Cowbird removals unexpectedly increase productivity of a brood parasite and the songbird host

Ecological Applications

Volumn 18, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 537-548

  Kosciuch, Karl L ^a,b   Sandercock, Brett K ^a  

^a KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b TETRA TECH INC   (United States)

Author keywords

Bell's Vireo; Brood parasitism; Cowbird removal; Molothrus ater; Productivity; Seasonal fecundity; Vireo bellii

Indexed keywords

BROOD PARASITISM; EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN; FECUNDITY; GROWTH RESPONSE; POPULATION DECLINE; POPULATION GROWTH; REMOVAL EXPERIMENT; SONGBIRD;

AVES; MOLOTHRUS ATER; PASSERI; VIREO; VIREO BELLII; VIREONIDAE;

ANIMAL; ARTICLE; ECOSYSTEM; METHODOLOGY; NESTING; PEST CONTROL; PHYSIOLOGY; POPULATION DYNAMICS; SONGBIRD; UNITED STATES;

ANIMALS; ECOSYSTEM; KANSAS; NESTING BEHAVIOR; PEST CONTROL; POPULATION DYNAMICS; SONGBIRDS;

EID: 44649203266     PISSN: 10510761     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1890/07-0984.1     Document Type: Article

References (53)

1. Arcese, P., J. N. M. Smith, and M. I. Hatch. 1996. Nest predation by cowbirds and its consequences for passerine demography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 93:4608-4611.
2. Aviles, J. M., B. G. Stokke, and D. Parejo. 2006. Relationship between nest predation suffered by hosts and Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism: a comparative study. Evolutionary Ecology 20:97-111.
3. Braden, G. T., R. L. McKernan, and S. M. Powell. 1997. Effects of nest parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird on nesting success of the California Gnatcatcher. Condor 99: 858-865. Briggs, J. M. A. K. Knapp, J. M. Blair, J. A. Heisler, G. A. Hoch, M. S. Lett, and J. K. McCarron. 2005. An ecosystem in transition. Causes and consequences of the conversion of mesic grassland to shrubland. BioScience 55:243-254.
4. Briggs, J. M., A. K. Knapp, and B. L. Brock. 2002. Expansion of woody plants in tallgrass prairie: a fifteen-year study of fire and tire-grazing interactions. American Midland Naturalist 147:287-294.
5. Brown, B. T. 1993. Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii). Pages 1-20 in F. Gill and A. Poole, editors. Birds of North America, Number 35. American Ornithologists' Union. Washington. D.C. USA.
6. Budnik. J. M. D. E. Burhans, M. R. Ryan, and F. R. Thompson. 2001. Nest desertion and apparent nest protection behavior by Bell's Vireos in response to cowbird parasitism. Condor 103:639-643.
7. Budnik. J. M. M. R. Ryan, and F. R. Thompson. 2000. Demography of Bell's Vireos in Missouri grassland-shrub habitats. Auk 117:925-935.
8. Davies, N. B. 2000. Cuckoos, cowbirds and other cheats. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
9. Davies, N. B., and M. D. Brooke. 1989. An experimental-study of co-evolution between the Cuckoo. Cuculus-canorus, and its hosts. 1. Host egg discrimination. Journal of Animal Ecology 58:207-224.
10. Davis, S. K., D. R. Klippenstine, and R. M. Brigham. 2002. Does egg rejection account for the low incidence of cowbird parasitism in Chestnut-collared Longspurs (Calcarius ornatus)? Auk 119:556-560.
11. Dearborn, D. C. 1999. Brown-headed Cowbird nestling vocalizations and risk of nest predation. Auk 116:448-457.
12. DeCapita, M. E. 2000. Brown-headed Cowbird control on Kirtland's Warbler nesting areas in Michigan. Pages 333-341 in J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, editors. Ecology and management of cowbirds and their hosts. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, USA.
13. Fletcher, R. J., Jr., R. R. Koford, and D. A. Seaman. 2006. Critical demographic parameters for declining songbirds breeding in restored grasslands. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:145-157.
14. Friedmann, H. 1955. The honeyguides. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 208:1-292.
15. Granfors, D. A., P. J. Pietz, and L. A. Joyal. 2001. Frequency of egg and nestling destruction by female Brown-headed Cowbirds at grassland nests. Auk 188:765-769.
16. Griffith, J. T., and J. C. Griffith. 2000. Cowbird control and the endangered Least Bell's Vireo: a management success story. Pages 342-356 in J. N. M. Smith. T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, editors. Ecology and management of cowbirds and their hosts. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, USA.
17. Grzybowski, J. A., and C. M. Pease. 2005. Renesting determines seasonal fecundity in songbirds: what do we know? What should we assume? Auk 122:280-292.
18. Gurevitch, J., and L. V. Hedges. 1999. Statistical issues in ecological meta-analyses. Ecology 80:1142-1149.
19. Guthery, F. S., L. A. Brennan, M. J. Peterson, and J. J. Lusk. 2005. Information theory in wildlife science: critique and viewpoint. Journal of Wildlife Management 69:457-465.
20. Hartnett. D. C., K. R. Hickman, and L. E. F. Walter. 1996. Effects of bison grazing, fire, and topography on floristic diversity in tallgrass prairie. Journal of Range Management 49:413-420.
21. Hauber, M. E. 2003a. Egg-capping is a cost paid by hosts of interspecific brood parasites. Auk 120:860-865.
22. Hauber, M. E. 2003b. Hatching asynchrony, nestling competition, and the cost of interspecific brood parasitism. Behavioral Ecology 14:227-235.
23. Hoover, J. P. 2003. Multiple effects of brood parasitism reduce the reproductive success of Prothonotary Warblers, Protonotaria citrea. Animal Behaviour 65:923-934.
24. Hoover, J. P., and S. K. Robinson. 2007. Retaliatory mafia behavior by a parasitic cowbird favors host acceptance of parasitic eggs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 104:4479-4483.
25. Jensen, W. E., and J. F. Cully, Jr. 2005. Geographic variation in Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on Dickcissels (Spiza americana) in great plains tallgrass prairie. Auk 122:648-660.
26. Kilner, R. M., J. R. Madden, and M. E. Hauber. 2004. Brood parasitic cowbird nestlings use host young to procure resources. Science 305:877-879.
27. Kosciuch, K. L. 2006. Host-parasite interactions on an experimental landscape. Dissertation. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA.
28. Kosciuch, K. L., T. H. Parker, and B. K. Sandercock. 2006. Nest desertion by a cowbird host: anti-parasite behavior or a response to egg loss? Behavioral Ecology 17:917-924.
29. Kostecke, R. M., S. G. Summers, G. H. Eckrich, and D. A. Cimprich. 2005. Effect of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) removal on Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla) nest success and population growth at Fort Hood, Texas. Pages 28-37 in C. P. Ortega, J. F. Chace, and B. D. Peer, editors. Management of cowbirds and their hosts: balancing science, ethics, and mandates. Ornithological Monographs Number 57. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C., USA.
30. Kus, B. E. 2002. Fitness consequences of nest desertion in an endangered host, the Least Bell's Vireo. Condor 104:795-802.
31. Kus, B. E., and M. J. Whitfield. 2005. Parasitism, productivity, and population growth: response of Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) to cowbird (Molothrus spp.) control. Pages 16-27 in C. P. Ortega, J. F, Chace, and B. D. Peer, editors. Management of cowbirds and their hosts: balancing science, ethics, and mandates. Ornithological Monographs Number 57. American Ornithologists' Union. Washington, D.C., USA.
32. Lichtenstein, G., and S. G. Sealy. 1998. Nestling competition, rather than supernormal stimulus, explains the success of parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird chicks in Yellow Warbler nests. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 265:249-254.
33. Lindman, H. R. 1974. Analysis of variance in complex experimental designs. H. W. Freeman, San Francisco, California, USA.
34. Martin, T. E., J. Scott, and C. Menge. 2000. Nest predation increases with parental activity: separating nest site and parental activity effects. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 267:2287-2293.
35. McLaren, C. M., and S. G. Sealy. 2000. Are nest predation and brood parasitism correlated in Yellow Warblers? A test of the cowbird predation hypothesis. Auk 117:1056-1060.
36. Morrison, M. L., and A. Averill-Murray. 2002. Evaluating the efficacy of manipulating cowbird parasitism on host nesting success. Southwestern Naturalist 47:236-243.
37. Parker, T. H. 1999. Responses of Bell's Vireos to brood parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird in Kansas. Wilson Bulletin 111:499-504.
38. Pease, C. M., and J. A. Grzybowski. 1995. Assessing the consequences of brood parasitism and nest predation on seasonal fecundity in songbird birds. Auk 112:343-363.
39. Peer, B. D. 2006. Egg removal and egg destruction in avian brood parasites. Auk 123:16-22.
40. Peer, B. D., K. S. Ellison, and S. G. Sealy. 2002. Intermediate frequencies of egg ejection by Northern Mockingbirds sympatric with two cowbird species. Auk 119:855-858.
41. Peer, B. D., and S. G. Sealy. 2004. Fate of grackle defenses in the absence of brood parasitism: implications for long-term brood parasite-host cocvolution. Auk 121:1172-1186.
42. Robinson, S. K., S. I. Rothstein, M. C. Brittingham, L. J. Petit, and J. A. Grzybowski. 1995. Ecology and behavior of cowbirds and their impact on host populations. Pages 428-460 in T. E. Martin and D. M. Finch, editors. Ecology and management of Neotropical migratory birds. Oxford University Press, London, UK.
43. Rothstein, S. I. 1982. Mechanisms of avian egg recognition: which egg parameters elicit responses by rejecter species? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 11:229-239.
44. Rothstein, S. I., and B. D. Peer. 2005. Conservation solutions for threatened and endangered cowbird (Molothrus spp.) hosts: separating fact from fiction. Pages 98-114 in C. P. Ortega, J. F. Chace, and B. D. Peer, editors. Management of cowbirds and their hosts: balancing science, ethics, and mandates. Ornithological Monographs Number 57. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C., USA.
45. Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, results and analysis 1966-2004. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, USA.
46. Sealy, S. G. 1992. Removal of Yellow Warbler eggs in association with cowbird parasitism. Condor 94:40-54.
47. Smith, J. N. M., M. J. Taitt, and L. Zanette. 2002. Removing Brown-headed Cowbirds increases seasonal fecundity and population growth in Song Sparrows. Ecology 83:3037-3047.
48. Smith, J. N. M., M. J. Taitt, L. Zanette, and I. H. Myers-Smith. 2003. How do Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) cause nest failures in Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia)?. A removal experiment. Auk 120:772-783.
49. Trine, C. L. 2000. Effects of multiple parasitism on cowbird and Wood Thrush nesting success. Pages 135-144 in J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, editors. Ecology and management of cowbirds and their hosts. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, USA.
50. Whitfield, M. J. 2000. Results of a Brown-headed Cowbird control program for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. Pages 371-378 in J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Scaly, editors. Ecology and management of cowbirds and their hosts. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, USA.
51. Woodworth, B. L. 1997. Brood parasitism, nest predation, and season-long reproductive success of a tropical island endemic. Condor 99:605-621.
52. Woodworth, B. L. 1999. Modeling population dynamics of a songbird exposed to parasitism and predation and evaluating management options. Conservation Biology 13:67-76.
53. Zanette, L., D. T. Haydon, J. M. N. Smith, M. J. Tiatt, and M. Clinchy. 2007. Reassessing the cowbird threat. Auk 124:210-223.