Multiparasitism and repeated parasitism by the great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius on its main host, the magpie Pica pica: effects on reproductive success, nest desertion and nest predation Soler Cruz, Manuel Pérez Contreras, Tomás Ruiz-Raya, Francisco Breeding success Clamator glandarius Multiparasitism Nest predation Pica pica Repeated parasitism This work was supported by the research project PID2020-1159506BI00 financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. Permits - The research was conducted according to relevant Spanish national (Real Decreto 1201/2005, de 10 de Octubre) and regional guidelines. All necessary permits were obtained from the Consejeria de Medio Ambiente y Ordenacion del Territorio de la Junta de Andalucia (Spanish Regional Government). Field work was licensed by the Andalusian authority for wildlife protection (DGGMN; ref.: SGYB/FOA/AFR/CFS 15/03/2012). Brood parasites are expected to lay only one egg per parasitized nest, as the existence of several parasitic nestlings in a brood increases competition and can lead the starvation of some of them. However, multiparasitism (laying of two or more eggs by one or more parasitic females in a single host nest) is surprisingly frequent. Here, we study multiparasitism by different females or by the same female (repeated parasitism) in the great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius, a non-evictor brood parasite that mainly parasitizes the magpie Pica pica, and whose chicks may be raised together with host nestlings in the same nest. We used a total of 262 magpie nests found during four breeding seasons. Multiparasitism and repeated parasitism are very frequent because this brood parasite is less virulent than other cuckoo species and magpie hosts can successfully raise more than one parasitic nestling per nest. The total number of cuckoo chicks fledged was higher in multiparasitized nests than in single- or double-parasitized magpie nests. Magpie breeding success (i.e. the proportion of eggs that produce young that leave the nest) did not differ between single-, double-, and multiparasitized magpie nests. These results suggest that multiparasitism is an adaptation in the great spotted cuckoo. The intensity of parasitism (number of cuckoo eggs per nest), after controlling for the potential effect of year, did not affect nest desertion or nest predation rate, neither during the incubation nor the nestling periods. This implies that nest concealment does not affect the susceptibility of one nest being parasitized and predated, as nest predation rate was similar regardless of the intensity of parasitism. Predation rate during the nestling phase did not vary according to intensity of parasitism, which does not support either the 'mutualism' hypothesis or the 'predation cost of begging' hypothesis. 2023-07-28T07:44:23Z 2023-07-28T07:44:23Z 2023-07-10 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Soler Cruz, M. et al. Multiparasitism and repeated parasitism by the great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius on its main host, the magpie Pica pica: effects on reproductive success, nest desertion and nest predation. Journal of Avian Biology 2023: e03096. [doi: 10.1111/jav.03096] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/84073 10.1111/jav.03096 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 4.0 Internacional Wiley