Fundamentals of Brood Parasitism

Abstract

Brood parasitism is a reproductive strategy in which parasitic females secure parental care for their offspring by laying eggs in the nests of other individuals and relying on these unrelated foster parents to rear the parasitic young. Parasitic females may target hosts of their own species (conspecific brood parasitism) or of a different species (interspecific brood parasitism). This first chapter of the series provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the general characteristics of both types of brood parasitism. In the case of conspecific brood parasitism, the costs and benefits are examined, along with parasite tactics and host defences, and the reasons why females engage in conspecific brood parasitism are discussed. With respect to interspecific brood parasitism, the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a parasitic reproductive strategy are analysed. The two main types of differential strategies (specialists versus generalists and nest-mate killing versus nest-sharing) are reviewed, and the different hypotheses proposed to explain the origin and evolution of obligate avian brood parasitism are evaluated. Finally, an extensive section entitled “Coevolution: brood parasites and their hosts” examines, based on the most current knowledge, the relationships between brood parasites and their hosts across all avian families that include brood-parasitic species: Anatidae, Cuculidae, Indicatoridae, Viduidae, and Icteridae.