Egg Mimicry of Cuckoos

Pattern mimicry through a birds eye

The Cuckoo bird is a brood parasite, this means that it lays its eggs inside the nest of another bird, the other bird then feeds and nurtures the eggs of the Cuckoos. 

This parasitism has caused both of the species involved to evolve further. The birds have evolved to notice when their nest has been parasitised. However the cuckoo has evolved to have egg mimicry. This study I am blogging about is going to explore this(Stoddard and Stevens, 2010). 

Previous studies have used the human eye to measure the pattern similarities, however this study used UV, Infrared and luminous analysis in order to detect mimicry as how a bird would see the eggs, instead of human vision(Stoddard and Stevens, 2010). 

The study found that the cuckoos eggs were evolved to mimic in the species which rejected the eggs the most. They are in an evolutionary arms race always changing to beat each others defenses. The study found that there was no pattern on the egg which has no rejection. One of the main issues is the markings sizes. The host is less likely to reject the egg if the marking sizes are the same. Some host species such as the Australian bronze-cuckoo do not reject the eggs even though they are darker. This could be due to the eggs being camouflaged in the nest(Stoddard and Stevens, 2010). 

Figure 1: Cuckoo eggs on top mimicing the Reed warbler eggs bottom (Chap, 2012).

References

Chap, C. (2012). [image] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cuckoo#/media/File:Cuckoo_Eggs_Mimicking_Reed_Warbler_Eggs.JPG [Accessed 9 May 2015].

Stoddard, M. and Stevens, M. (2010). Pattern mimicry of host eggs by the common cuckoo, as seen through a bird's eye. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1686), pp.1387-1393.

Deception of Primates

Using Social skills to deceive 

The primates as well as us humans have undergone natural selection in order to deceive others in order to gain something.

In baboons it was noticed that when another baboon was chasing them, they stood up in the alert position in order to seem like they had noticed a predator. The chasing baboon didn't resume the chase in order to look for the predator, even though there was no predator present. This is called tactical distraction deception (Byrne and Whiten, 1992).

Another type of deception would be concealment. This is when the individual hides something from the other individual. For example if a Chimp has found food, it will attempt to keep it behind his back and out of view of other chimps(Byrne and Whiten, 1992) .

This behaviour could be due to operent conditioning which is when an individual receives reinforcement for their behavior (McLeod, 2015) . Therefore the Chimpanzee may have discovered that by putting the food behind his back stops other chimps from taking the food from them.
A different learning method could have been more cognitive and this could be that be behaviour was observed and learnt from older primates (Byrne and Whiten, 1992) .

References

Byrne, R. and Whiten, A. (1992). Cognitive Evolution in Primates: Evidence from Tactical Deception. Man, 27(3), p.609.

McLeod, S. (2015). B.F. Skinner | Operant Conditioning | Simply Psychology. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html [Accessed 8 May 2015].

Sexual/Female deception

Deception of plumage colours in Pied Flycatcher birds

This blog is on the topic of sexual mimicry and in particular for this species it is female mimicry. This is when a male mimics a female in order to deceive other males. They mimic their behavior, morphology or chemical signals. (Wikipedia, 2015)

During mating season the male Pied Flycatcher bird Ficedula hypoleuca is extremely aggressive towards other males with brightly coloured plumage. They are aggressive towards the males however they act sexually towards the less brightly coloured females. It has been found that these birds can also use deception when they intrude on a claimed area of the male bird. They use appearance deception and the male F.hypoleuca is deceived by another male with less brightly coloured plumage. The male acts sexually towards this male intruder(Slagsvold and Saetre, 1991).

There are a number of proposed causes for this deception. These include a delay in the sexual maturation, status signalling and spring molt constraints.

One reason for these delays of plumage colour could be to allow the younger bird to get a place in a previously occupied space in an older males territory. 

The molt hypothesis would be evolutionary not beneficial because this would prevent the younger birds from being able to mate for that year, therefore preventing the passing on of their genes.(Slagsvold and Saetre, 1991) 

The status signalling hypothesis suggests that the plumage colouration shows a female how useful the male is, in terms of reproductive quality. The plumage colour also could suggest the health of the genetics of the male. (Siitari, 2002)

Figure 1: Brown colour of young males or females (Wood, 2015)

Figure 2: Black and white colour of males / elder males. (Jonczyk, 2008)

References 

Jonczyk, P. (2008). [image] Available at: http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/european-pied-flycatcher-ficedula-hypoleuca/male [Accessed 8 May 2015].

Siitari, H. (2002). Individual color variation and male quality in pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca): a role of ultraviolet reflectance. Behavioral Ecology, 13(6), pp.737-741.

Slagsvold, T. and Saetre, G. (1991). Evolution of Plumage Color in Male Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca): Evidence for Female Mimicry. Evolution, 45(4), p.910.

Wikipedia, (2015). Sexual mimicry. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_mimicry [Accessed 8 May 2015].

Wood, J. (2015). [image] Available at: http://www.pbase.com/wildbirdimages/image/128748337 [Accessed 8 May 2015].

Parasitoid wasp - Mimicry

Multiple mimicry traits of a parasitoid wasp -mimicing an ant. 

 In this blog I am going to write about a very interesting species, a wingless parasitoid wasp. This wasp is a hyperparasitoid wasp, meaning that it parasitises other parasitic wasps, by injecting their eggs into the cocoons that have emerged from the original host insect, for example a butterfly or spider (Harvey, 2015). 


figure 1: Gelis agilis wasp injecting its eggs into a cocoon - retrieved from https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/vacatures/lifetime-reproductive-success-two-secondary-hyperparasitoid-wasps-lysibia-nana-and-gelis (Harvey, 2015).

 It can exhibits a wide range of traits, both physiological and morphological. This species has become adapted in a special way. It mimics a common type of black ant. It has adapted these traits in order to gain protection against ground-dwelling predators, and in this case the wolf spider. Gelis agilis, the parasitoid wasp is very similar to the black garden ant Lasius niger, in both appearance and body shape, and when G.agilis is threatened, it also emits a chemical that is similar to a chemical produced by the ant that repels spiders, in particular the wolf spider (Malcicka et al., 2015).

The chemical repellent is called Sulcatone, this chemical is used in ants to call other ants to help when they are confronted with a predator. The amount of ants that arrive are too much for the predator to handle and they do not attack, instead they leave the ants and hunt elsewhere. When the wasp G.agilis releases the chemical, the predator retreats, expecting a large amount of ants to arrive (Malcicka et al., 2015). 

This type of mimicry, involving chemical mimicry is called full spectrum mimicry, as it is more than a superficial appearance, as some mimicry can be. (Malcicka et al., 2015). 

ReferencesHarvey, J. (2015). Lifetime reproductive success in two secondary hyperparasitoid wasps, Lysibia nana and Gelis agilis. [online] Nioo.knaw.nl. Available at: https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/vacatures/lifetime-reproductive-success-two-secondary-hyperparasitoid-wasps-lysibia-nana-and-gelis [Accessed 13 Apr. 2015].

Malcicka, M., Bezemer, T., Visser, B., Bloemberg, M., Snart, C., Hardy, I. and Harvey, J. (2015). Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp. Scientific Reports, 5, p.8043.

Counter evolutionary methods and More about Chick that mimics caterpillar

Moth defense against a Spider

Moths are covered in tiny scales. When the moth hits the web the tiny scales can shed off and allow the moth to break free (Brunetta and Craig, 2010). The moth may have developed this as a defense towards the spiders web over the thousands of years.

figure 1: The microscopic scales on a moths wings. (Irving, 2015)

However in my previous blog about the bolas spider, I said that the spider creates a globular blob which then sticks to the moth that flies into it. Therefore the moths scales would make little impact to help free itself. This technique of shedding scales could only work on a silk web. The moth gets hit by the bolas and when it tries to free itself it makes itself more tangled in the web (Brunetta and Craig, 2010).  

A different possible defense to the bolas spider is that the bolas spider produces two pheromones to attract two different types of moth. Lacinipolia reginera is one of the moths and when it detects its pheromone it flies towards it, even if a different pheromone is being released from the area/ source too.
However a different species of moth from the same area Tetanolita mynesalis is attracted to its pheromone, however if a different pheromone is also being released such as the one for L.reginera, it flies away (Burchsted, 2015).This is one defense mechanism that the L.reginera has developed against the bolas spider.

Laniocera hypopyrra -Chick that mimics a caterpillar (answered questions)

One of the questions asked on the previous blog was if the chick was a similar size to the caterpillar. 

According to the American naturalist journal the chick is 14cm in length, which is a very close size to the caterpillar, which is 12cm in length (Yirka, 2015)  . 

Another fascinating fact about this chick is that it acts like the caterpillar almost exactly.  It make movements and doesn't call out until it receives a signal from its mother. Then it resumes to being like a chick (Yirka, 2015).

References

 Brunetta, L. and Craig, C. (2010). Spider silk. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Burchsted, A. (2015). Bola Spiders Lure and Eat Moths. [online] Suite. Available at: https://suite.io/albert-burchsted/2pjn2a5 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].

Irving, R. (2015). Wing scales help camouflage from sonar: moth - AskNature. [online] Asknature.org. Available at: http://www.asknature.org/strategy/be92d2132e07f8a21d54f687a314a878#.VSEwSvnF-8A [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].

Yirka, B. (2015). Amazonian bird chicks mimic poisonous caterpillar to avoid detection. [online] Phys.org. Available at: http://phys.org/news/2014-12-amazonian-bird-chicks-mimic-poisonous.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].

Baby bird mimics a toxic caterpillar

Chick that mimics a caterpillar

This weeks blog is going to be on a very interesting example of Batesian mimicry taken from the Peruvian rain forest, the Amazon. This is an area with high nest predation (Londoño et al 2015).  Therefore extreme types of evolution has occurred. The species Laniocera hypopyrra looks like a normal bird, however its young are completely different. 




Figure 1: This is the adult Laniocera hypopyrra bird. Photo by Sylvian Uriot taken from http://featuredcreature.com/bizarre-baby-bird-mimics-toxic-caterpillar-escape-predation/. 

The picture below appears to be a poisonous caterpillar from the family Magalopygidae. This species is even known to be deadly for humans (if they ingest the caterpillar).  However it is the L.hypopyrra chick. The chick moves and looks like a caterpillar. It moves its head from side to side around a week after it is hatched(Londoño et al 2015). This movement appears to be the same as the caterpillar. which deceives any possible predators including various different species of monkey and snakes (Londoño et al 2015). Figure 3 shows the actual toxic caterpillar. The appearance is remarkably similar. 

The bright colouration is extremely conspicuous and therefore in any other circumstance the bird would be eaten easily as it would be seen by predators. The bright orange colour does not blend in with the surrounding rain forest foliage.  This is the chicks only form of defense against predation. The young birds are weak and blind.Therefore the Batesian mimicry must be the cause for this colouration.(Londoño et al 2015)

Figure 2: Laniocera hypopyrra chick which mimics a toxic catterpillar. Photo taken by Santiago David-Rivera taken from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26689-zoologger-the-bird-that-mimics-a-toxic-caterpillar.html#.VRfKy_nF-8A. 





Figure 3: Magalopygidae catterpillar. Photo taken by unknown, taken from http://www.ttnaturelink.com/ttnaturetrips/tale-forests

Next week I will talk about the counter evolutionary strategies of these Predators and prey that I have blogged about. I will talk about how the deceived species respond to the mimicry.

References

Featured Creature, (2014). Bizarre Baby Bird Mimics a Toxic Caterpillar To Escape Predation | Featured Creature. [online] Available at: http://featuredcreature.com/bizarre-baby-bird-mimics-toxic-caterpillar-escape-predation/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2015].

Londoño, G., García, D. and Sánchez Martínez, M. (2015). Morphological and Behavioral Evidence of Batesian Mimicry in Nestlings of a Lowland Amazonian Bird. The American Naturalist, 185(1), pp.135-141.

Newscientist.com, (2015). Zoologger: The bird that mimics a toxic caterpillar - life - 11 December 2014 - New Scientist. [online] Available at: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26689-zoologger-the-bird-that-mimics-a-toxic-caterpillar.html#.VRfKy_nF-8A [Accessed 29 Mar. 2015].

Aggressive mimicry

Aggressive mimicry

In my last blog I wrote about prey deceiving predators. In this post I am going to talk about aggressive mimicry. Aggressive mimickers are predators that deceive their prey.
One example is myrmecomorphy, this is when spiders mimic ants.


Figure 1: Myrmarachne plataleoides- batesian mimics of Weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina. Photo by Sunny Joseph.(Taxo4254.wikispaces.com, 2015)

Aggressive mimicry based on Chemo-reception 

Spiders and other insects tend to avoid eating ants because of their sheer number. A colony of ants could easily take on any one predating insect. However this is the case for some mimicking spiders. The spiders prey is the ants. The spiders appearance is morphologically similiar to the ant. This however does not prove that the ants are deceived. Ants use a variety of chemo-reception techniques to identify foreign invaders or objects.
Therefore the spider must be able to deceive the ants, chemically.  Cosmophasis bitaeniata is a spider found in Australia. It can produce the chemical hydrocarbons that the weaver ants Oecophylla smaragdina produce to communicate. This then disguises the spider as a weaver ant. Allowing the spider to enter the nest and prey on the larvae and eggs. (Nelson and Jackson, 2012)

Spiders hunting specifically male moths

The bolas spider specializes on eating male moths. It does this by targeting the males senses. At night the bolas spider hangs a silk thread with a blob of sticky glue on the end and swings it around until a moth gets stuck to it. This is example is special because the spider attracts the male moth by releasing a chemical mixture similar to the female moths pheromones which the female moth releases to attract a mate.(Nelson and Jackson, 2012)


Figure 2: Bolas spider and its silk thread with the sticky glue on the end. From [http://boyslife.org/features/1263/a-photo-guide-to-my-favorite-spiders/]

References

Nelson, X. and Jackson, R. (2012).How spiders practice aggressive and Batesian mimicry . Current Zoology 58(4), pp.620-629. 

Taxo4254.wikispaces.com, (2015). taxo4254 - Myrmarachne plataleoides. [online] Available at: http://taxo4254.wikispaces.com/Myrmarachne+plataleoides [Accessed 22 Mar. 2015].

[Image] retrieved 22/03/2015 from http://boyslife.org/features/1263/a-photo-guide-to-my-favorite-spiders/