All Outputs (8)

Why cuckoos remove host eggs: Biting eggs facilitates faster parasitic egg‐laying (2023)
Journal Article
Wang, L., Zhao, H., Yan, H., Feeney, W. E., & Liang, W. (2023). Why cuckoos remove host eggs: Biting eggs facilitates faster parasitic egg‐laying. Ecology and Evolution, 13(12), Article e10762. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10762

Brood parasitism by cuckoos relies on manipulating hosts to raise their offspring and has evolved stunning adaptations to aid in their deception. The fact that cuckoos usually but not always, remove one or two host eggs while laying their eggs has be... Read More about Why cuckoos remove host eggs: Biting eggs facilitates faster parasitic egg‐laying.

Chase-away evolution maintains imperfect mimicry in a brood parasite-host system despite rapid evolution of mimics. (2023)
Journal Article
Dixit, T., Lund, J., Fulford, A. J. C., Apostol, A. L., Chen, K., Tong, W., …Spottiswoode, C. N. (2023). Chase-away evolution maintains imperfect mimicry in a brood parasite-host system despite rapid evolution of mimics. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 7, 1978-1982. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02232-4

We studied a brood parasite-host system (the cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis and its host, the tawny-flanked prinia Prinia subflava) to test (1) the fundamental hypothesis that deceptive mimics evolve to resemble models, selecting in turn for mode... Read More about Chase-away evolution maintains imperfect mimicry in a brood parasite-host system despite rapid evolution of mimics..

Targeted census of lionfishes (Scorpaenidae) reveals high densities in their native range (2022)
Journal Article
Cowan, Z., Brooker, R. M., Gasc, J., Gache, C., Lecchini, D., & Feeney, W. E. (2023). Targeted census of lionfishes (Scorpaenidae) reveals high densities in their native range. Journal of Fish Biology, 102(2), https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15277

Indo-Pacific lionfishes generally exhibit cryptic behaviours and so can be missed when conducting non-targeted surveys. Here, the authors report the results from targeted surveys of lionfish at Moorea, French Polynesia. Lionfish from three species (P... Read More about Targeted census of lionfishes (Scorpaenidae) reveals high densities in their native range.

Anemone bleaching impacts the larval recruitment success of an anemone-associated fish (2022)
Journal Article
Besson, M., Feeney, W. E., Gache, C., O’Brien, D. A., Berthe, C., Cowan, Z.-L., Brooker, R. M., Laudet, V., & Lecchini, D. (2023). Anemone bleaching impacts the larval recruitment success of an anemone-associated fish. Coral Reefs, 42(1), 195-203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-022-02323-x

In marine environments, mutualisms such as those between corals or sea anemones and their algal symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) play a key role for supporting surrounding biodiversity. However, as the breakdown of the mutualism between corals and/or anem... Read More about Anemone bleaching impacts the larval recruitment success of an anemone-associated fish.

COVID-19 lockdown highlights impact of recreational activities on the behaviour of coral reef fishes (2022)
Journal Article
Feeney, W. E., Cowan, Z.-L., Bertucci, F., Brooker, R. M., Siu, G., Jossinet, F., Bambridge, T., Galzin, R., & Lecchini, D. (2022). COVID-19 lockdown highlights impact of recreational activities on the behaviour of coral reef fishes. Royal Society Open Science, 9(11), https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220047

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a reduction in human activities and restriction of all but essential movement for much of the world's population. A large, but temporary, increase in air and water quality followed, and there have been several re... Read More about COVID-19 lockdown highlights impact of recreational activities on the behaviour of coral reef fishes.

Insular nestling growth and its relationship to parental care effort in Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis (2022)
Journal Article
Sandvig, E. M., Coulson, T., Robertson, B. C., Feeney, W. E., & Clegg, S. M. (2022). Insular nestling growth and its relationship to parental care effort in Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis. Emu - Austral Ornithology, 122(3-4), 193-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2022.2105723

The rate at which avian offspring grow can have consequences for survival and reproductive output as an adult and is known to vary widely among and within species. This variation is thought to be an adaptive response to cope with environmental variat... Read More about Insular nestling growth and its relationship to parental care effort in Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis.

The overlooked complexity of avian brood parasite–host relationships (2022)
Journal Article
Kennerley, J. A., Somveille, M., Hauber, M. E., Richardson, N. M., Manica, A., & Feeney, W. E. (2022). The overlooked complexity of avian brood parasite–host relationships. Ecology Letters, 25(8), 1889-1904. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14062

The relationships between avian brood parasites and their hosts are widely recognised as model systems for studying coevolution. However, while most brood parasites are known to parasitise multiple species of host and hosts are often subject to paras... Read More about The overlooked complexity of avian brood parasite–host relationships.

Experimental evidence that cuckoos preferentially parasitize host nests early in their laying cycle (2022)
Journal Article
Wang, L., He, G., Zhang, Y., Liang, W., & Feeney, W. E. (2022). Experimental evidence that cuckoos preferentially parasitize host nests early in their laying cycle. Avian Research, 13, Article 100042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100042

Brood parasites, such as the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), rely on manipulating hosts from other species to raise their offspring. Selection should favor individuals that are able to identify and choose host nests that closely match the incubation... Read More about Experimental evidence that cuckoos preferentially parasitize host nests early in their laying cycle.