Journal article
Brood parasitism and the evolution of cooperative breeding in birds
WE Feeney, I Medina, M Somveille, R Heinsohn, ML Hall, RA Mulder, JA Stein, RM Kilner, NE Langmore
Science | Published : 2013
Abstract
The global distribution of cooperatively breeding birds is highly uneven, with hotspots in Australasia and sub-Saharan Africa. The ecological drivers of this distribution remain enigmatic yet could yield insights into the evolution and persistence of cooperative breeding. We report that the global distributions of avian obligate brood parasites and cooperatively breeding passerines are tightly correlated and that the uneven phylogenetic distribution of cooperative breeding is associated with the uneven targeting of hosts by brood parasites. With a long-term field study, we show that brood parasites can acquire superior care for their young by targeting cooperative breeders. Conversely, host ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
We thank our field assistants, L. Joseph for assistance with specimens, and A. Cockburn for helpful discussions. W. E. F. was supported by the Canberra Birds Conservation Fund and Australian Geographic. R. A. M. and M. L. H. were supported by Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant DP110103120. N.E.L. was supported by ARC Discovery Grant DP110101966. Data are archived on Figshare. N.E.L. and W. E. F. conceived the study; macroecological analyses were done by M. S. and J.A.S.; comparative analyses were done by I. M.; field data were collected by N.E.L., R. M. K., R. H., M. L. H., and R. A. M.; model and playback experiments were done by W. E. F.; and N.E.L. and R. M. K. wrote the paper.