Haliotis discus hannai is an important marine economic species in China.Its egg color was found to be associated with economic traits,which provides a new idea for breeding.However,the molecular mechanism of the egg-c...Haliotis discus hannai is an important marine economic species in China.Its egg color was found to be associated with economic traits,which provides a new idea for breeding.However,the molecular mechanism of the egg-color formation has not been reported.Thus,the pigment composition and comparative transcriptome analyses of H.discus hannai with green and gray egg color were conducted using high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)and RNA-Seq methods.Results show that individuals with green and gray eggs both possess the fucoxanthin.Lutein existed in gray-egged individuals,but not in green-egged individuals.In transcriptome analysis,272310 unigenes were received from 461162 transcripts with a mean length of 985 bp and N50 of 1524 bp,respectively.A total of 185 unigenes were identifi ed as diff erentially expressed genes(DEGs).The DEGs involved in“fl avin-containing compound metabolic process”,“melanosome”,“glutathione metabolism”,and“cytochrome b6f complex”were likely related to the formation of the egg color.Our results provide foundational information for the functional analysis of egg-color related genes and are benefi cial to the selective breeding of H.discus hannai.展开更多
Understanding the occurrence of multiple distinct phenotypes in a population of a species,i.e.,polymorphism,is one of the challenges encountered in evolutionary biology.Egg color polymorphism in birds is one example o...Understanding the occurrence of multiple distinct phenotypes in a population of a species,i.e.,polymorphism,is one of the challenges encountered in evolutionary biology.Egg color polymorphism in birds is one example of morphological polymorphism and disruptive selection has been proposed as a hypothetical mechanism to explain its occurrence.We studied how polymorphic egg colors(immaculate blue and white) occur in Korean populations of the Vinous-throated Parrotbill(Paradoxornis webbianus).Egg color ratios(the proportion of nests with blue eggs in a population) were monitored over a large spatial scale and egg colors were quanti ed using a spectrophotometer.We found egg color ratios to vary spatially among populations.Interestingly,there was a latitudinal morph-ratio cline in egg color ratios.e proportion of nests with blue eggs increased considerably with the latitude declined towards the southern part of the Korean peninsula.ere were some quantitative variations in egg colors among populations.However,the pattern of variations was not consistent with those of the population egg color ratios.Based on these results,we discuss a potential scenario for the evolution of egg color polymorphism in the Vinous-throated Parrotbill.展开更多
Background: Laying sequence has important effects on eggshell color and embryonic development in birds. Some birds can allocate resources unevenly among the eggs within a clutch, prioritizing those at the beginning of...Background: Laying sequence has important effects on eggshell color and embryonic development in birds. Some birds can allocate resources unevenly among the eggs within a clutch, prioritizing those at the beginning of the laying sequence, in order to maximize reproductive success. The changes in egg color according to laying sequence may be an adaptation to pressure from predators or brood parasites.Methods: In this study, effects of laying sequence on egg color and embryonic heart rate in Russet Sparrows(Passer cinnamomeus) were investigated using artificial nest boxes. The eggs were divided into three groups: first to be laid, intermediate in the laying sequence, and last to be laid. We maintained the eggs in an incubator and measured embryonic heart rates.Results: Avian visual modeling showed that the background color brightness of the last eggs laid was significantly higher(whiter) than those of the other eggs. All eggs were about the same size and hatched around 13 days, indicating that laying sequence significantly affected embryonic development speed; the last eggs to be laid developed significantly faster than did the first in the clutch.Conclusions: Our study quantified the effect of laying sequence on egg color variation and proved that laying sequence has an important effect on embryonic heart rate in Russet Sparrows.展开更多
Brood parasitic birds lay eggs in the nests of other birds,and the parasitized hosts can reduce the cost of raising unrelated offspring through the recognition of parasitic eggs.Hosts can adopt vision-based cognitive ...Brood parasitic birds lay eggs in the nests of other birds,and the parasitized hosts can reduce the cost of raising unrelated offspring through the recognition of parasitic eggs.Hosts can adopt vision-based cognitive mechanisms to recognize foreign eggs by comparing the colors of foreign and host eggs.However,there is currently no uniform conclusion as to whether this comparison involves the single or multiple threshold decision rules.In this study,we tested both hypotheses by adding model eggs of different colors to the nests of Barn Swallows(Hirundo rustica)of two geographical populations breeding in Hainan and Heilongjiang Provinces in China.Results showed that Barn Swallows rejected more white model eggs(moderate mimetic to their own eggs)and blue model eggs(highly non-mimetic eggs with shorter reflectance spectrum)than red model eggs(highly nonmimetic eggs with longer reflectance spectrum).There was no difference in the rejection rate of model eggs between the two populations of Barn Swallows,and clutch size was not a factor affecting egg recognition.Our results are consistent with the single rejection threshold model.This study provides strong experimental evidence that the color of model eggs can has an important effect on egg recognition in Barn Swallows,opening up new avenues to uncover the evolution of cuckoo egg mimicry and explore the cognitive mechanisms underlying the visual recognition of foreign eggs by hosts.展开更多
Brood parasitism and egg mimicry of Himalayan Cuckoo（Cuculus saturatus） on its host Blyth＇s Leaf Warbler（Phylloscopus reguloides） were studied in south-western China from April to July 2009.The cuckoo laid a whit...Brood parasitism and egg mimicry of Himalayan Cuckoo（Cuculus saturatus） on its host Blyth＇s Leaf Warbler（Phylloscopus reguloides） were studied in south-western China from April to July 2009.The cuckoo laid a white egg with fine brown markings on the blunt end.The eggs were conspicuously bigger than the host＇s own,with 2.06 g in mass and 1.91 cm3 in volume.Visual modeling showed that the cuckoo eggs,which from the human eye appeared to mimic the host eggs to a great extent,were completely different from the host eggs in both hue and chroma.The characters of the Himalayan Cuckoo nestling,reported for the first time,included two triangular and black patches on its gape,which appeared from four days old and became darker with age and growth.While this character also exists in nestlings of Oriental Cuckoo（C.optatus）,it has not been found for other Cuculus species.Our results reveal cryptic aspects in the cuckoo-host egg color matching,which are not visible to the naked human eye,and indicate that high mimetic cuckoo eggs rejected by hosts,as determined by human observers in previous studies,might not be mimetic as birds see them.展开更多
Polymorphism in egg coloration is prominent in the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) and a common host, the Ashy-throated Parrotbill (Paradoxornis alphonsianus). Egg polymorphism has probably evolved as a consequence of...Polymorphism in egg coloration is prominent in the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) and a common host, the Ashy-throated Parrotbill (Paradoxornis alphonsianus). Egg polymorphism has probably evolved as a consequence of frequency-dependent selection in both host and parasite, and has, according to human vision, resulted in discrete immaculate white, pale blue and blue egg phenotypes within a single population. However, egg mimicry assessment is not always straightforward, and previous studies have shown that human based comparisons applied to the coloration of bird eggs may be inadequate. Here, we objectively quantify egg color of both parasite and host by spectrophotometry and assess egg mimicry of the Common Cuckoo to the eggs of its Ashy-throated Parrotbill host. Our results revealed that egg reflectance spectra agree well with the assessment based on human vision that cuckoo eggs mimic those of the parrotbill host, in both visible (VIS) and ultraviolet (UV) ranges. However, the white cuckoo egg shows slightly poorer mimicry than the blue cuckoo egg in corresponding host clutches. We suggest that the white parrotbill egg morph (and subsequently the whitish cuckoo egg color) may have evolved after the evolution of the blue egg morph due to strong selection from parasites in the cuckoo-parrotbill system.展开更多
The coevolutionary interaction between cuckoos and their hosts has been studied for a long time, but to date some puzzles still remain unsolved. Whether cuckoos parasitize their hosts by laying eggs randomly or matchi...The coevolutionary interaction between cuckoos and their hosts has been studied for a long time, but to date some puzzles still remain unsolved. Whether cuckoos parasitize their hosts by laying eggs randomly or matching the egg morphs of their hosts is one of the mysteries of the cuckoo problem. Scientists tend to believe that cuckoos lay eggs matching the appearance of host eggs due to selection caused by the ability of the hosts to recognize their own eggs.In this paper, we first review previous empirical studies to test this mystery and found no studies have provided direct evidence of cuckoos choosing to parasitize host nests where egg color and pattern match. We then present examples of unmatched cuckoo eggs in host nests and key life history traits of cuckoos, e.g. secretive behavior and rapid egg-laying and link them to cuckoo egg laying behavior. Finally we develop a conceptual model to demonstrate the egg laying behaviour of cuckoos and propose an empirical test that can provide direct evidence of the egg-laying properties of female cuckoos. We speculate that the degree of egg matching between cuckoo eggs and those of the host as detected by humans is caused by the ability of the hosts to recognize their own eggs, rather than the selection of matching host eggs by cuckoos. The case of Common Cuckoos(Cuculus canorus) and their parrotbill hosts(Paradoxornis alphonsianus), where it has been shown that both have evolved polymorphic eggs(mainly blue and white), was used to develop a conceptual model to demonstrate why cuckoos should utilize parrotbill hosts by laying eggs randomly rather than laying eggs matching the appearance of host eggs.In conclusion, we found no evidence for the hypothesis that cuckoos lay eggs based on own egg color matching that of the parrotbill-cuckoo system. We argue theoretically that laying eggs matching those of the hosts in this system violates a key trait of the life history of cuckoos and therefore should be maladaptive.展开更多
In this exposé we provide the first review of host use by brood parasitic cuckoos in a multiple-cuckoo system in China, based on our own long-term field data and a compilation of observations obtained from the li...In this exposé we provide the first review of host use by brood parasitic cuckoos in a multiple-cuckoo system in China, based on our own long-term field data and a compilation of observations obtained from the literature. In total, we found that 11 species of cuckoos utilized altogether 55 host species. These hosts belong to 15 families, in which Sylviidae, Turdidae and Timaliidae account for 22.6%, 20.8% and 17.0% of parasitism records, respectively. The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) had the widest range of host species, accounting for 45.5% of the total number of parasitized species (25 in 10 families) of all parasitism records and is the most frequent brood parasite in the country. Cuckoo species differed in their egg coloration and the extent of egg polymorphism with most of them, e.g. the Common Cuckoo, the Lesser Cuckoo (C. poliocephalus) and the Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus) laying well mimetic eggs with respect to their hosts based on human being’s visual observations, while others such as the Large Hawk-cuckoo (C. sparverioides), the Himalayan Cuckoo (C. saturatus) and the Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus) usually laid non-mimetic eggs. The use of cuckoo hosts and egg color variation in China are compared with those in other parts of their ranges in Asia.展开更多
基金Supported by the Seed Improvement Project of Shandong Province of China(No.2017LZGC009)the Major Scientifi c and Technological Innovation Project of Shandong Provincial Key Research and Development Program(No.2019JZZY020706)。
文摘Haliotis discus hannai is an important marine economic species in China.Its egg color was found to be associated with economic traits,which provides a new idea for breeding.However,the molecular mechanism of the egg-color formation has not been reported.Thus,the pigment composition and comparative transcriptome analyses of H.discus hannai with green and gray egg color were conducted using high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)and RNA-Seq methods.Results show that individuals with green and gray eggs both possess the fucoxanthin.Lutein existed in gray-egged individuals,but not in green-egged individuals.In transcriptome analysis,272310 unigenes were received from 461162 transcripts with a mean length of 985 bp and N50 of 1524 bp,respectively.A total of 185 unigenes were identifi ed as diff erentially expressed genes(DEGs).The DEGs involved in“fl avin-containing compound metabolic process”,“melanosome”,“glutathione metabolism”,and“cytochrome b6f complex”were likely related to the formation of the egg color.Our results provide foundational information for the functional analysis of egg-color related genes and are benefi cial to the selective breeding of H.discus hannai.
文摘Understanding the occurrence of multiple distinct phenotypes in a population of a species,i.e.,polymorphism,is one of the challenges encountered in evolutionary biology.Egg color polymorphism in birds is one example of morphological polymorphism and disruptive selection has been proposed as a hypothetical mechanism to explain its occurrence.We studied how polymorphic egg colors(immaculate blue and white) occur in Korean populations of the Vinous-throated Parrotbill(Paradoxornis webbianus).Egg color ratios(the proportion of nests with blue eggs in a population) were monitored over a large spatial scale and egg colors were quanti ed using a spectrophotometer.We found egg color ratios to vary spatially among populations.Interestingly,there was a latitudinal morph-ratio cline in egg color ratios.e proportion of nests with blue eggs increased considerably with the latitude declined towards the southern part of the Korean peninsula.ere were some quantitative variations in egg colors among populations.However,the pattern of variations was not consistent with those of the population egg color ratios.Based on these results,we discuss a potential scenario for the evolution of egg color polymorphism in the Vinous-throated Parrotbill.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31672303 to CY,and 31772453 to WL)
文摘Background: Laying sequence has important effects on eggshell color and embryonic development in birds. Some birds can allocate resources unevenly among the eggs within a clutch, prioritizing those at the beginning of the laying sequence, in order to maximize reproductive success. The changes in egg color according to laying sequence may be an adaptation to pressure from predators or brood parasites.Methods: In this study, effects of laying sequence on egg color and embryonic heart rate in Russet Sparrows(Passer cinnamomeus) were investigated using artificial nest boxes. The eggs were divided into three groups: first to be laid, intermediate in the laying sequence, and last to be laid. We maintained the eggs in an incubator and measured embryonic heart rates.Results: Avian visual modeling showed that the background color brightness of the last eggs laid was significantly higher(whiter) than those of the other eggs. All eggs were about the same size and hatched around 13 days, indicating that laying sequence significantly affected embryonic development speed; the last eggs to be laid developed significantly faster than did the first in the clutch.Conclusions: Our study quantified the effect of laying sequence on egg color variation and proved that laying sequence has an important effect on embryonic heart rate in Russet Sparrows.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.31970427 and 32270526 to W.L.)。
文摘Brood parasitic birds lay eggs in the nests of other birds,and the parasitized hosts can reduce the cost of raising unrelated offspring through the recognition of parasitic eggs.Hosts can adopt vision-based cognitive mechanisms to recognize foreign eggs by comparing the colors of foreign and host eggs.However,there is currently no uniform conclusion as to whether this comparison involves the single or multiple threshold decision rules.In this study,we tested both hypotheses by adding model eggs of different colors to the nests of Barn Swallows(Hirundo rustica)of two geographical populations breeding in Hainan and Heilongjiang Provinces in China.Results showed that Barn Swallows rejected more white model eggs(moderate mimetic to their own eggs)and blue model eggs(highly non-mimetic eggs with shorter reflectance spectrum)than red model eggs(highly nonmimetic eggs with longer reflectance spectrum).There was no difference in the rejection rate of model eggs between the two populations of Barn Swallows,and clutch size was not a factor affecting egg recognition.Our results are consistent with the single rejection threshold model.This study provides strong experimental evidence that the color of model eggs can has an important effect on egg recognition in Barn Swallows,opening up new avenues to uncover the evolution of cuckoo egg mimicry and explore the cognitive mechanisms underlying the visual recognition of foreign eggs by hosts.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(3086004431071938)+1 种基金Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University(NCET-10-0111)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(20110490967)funded project
文摘Brood parasitism and egg mimicry of Himalayan Cuckoo（Cuculus saturatus） on its host Blyth＇s Leaf Warbler（Phylloscopus reguloides） were studied in south-western China from April to July 2009.The cuckoo laid a white egg with fine brown markings on the blunt end.The eggs were conspicuously bigger than the host＇s own,with 2.06 g in mass and 1.91 cm3 in volume.Visual modeling showed that the cuckoo eggs,which from the human eye appeared to mimic the host eggs to a great extent,were completely different from the host eggs in both hue and chroma.The characters of the Himalayan Cuckoo nestling,reported for the first time,included two triangular and black patches on its gape,which appeared from four days old and became darker with age and growth.While this character also exists in nestlings of Oriental Cuckoo（C.optatus）,it has not been found for other Cuculus species.Our results reveal cryptic aspects in the cuckoo-host egg color matching,which are not visible to the naked human eye,and indicate that high mimetic cuckoo eggs rejected by hosts,as determined by human observers in previous studies,might not be mimetic as birds see them.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31071938 and 31272328 to WL, 31101646 and 31260514 to CY)Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0111 to WL)Key Project of Chinese Ministry of Education (No. 212136 to CY)
文摘Polymorphism in egg coloration is prominent in the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) and a common host, the Ashy-throated Parrotbill (Paradoxornis alphonsianus). Egg polymorphism has probably evolved as a consequence of frequency-dependent selection in both host and parasite, and has, according to human vision, resulted in discrete immaculate white, pale blue and blue egg phenotypes within a single population. However, egg mimicry assessment is not always straightforward, and previous studies have shown that human based comparisons applied to the coloration of bird eggs may be inadequate. Here, we objectively quantify egg color of both parasite and host by spectrophotometry and assess egg mimicry of the Common Cuckoo to the eggs of its Ashy-throated Parrotbill host. Our results revealed that egg reflectance spectra agree well with the assessment based on human vision that cuckoo eggs mimic those of the parrotbill host, in both visible (VIS) and ultraviolet (UV) ranges. However, the white cuckoo egg shows slightly poorer mimicry than the blue cuckoo egg in corresponding host clutches. We suggest that the white parrotbill egg morph (and subsequently the whitish cuckoo egg color) may have evolved after the evolution of the blue egg morph due to strong selection from parasites in the cuckoo-parrotbill system.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(nos.31071938,31272328 and 31472013 to WL,and 31260514 to CY)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University(NCET-13-0761)+1 种基金the Key Project of the Chinese Ministry of Education(no.212136)the Program of International S&T Cooperation(KJHZ2013-12)to CY
文摘The coevolutionary interaction between cuckoos and their hosts has been studied for a long time, but to date some puzzles still remain unsolved. Whether cuckoos parasitize their hosts by laying eggs randomly or matching the egg morphs of their hosts is one of the mysteries of the cuckoo problem. Scientists tend to believe that cuckoos lay eggs matching the appearance of host eggs due to selection caused by the ability of the hosts to recognize their own eggs.In this paper, we first review previous empirical studies to test this mystery and found no studies have provided direct evidence of cuckoos choosing to parasitize host nests where egg color and pattern match. We then present examples of unmatched cuckoo eggs in host nests and key life history traits of cuckoos, e.g. secretive behavior and rapid egg-laying and link them to cuckoo egg laying behavior. Finally we develop a conceptual model to demonstrate the egg laying behaviour of cuckoos and propose an empirical test that can provide direct evidence of the egg-laying properties of female cuckoos. We speculate that the degree of egg matching between cuckoo eggs and those of the host as detected by humans is caused by the ability of the hosts to recognize their own eggs, rather than the selection of matching host eggs by cuckoos. The case of Common Cuckoos(Cuculus canorus) and their parrotbill hosts(Paradoxornis alphonsianus), where it has been shown that both have evolved polymorphic eggs(mainly blue and white), was used to develop a conceptual model to demonstrate why cuckoos should utilize parrotbill hosts by laying eggs randomly rather than laying eggs matching the appearance of host eggs.In conclusion, we found no evidence for the hypothesis that cuckoos lay eggs based on own egg color matching that of the parrotbill-cuckoo system. We argue theoretically that laying eggs matching those of the hosts in this system violates a key trait of the life history of cuckoos and therefore should be maladaptive.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31071938, 31101646)Key Project of Chinese Ministry of Education (No. 212136)+1 种基金the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project (20110490967)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0111)
文摘In this exposé we provide the first review of host use by brood parasitic cuckoos in a multiple-cuckoo system in China, based on our own long-term field data and a compilation of observations obtained from the literature. In total, we found that 11 species of cuckoos utilized altogether 55 host species. These hosts belong to 15 families, in which Sylviidae, Turdidae and Timaliidae account for 22.6%, 20.8% and 17.0% of parasitism records, respectively. The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) had the widest range of host species, accounting for 45.5% of the total number of parasitized species (25 in 10 families) of all parasitism records and is the most frequent brood parasite in the country. Cuckoo species differed in their egg coloration and the extent of egg polymorphism with most of them, e.g. the Common Cuckoo, the Lesser Cuckoo (C. poliocephalus) and the Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus) laying well mimetic eggs with respect to their hosts based on human being’s visual observations, while others such as the Large Hawk-cuckoo (C. sparverioides), the Himalayan Cuckoo (C. saturatus) and the Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus) usually laid non-mimetic eggs. The use of cuckoo hosts and egg color variation in China are compared with those in other parts of their ranges in Asia.
