Common cuckoo Cuculus canorus parasitism, antiparasite defence and gene flow in closely located populations of great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus
Author
Summary, in English
In Hungary an unusually high rate of parasitism on the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus by the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has been maintained for at least the last one hundred years. We evaluated parasitism rate, antiparasite defence and genetic differentiation among Hungarian great reed warblers at three sites located 40-130 km from each other, where hosts suffered from a high (41-68%), moderate (11%), and almost no (< 1%) parasitism. We were especially interested in whether the level of antiparasite defence was related to the local parasitism rate, and, if not, to understand why. There was no difference among the three sites in the responses to experimental parasitism by non-mimetic model cuckoo eggs (rejection rate 71-82%), which can be explained by strong gene flow between populations: there was low level of philopatry and no genetic differentiation in the region. Reproductive success of the host in the heavily parasitised site was about 54% of that in the unparasitised site, indicating that long-term persistence of host populations in highly exploited areas depends on continuous immigration.
Department/s
Publishing year
2008
Language
English
Pages
663-671
Publication/Series
Journal of Avian Biology
Volume
39
Issue
6
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Topic
- Biological Sciences
Status
Published
Project
- Long-term study of great reed warblers
Research group
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0908-8857