The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus host

0349223 - ÚBO 2012 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Avilés, J. M. - Vikan, J. R. - Fossoy, F. - Antonov, A. - Moksnes, A. - Roskaft, E. - Shykoff, J.A. - Moller, A. P. - Jensen, H. - Procházka, Petr - Stokke, B. G.
The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus host.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Roč. 24, č. 2 (2011), s. 314-325. ISSN 1010-061X. E-ISSN 1420-9101
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60930519
Keywords : coevolution * geographical mosaic * local adaptation * mimicry * specialization
Subject RIV: EG - Zoology
Impact factor: 3.276, year: 2011

We explored the possibility of local adaptation in cuckoo egg mimicry over a geographical mosaic of selection exerted by the reed warbler and investigated whether cuckoos with a broad number of alternative suitable hosts at hand were less locally adapted. Cuckoo eggs showed different degrees of mimicry to different reed warbler populations. However, cuckoo eggs did not match the egg phenotypes of their local host population better than eggs of other host populations, indicating that cuckoos were not locally adapted for mimicry on reed warblers. Interestingly, cuckoos exploiting reed warblers in populations with a relatively larger number of co-occurring gentes showed lower than average levels of local adaptation in egg volume. Our results suggest that cuckoo local adaptation might be prevented when different cuckoo populations exploit more or fewer different host species, with gene flow or frequent host switches breaking down local adaptation where many host races co-occur.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0189521