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Partial host fidelity in nest selection by the shiny cowbird ( Molothrus bonariensis ), a highly generalist avian brood parasite
Author(s) -
MAHLER B.,
CONFALONIERI V. A.,
LOVETTE I. J.,
REBOREDA J. C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01373.x
Subject(s) - cowbird , brood parasite , biology , generalist and specialist species , nest (protein structural motif) , host (biology) , selection (genetic algorithm) , brood , parasite hosting , ecology , zoology , parasitism , fidelity , evolutionary biology , habitat , biochemistry , engineering , artificial intelligence , world wide web , computer science , electrical engineering
Obligate avian brood parasites can be host specialists or host generalists. In turn, individual females within generalist brood parasites may themselves be host specialists or generalists. The shiny cowbird Molothrus bonariensis is an extreme generalist, but little is known about individual female host fidelity. We examined variation in mitochondrial control region sequences from cowbird chicks found in nests of four common Argentinean hosts. Haplotype frequency distributions differed among cowbird chicks from nests of these hosts, primarily because eggs laid in nests of house wrens Troglodytes aedon differed genetically from those laid in nests of the other three hosts (chalk‐browed mockingbird Mimus saturninus , brown‐and‐yellow marshbird Pseudoleistes virescens , and rufous‐collared sparrow Zonotrichia capensis ). These differences in a maternally inherited marker indicate the presence of a nonrandom laying behaviour in the females of this otherwise generalist brood parasite, which may be guided by choice for nest type, as house wrens nest in cavities whereas the other three species are open cup nesters.