Abstract
The reciprocal interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts have become canonical examples of coevolution (Davies 2000). Historically, the focus has been on adaptations that allow hosts to “resist” parasitism (e.g., egg rejection). In his review, Avilés (2017) argues compellingly that adaptations that help hosts “tolerate” parasitism (e.g., enhanced chick competitiveness) have been neglected, and he does a great service by bringing this potentially pervasive set of defenses to the fore (see also Medina and Langmore 2016). In addition, the review helpfully lays out a framework for investigating tolerance, using a reaction norm approach. Perhaps this framework could be extended to incorporate plastic/learnt resistance traits (e.g., Welbergen and Davies 2012) and so bring about a more holistic understanding of defense plasticity in hosts?
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 525-526 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Journal | Behavioral Ecology |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- birds
- brood parasitism
- chicks
- parasites