deterred from mobbing overall by the presence of the hawk.Conclusions: Oriental reed warblers are able to distinguish cuckoos from harmless doves. However, they may be deterred from mobbing by the presence of the predatory hawk, suggesting hawk mimicry may be ineffective and does not reduce attacks of cuckoos by highly aggressive hosts.