This new paper reporting Campbell Park research may be of interest to some list members-
Feeney, William. E. and Naomi E. Langmore (2015). “Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus)
increase vigilance near their nest with the perceived risk of brood parasitism.”
The Auk 132(2): 359-364.
Abstract: Brood parasites typically impose costs on their
hosts, which select for host defenses. However, where defenses are costly, hosts can benefit by facultative _expression_ of defenses in relation to the risk of parasitism. The results of our model-presentation experiments show that Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus
cyaneus) mediate vigilance around their nest according to their perceived risk of brood parasitism; when the risk of parasitism is high, they increase the time they spend in the vicinity of their nests. In combination with previous studies, these data
suggest that Superb Fairy-wrens have a plastic defense portfolio that can be acquired rapidly and deployed facultatively to prevent parasitism while minimizing wasteful investment in defenses in the absence of parasitism.
William E. Feeney1,2* and Naomi E. Langmore1
1Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
2Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
*Corresponding author:
Robin Hide
