Host defences against avian brood parasitism: an endocrine perspective.

ABSTRACT: Host defences against avian brood parasites are the outcome of well-documented coevolutionary arms races, yet important questions about variation in hosts' antiparasitic response traits remain poorly understood. Why are certain defences employed by some species or individuals and not by others? Here, we propose that understanding variability in and the evolution of host defences can be facilitated by the study of the underlying physiological mechanisms. Specifically, because antiparasitic strategies involve behaviours that have been shown to be hormonally regulated in other contexts, we hypothesize that host responses to brood parasites are likely to be mediated by related endocrine mechanisms. We outline the hallmarks of the endocrine bases of parasite defence-related avian behaviours, re

SUBMITTER: Abolins-Abols M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6158532 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature