@misc{10481/110591,
year = {2026},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/110591},
abstract = {Obligate avian brood parasitism is a reproductive strategy in which a bird lays its egg in the nest of other
bird (host), thereby forcing the host to raise the parasitic offspring as its own. This behaviour triggers a
coevolutionary arms race, driving the evolution of host defences and parasite counter defences. Hosts
can defend against brood parasitism at all stages of the breeding cycle, with frontline defences (those
aimed at preventing a parasite from laying its egg) representing the earliest and critical stage of defence.
Despite their importance, the main factors driving frontline (prelaying) antiparasitic behaviours remain
unclear. Here, a meta-analytical approach was used to quantify the influence of various factors on host
aggression, as an important and widespread frontline defence, towards adult brood parasites. In general,
host aggression is assessed in field experiments by presenting brood parasite models near nests and
observing the host response. Results show that host aggression towards brood parasites was influenced
by the geographical overlap between host and parasite, as well as the distance of the experimental
model from the host nest. In particular, aggression was higher in host populations living in sympatry
with the parasite. In addition, hosts showed greater aggression towards parasite models placed closer to
their nests in field experiments. Other factors, including differences in host—parasite body size, nest
type (enclosed or open) and exposure time to the experimental model, did not affect host aggression.
Our findings indicate that host aggression towards brood parasite models is primarily influenced by the
sympatry—allopatry distribution between brood parasites and hosts. Furthermore, our study highlights
the key methodological aspects that should be considered in future field experiments involving artificial
brood parasite models.},
organization = {MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 PRE2021-097543, PID2020-115950GB-I00},
organization = {FSE+},
organization = {Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic ID: 90254},
organization = {Czech Science Foundation ( 22-26812S)},
organization = {Universidad de Granada/CBUA},
publisher = {Elsevier},
keywords = {Aggression},
keywords = {Dummy},
keywords = {Mobbing},
title = {Factors affecting frontline host defences against avian brood parasitism: a meta-analysis},
doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123459},
author = {López-Luengo, Mari Carmen and Samas, Peter and Ruiz-Raya, Francisco and Soler Cruz, Manuel and Honza, Marcel},
}