ArticlePhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2019
Variation in multicomponent recognition cues alters egg rejection decisions: a test of the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis.
Article in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Egg-Inspection Frequency Predicts Egg Recognition but Not Ejection in a Cuckoo Host.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Categorical identity signatures can reduce host error rates during brood parasitism.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- How Do Oriental Reed Warblers Recognize Cuckoo Eggs?Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Geographical Variation in Egg Rejection by Azure-Winged Magpies (Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Egg Spots Are Important Cues for Egg Recognition in Barn Swallows.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Egg shape and color mediate acceptance thresholds in diverse avian host species with different rates of antiparasitic egg rejection.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Cuckoo Hosts Fine-Tune Their Egg Rejection After Experiencing a Parasitism Event.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Nest desertion as an anti-parasitism strategy in hosts selects for late egg-laying behavior in cuckoos.iScience · 2023Article
- Decision rules for egg-color-based rejection by two cavity-nesting hosts of the brown-headed cowbird.The Journal of experimental biology · 2023Article
- Gradual changes in model shape affect egg-directed behaviours by parasitic shiny cowbirdsRoyal Society open science · 2023Article
- Could diffuse coevolution explain the generic eggshell color of the brown-headed cowbird?Current zoology · 2021Article
- The limits of egg recognition: testing acceptance thresholds of American robins in response to decreasingly egg-shaped objects in the nest.Royal Society open science · 2021Article
- Contrasting effects of egg size and appearance on egg recognition and rejection response by Oriental reed warblers.Ecology and evolution · 2020Article
- Spatial variation in egg polymorphism among cuckoo hosts across 4 continents.Current zoology · 2020Article
- Signal detection and optimal acceptance thresholds in avian brood parasite-host systems: implications for egg rejection.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Review
- Avian egg and nestling detection in the wild: should we rely on visual models or behavioural experiments?Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Article
- Signal detection, acceptance thresholds and the evolution of animal recognition systems.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Article
- The evolution of conspecific acceptance threshold models.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Review
- Complex signals alter recognition accuracy and conspecific acceptance thresholds.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Article
- Evolutionarily stable investments in recognition systems explain patterns of discrimination failure and success.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Article
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6 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis provides a general predictive framework for testing behavioural responses to discrimination challenges. Decision-makers should respond to a stimulus when the perceived difference between that stimulus and a comparison template surpasses an acceptance threshold. We tested how individual components of a relevant recognition cue (experimental eggs) contributed to behavioural responses of chalk-browed mockingbirds, Mimus saturninus, a frequent host of the parasitic shiny cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis. To do this, we recorded responses to eggs that varied with respect to two components: colour, ranging from bluer to browner than the hosts' own eggs, and spotting, either spotted like their own or unspotted. Although tests of this hypothesis typically assume that decisions are based on perceived colour dissimilarity between own and foreign eggs, we found that decisions were biased toward rejecting browner eggs. However, as predicted, hosts tolerated spotted eggs more than unspotted eggs, irrespective of colour. These results uncover how a single component of a multicomponent cue can shift a host's discrimination threshold and illustrate how the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis can be used as a framework to quantify the direction and amount of the shift (in avian perceptual units) of the response curve across relevant phenotypic ranges. This article is part of the theme issue 'The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern'.
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