Niche construction through a Goldilocks principle maximizes fitness for a nest-sharing brood parasite.

ABSTRACT: Generalist brood parasites that share nests with host nestlings can optimize resource acquisition from host parents by balancing the benefits that host nest-mates provide, including attracting increased provisions to the nest, against the costs of competing with the same host young over foster parental resources. However, it is unclear how parasitic chicks cope when faced with more nest-mates than are optimal for their survival upon hatching. We suggest that, in the obligate brood parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), chicks use a niche construction strategy and reduce larger, more competitive host broods to maximize the parasites' survival to fledging. We experimentally altered brood sizes to test for Goldilocks principle patterns (i.e. a 'just right' intermediate brood

SUBMITTER: Antonson ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9470264 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature