Endocrine regulation of egg rejection in an avian brood parasite host.

ABSTRACT: Parasite-host coevolution can lead to novel behavioural adaptations in hosts to resist parasitism. In avian obligate brood parasite and host systems, many host species have evolved diverse cognitive and behavioural traits to recognize and reject parasitic eggs. Our understanding of the evolution and ecology of these defences hinges on identifying the mechanisms that regulate them. We hypothesized that corticosterone, a hormone linked to stress response, vigilance and the suppression of parental behaviour, stimulates the rejection of foreign eggs by brood parasite hosts. We experimentally reduced circulating glucocorticoid levels with mitotane injections in American robins Turdus migratorius and found that the mitotane-treated birds rejected foreign eggs at a lower frequency compared

SUBMITTER: Abolins-Abols M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7336846 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature