How small is too small? Incubation of large eggs by a small host

• Published in: Canadian journal of zoology Vol. 89; no. 10; pp. 968 - 975
• Main Authors: STEWART, Rebecca L. M, GUIGUENO, Mélanie F, SEALY, Spencer G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ottawa NRC Research Press 01.10.2011; National Research Council of Canada; Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal reproduction; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Aves; Biological and medical sciences; Birds; Body size; Coccyzus; Coccyzus erythropthalmus; Cowbirds; Cuckoos; Eggs; Embryonic development; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Habitats; Incubation; Parasites; Physiological aspects; Setophaga; Turdus migratorius; Vertebrata; Zoology; United States; Host parasite relation; Vertebrata; Acceptance; Egg; Social parasitism; Size; Host; Aves; Experimental study; Nest
• DOI: 10.1139/z11-066
• ISSN: 0008-4301; 1480-3283

The Yellow Warbler ( Setophaga petechia (L., 1766)) is among the putative hosts of the Black-billed Cuckoo ( Coccyzus erythropthalmus (Wilson, 1811)), which is hypothesized to have once been an obligate brood parasite. Most parasites lay a small egg relative to their body size, possibly to prevent hosts from discriminating against the larger egg and to facilitate incubation. We tested whether warblers, which lay eggs ~17% of the volume of cuckoo eggs, could have potentially been suitable hosts of Coccyzus cuckoos by determining whether they accept and successfully incubate cuckoo-sized eggs. Warblers accepted 63% (n = 54) of cuckoo-sized eggs added into their nests and successfully incubated eggs as large as cuckoo eggs (surrogate American Robin ( Turdus migratorius L., 1766) eggs). This suggests that the lower limit to host size is not just related to egg size. Warblers are not ideal hosts because they rejected a high frequency of experimental eggs (37%). Nests from which eggs were rejected tended to have smaller volumes than nests at which eggs were accepted. The nest cups of warblers are oval, which may promote egg crowding more than round cups. Factors such as nest size, not host size, influence acceptance or rejection of large eggs by Yellow Warblers.