Animal populations,with a known history of introduction events,provide opportunities to study the dynamics of how rapid shi s in ecological context a ect behavioral(e.g.,responses to brood parasitism) and life-history...Animal populations,with a known history of introduction events,provide opportunities to study the dynamics of how rapid shi s in ecological context a ect behavioral(e.g.,responses to brood parasitism) and life-history(e.g.,clutch and egg parameters) traits.We studied the European Green nch(Carduelis chloris) introduced to New Zealand,regarding foreign-egg rejection behaviors and also compared their clutch characteristics with data from the source populations in the United Kingdom.Although previously this species had been considered an unsuitable host for the Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus),and not impacted by selection pressure associated with brood parasitism,we found that Green nches in our study population were able to eject experimental eggs at low frequencies.In contrast,nest desertion rates were similar in experimentally parasitized and control unmanipulated nests,implying that nest desertion is not an antiparasite adaptation in this species.Contrary to previous studies,we did not nd signi cant di erences in clutch and egg sizes between introduced and source populations.is study emphasizes(1) the importance of using control treatments in studies of host responses to experimental parasitism,(2) including apparently unsuitable hosts of brood parasites,and(3) meta-replicating prior studies to further the process of gaining and validating scienti c knowledge.展开更多
基金supported by Human Frontier Science Program awards (RGY69/07 to TG,PC,and MEH and RGY86/12 to TG and MEH)
文摘Animal populations,with a known history of introduction events,provide opportunities to study the dynamics of how rapid shi s in ecological context a ect behavioral(e.g.,responses to brood parasitism) and life-history(e.g.,clutch and egg parameters) traits.We studied the European Green nch(Carduelis chloris) introduced to New Zealand,regarding foreign-egg rejection behaviors and also compared their clutch characteristics with data from the source populations in the United Kingdom.Although previously this species had been considered an unsuitable host for the Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus),and not impacted by selection pressure associated with brood parasitism,we found that Green nches in our study population were able to eject experimental eggs at low frequencies.In contrast,nest desertion rates were similar in experimentally parasitized and control unmanipulated nests,implying that nest desertion is not an antiparasite adaptation in this species.Contrary to previous studies,we did not nd signi cant di erences in clutch and egg sizes between introduced and source populations.is study emphasizes(1) the importance of using control treatments in studies of host responses to experimental parasitism,(2) including apparently unsuitable hosts of brood parasites,and(3) meta-replicating prior studies to further the process of gaining and validating scienti c knowledge.
