This study was published in the prestigious journal Science last
month. The research undertaken by its first author, Will Feeney from
ANU, was supported in part by the Canberra Birds Conservation Fund
(CBCF) with a grant for his project titled 'The nature of coevolved
reciprocal adaptations prior to egg insertion by the parasite in the
host nest':
Feeney, WE, Medina, I, Somveille, M, Heinsohn, R, Hall, ML, Mulder,
RA, Stein, JA, Kilner, RM & Langmore, NE 2013, 'Brood parasitism
and the evolution of cooperative breeding in birds', Science,
vol. 342, no. 6165, pp. 1506-8.
The global distribution of cooperatively breeding birds
is highly uneven, with hotspots in Australasia and sub-Saharan
Africa. The ecological drivers of this distribution remain
enigmatic yet could yield insights into the evolution and
persistence of cooperative breeding. We report that the global
distributions of avian obligate brood parasites and cooperatively
breeding passerines are tightly correlated and that the uneven
phylogenetic distribution of cooperative breeding is associated
with the uneven targeting of hosts by brood parasites. With a
long-term field study, we show that brood parasites can acquire
superior care for their young by targeting cooperative breeders.
Conversely, host defenses against brood parasites are strengthened
by helpers at the nest. Reciprocally selected interactions between
brood parasites and cooperative breeders may therefore explain the
close association between these two breeding systems.
The Management Committee of the Canberra Birds Conservation Fund
(Penny Olsen, Geoffrey Dabb and David McDonald) thank all those who
have made donations to the Fund.
For information about the Fund, including making tax-deductible
donations to it, please visit http://cbcf.canberrabirds.org.au/ or
contact me directly.
David
--
David McDonald
1004 Norton Road
Wamboin NSW 2620
Australia
T: (02) 6238 3706
M: 0416 231 890
F: (02) 9475 4274
E: m("dnmcdonald.id.au","david");">
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