̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - William Feeney

Cuckoos mimic 'harmless' species as a disguise to infiltrate host nests

fpjl2 — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 13:26:21 +0000

Brood parasites are reproductive cheats that evolve ways of duping other birds into raising their young. Examples such as mimicry of host eggs, chicks and fledglings by brood parasitic eggs, chicks and fledglings are amongst the most iconic examples of animal deception in nature.

New research shows that adult brood parasitic female cuckoo finches have evolved plumage colours and patterns to mimic a harmless and abundant species, such as southern red bishops, to deceive possible host birds and reduce the risk of being attacked when approaching host nests to lay their eggs.

Researchers say this is the first time that "wolf in sheep's clothing" mimicry has been shown to exist in any adult bird.

While other brood parasites watch the movements of their host victims by hiding in nearby foliage, the openness of the African savannahs mean that mimicking a plentiful and nontoxic species might be the best way cuckoo finches have of sneaking up on host nests without raising the alarm.

However, the researchers found that the most common victim of the cuckoo finch, the tawny-flanked prinia, has evolved an awareness of the cuckoo finch's disguise and takes no chances - acting with equal aggression towards a female cuckoo finch and bishop alike.

Prinias attacked female cuckoo finches and female bishops equally, and increased the rate of egg rejection after seeing either a female cuckoo finch or female bishop near the nest. Egg rejection involves physically removing the parasitic egg from their nest, allowing them to salvage the majority of their reproductive effort.

At the study site in Zambia, the researchers found a consistently high rate of parasitism by cuckoos among the prinia population, with almost a fifth of all prinia eggs hatching as fledgling cuckoo finches. Cuckoo finches usually remove at least one egg on parasitism, and their hatchlings will out-compete all the host's young.

Researchers say these rates of parasitism might explain the willingness of prinias to attack anything that looks like a dangerous female cuckoo finch and reject more eggs when the risk of parasitism is high. But, the cost of this strategy can be high: during the researchers' experiments, some of the eggs rejected by prinia were their own, triggered by nothing more than a harmless bishop bird that resembles the mimetic cuckoo finch.

"Our findings suggest that female cuckoo finches are aggressive mimics of female bishops, and that prinia hosts have responded to this successful deception with generalised defences against cuckoo finches and harmless bishops alike. This suggests these prinias have decided that it's best to 'play it safe' when the risk of parasitism is high because they can't distinguish between the two species" said Dr William Feeney from Cambridge ̽��ֱ��'s Department of Zoology, who led the research.

"While other brood-parasite species monitor host behaviour from concealed perches in nearby trees, cuckoo finches must seek host nests in open grasslands and savannahs. In such exposed circumstances, resembling an abundant and harmless model may allow female cuckoo finches to remain unnoticed when monitoring hosts nests at a medium range," he said.

̽��ֱ��research is published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

To investigate the cuckoo finch's disguise, the research team conducted plumage and pattern analysis using cuckoo skins from the Natural History Museum in Tring. They compared plumage to the cuckoo finches closest evolutionary relatives (Vidua finches), as well as with the skins of similar-looking birds (bishops) that share the same habitat.

In both human and bird visual systems, they found that the plumage of a female cuckoo finch is far closer to the bishops and other species in the weaver family than to those of its closest relative, the Vidua finches.

̽��ֱ��researchers also investigated the reaction of prinia breeding pairs to models of female cuckoo finches and bishop birds, as well as the males of both species.

While prinias had very little reaction to the males, the female cuckoo finch and the harmless female bishop bird both received similarly high levels of alarm calls and group attacks from the prinia, known as 'mobbing'.

̽��ֱ��researchers then did a final experiment where they presented a male bishop, female bishop and female cuckoo finch and then placed a fake egg in their nest. They found that after seeing the harmful female cuckoo finch or harmless (but similar-looking) female bishop, they increased their rate off egg rejection compared to when they saw a male bishop near their nest.

Added Feeney: "This study is interesting as it's the first time anyone has quantitatively tested for 'wolf in sheep's clothing' mimicry in any adult bird, and also suggests that this type of mimicry is used by brood parasites to deceive hosts at all stages of their nesting cycle."

First time ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ mimicry has been seen in birds. Host birds have evolved a general counter-strategy in which they defend against all birds with the mimicked plumage - cuckoos and harmless species alike.

It's the first time anyone has quantitatively tested for 'wolf in sheep's clothing' mimicry in any adult bird

William Feeney

Claire Spottiswood

Cuckoo finch on the left and a bishop bird on the right

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Colour-morphing reef fish is a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'

fpjl2 — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 15:45:31 +0000

A new study has shown that the dottyback, a small predatory reef fish, can change the colour of its body to imitate a variety of other reef fish species, allowing the dottyback to sneak up undetected and eat their young.

̽��ֱ��dottyback also uses its colour-changing abilities to hide from larger predators by colour-matching to the background of its habitat - disappearing into the scenery.

̽��ֱ��research, published today in the journal Current Biology, reveals a sophisticated new example of 'mimicry': disguising as a different species to gain evolutionary advantage.

While using mimicry to hunt or hide from other species is commonplace in nature - from cuckoos to butterflies - scientists point out that if the same physical deception is encountered too frequently, species on the receiving end become more vigilant and develop tactics to mitigate the mimics.

̽��ֱ��dottyback, however, is able to colour-morph depending on the particular colour of the surrounding species it is currently hunting: different types of damselfish being a popular target.

Scientists say that this flexibility of physical mimicry makes it much harder for the dottyback's prey to develop detection strategies and avoid getting eaten.

"By changing colour to imitate local damselfish communities, dottybacks are able to overcome the predator avoidance behaviour in the juvenile fish they hunt," said Dr William Feeney, co-author of the study from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge's Department of Zoology.

" ̽��ֱ��dottyback behaviour is comparable to the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' scenario from Aesop's Fables, where distinguishing the predator from the harmless 'flock' becomes increasingly difficult when they look alike - allowing the dottyback to creep up on unsuspecting juvenile damselfish," Feeney said.

Dottybacks are generally solitary and highly territorial predators of around eight centimetres in length, commonly found in Indo-Pacific coral reefs.

While dottybacks can vary their colouration from pink to grey, the researchers focused on two colour 'morphs' - yellow and brown - that both occur on the reefs surrounding Lizard Island, off the coast of north-east Australia. This is because the area has populations of both yellow and brown damselfish, and habitat consisting of live coral and dead coral 'rubble'.

̽��ֱ��scientists built their own simulated reef outcrops comprising both live coral and rubble, and stocked them with either yellow or brown damselfish. When released into reefs with damselfish of the opposite colour, scientists found the dottybacks would change from yellow to brown or vice versa over the course of approximately two weeks.

Anatomical study of dottyback skin cells revealed that while the level of 'chromatophores' - pigment-containing cells that reflect light - remain constant, the ratio of yellow pigment cells to black pigment cells shifts to move the dottyback from yellow to brown or back again.

̽��ֱ��team conducted lab experiments with adult and juvenile damselfish to test whether this colour change affects dottyback hunting success. They found that once the dottyback matched the colour of the damselfish, they were up to three times more successful at capturing juvenile damselfish.

̽��ֱ��scientists also found that the dottyback use their colour-morphing powers to blend into the coral of their habitats to hide from their own predators, such as the coral trout - a predator they share with damselfish, who have also adapted to match the colour of their environment.

̽��ֱ��scientists measured the strike rates of coral trout when exposed to images of different colours of dottyback against different habitats. ̽��ֱ��coral trout had trouble picking out the fish when the colour matched the habitat.

"While the dottybacks change colour to aggressively mimic damselfish, they may also gain a secondary benefit: a reduced risk of being eaten themselves. Damselfish have evolved to blend into their environment, so, by imitating the damselfish, they also colour-match the habitat - making it harder for coral trout to see them," said Feeney.

"This is the first time that an animal has been found to be able to morph between different guises in order to deceive different species, making the dottyback a pretty crafty little fish"

Inset image: dottyback eyeing up damselfish prey, credit Christopher E Mirbach

̽��ֱ��dottyback changes its colour to match surrounding damselfish species, enabling it to counter the defences of its damselfish prey by disguising itself as a harmless part of their community, then swoop in to hunt their young.

This is the first time that an animal has been found to be able to morph between different guises in order to deceive different species, making the dottyback a pretty crafty little fish

William Feeney

Justin Marshall

Brown Vs Yellow Dottyback

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