{"title":"First Records of Conspecific Brood Parasitism in Two Species of Small Passerines: Lesser Whitethroat and Common Linnet","authors":"A. Wuczyński, L. Hałupka, Aleksandra Maroń","doi":"10.3161/15052249PJE2021.69.2.005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT We provide the first records of possible conspecific brood parasitism in the lesser whitethroat Sylvia curruca and the common linnet Linaria cannabina, two species of small passerines. In 2018 we found two unusually large clutches, one for each species (8 and 9 eggs, respectively), both containing two distinct egg morphs differing in coloration. Further detailed analysis of egg morphology and brood phenology (in the whitethroat) suggested that the eggs in each nest had been laid by different females. Surprisingly, two seemingly full sized clutches were laid in both nests, a pattern that is unusual in conspecific brood parasitism in passerines, whose nests are typically parasitized with single eggs. Alternatives to conspecific brood parasitism are therefore discussed. We argue that traditional field-based methods, when carefully used, may be sufficient to document brood parasitism recorded during occasional observations. We finally conclude that enlarged broods, resulting from conspecific brood parasitism, are probably more frequent than expected, but they may be often overlooked.","PeriodicalId":49683,"journal":{"name":"Polish Journal of Ecology","volume":"69 1","pages":"124 - 133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Polish Journal of Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15052249PJE2021.69.2.005","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT We provide the first records of possible conspecific brood parasitism in the lesser whitethroat Sylvia curruca and the common linnet Linaria cannabina, two species of small passerines. In 2018 we found two unusually large clutches, one for each species (8 and 9 eggs, respectively), both containing two distinct egg morphs differing in coloration. Further detailed analysis of egg morphology and brood phenology (in the whitethroat) suggested that the eggs in each nest had been laid by different females. Surprisingly, two seemingly full sized clutches were laid in both nests, a pattern that is unusual in conspecific brood parasitism in passerines, whose nests are typically parasitized with single eggs. Alternatives to conspecific brood parasitism are therefore discussed. We argue that traditional field-based methods, when carefully used, may be sufficient to document brood parasitism recorded during occasional observations. We finally conclude that enlarged broods, resulting from conspecific brood parasitism, are probably more frequent than expected, but they may be often overlooked.
期刊介绍:
POLISH JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY (formerly Ekologia polska) publishes original scientific research papers dealing with all aspects of ecology: both fundamental and applied, physiological ecology, evolutionary ecology, ecology of population, community, ecosystem, landscape as well as global ecology. There is no bias regarding taxons, ecosystems or geographical regions.