大杜鹃的巢寄生

巢寄生（brood parasitism）：是某些鸟类将卵产在其他鸟的巢中,由其他鸟（义亲）代为孵化和育雏的一种特殊的繁殖行为。本图片为东方大苇莺在哺育大杜鹃雏鸟。     

大杜鹃在荒漠伯劳巢中寄生繁殖

2010年5～7月在安西极旱荒漠国家级自然保护区发现3巢荒漠伯劳被大杜鹃寄生,寄生率10.34%.荒漠伯劳产白色和粉红色两种颜色的卵,大杜鹃产白色寄生卵于卵色为白色的宿主巢中.寄生卵均产于6月,当月寄生率达42.86%.大杜鹃雏鸟19日龄离巢,离巢时体重66.24 g.     

巢寄生的协同进化

巢寄生现象一直是鸟类学专家探讨的热点问题,对于协同进化的问题又有许多不同理论。从宿主的2种对待寄生卵的行为出发,对于巢寄生协同进化的各种理论做了简单的归纳。其中宿主的拒卵行为被认为是一种适应性的表现,这导致和寄生鸟的进化竞争。而对宿主接受卵的行为却有2种不同的观点,即进化滞后说和进化平衡说,这2种学说从不同的方面都能解释宿主接受卵的行为。关于巢寄生的协同进化问题还需要进一步的研究和更多的实例证明．     

三个东方大苇莺种群大杜鹃寄生率的变异

东方大苇莺Acrocephalus orientalis是大杜鹃Cuculus canorus的主要寄主之一。本文对东方大苇莺的3个地理种群进行杜鹃寄生率的时空比较。发现不同东方大苇莺种群被大杜鹃的巢寄生率在21.4%和65.5%之间,差异显著;不过,地理位置相近的两个种群在巢寄生率上则没有显著差异。另外,同一地理种群的巢寄生率年间也存在显著差异。     

家燕营巢特征及其对城市环境的适应性

城市面积在全球范围内迅速扩张,一些鸟类种群通过改变营巢特征,在与自然生境截然不同的城市中筑巢繁殖。但目前城市环境对于鸟类营巢影响的研究较缺乏。为了解鸟类营巢对城市环境的适应,于2016、2019年在黑龙江哈尔滨的城市与乡村环境,分别测量家燕（Hirundo rustica）巢（如,大小及形状）及巢址特征等（如,距地面和屋顶距离）参数,以探究：（1）家燕巢特征在乡村及城市生境是否存在差异？（2）家燕巢特征在年际间是否存在变化？并为城市家燕种群的保护提供理论依据及合理建议。研究采用Kruskal-Wallis秩和检验以及Wilcoxon秩和检验比较分析所测量的巢特征参数在城乡之间、年际间的差异,并对组间参数进行线性判别分析（LDA,Linear Discriminant Analysis）。结果发现,城乡间具有显著差异：（1）与乡村相比,城市巢距离屋顶更远,距地相对更近（P<0.05）;（2）城市巢更浅（P<0.05）;（3）从2016到2019年,城市和乡村巢都变得更深,半径更大（P<0.05）。根据这些发现,推测城市楼房建筑的楼道为家燕繁殖提供了相对更为封闭、安全的环境,旧巢及较为丰富的支撑物为家燕提供了适宜的巢址,有可能节省亲鸟在营巢上的繁殖投入;但同时应当警惕门窗关闭、资源受限、人为干扰等不利因素可能造成的生态陷阱。     

鸟类巢寄生伤害理论的进化

鸟类巢寄生的寄主无论是成乌还是雏鸟,对宿主都是极具伤害性的,因为它们降低了宿主的生育力,然而,无论是在寄主种内还是种间,其伤害性的差异变化很大。综述了以往对这种伤害性差异的各种解释,以往的解释在很大程度上集中在伤害性所带来的利益。认为寄主的伤害性行为可以像病原体的伤害性一样进行分类,伤害性在为寄主带来利益的同时,也伴随着代价,所以,由病原体伤害性进化研究衍生而来的平衡假说,适用于解释鸟类巢寄生伤害理论的进化。     

宿主鸟类防御杜鹃巢寄生的策略

为了消除巢寄生给自身繁殖带来的不利影响,许多宿主进化出反寄生策略来提高自身的适合度。越来越多的研究表明,宿主的反寄生防御手段可能发生在其生活史周期的各个阶段。本文分别从巢、卵和雏鸟三个阶段对宿主鸟类的反寄生策略进行综述,主要包括巢防御、卵识别、雏鸟识别和雏鸟出飞阶段的防御策略及各阶段的主要研究方法,以期为深入研究鸟类的巢寄生行为提供参考。     

大杜鹃在白腹短翅鸲巢中寄生繁殖

2009年至2012年期间,在甘肃莲花山自然保护区共发现91个白腹短翅鸲(Hodgsonius phaenicuroides)巢,其中15巢被大杜鹃(Cuculus canorus)寄生,寄生率为16.48%。根据对13枚寄生的大杜鹃卵的观察,其中12枚卵色为浅蓝色,与白腹短翅鸲的深蓝绿色卵差异明显,仅1枚与白腹短翅鸲卵色一致。大杜鹃与白腹短翅鸲的卵重(t =11.208, df=38, P<0.001)和卵短径(t=0.970,df=38, P<0.001)差异极显著。白腹短翅鸲具有识别大杜鹃卵的能力,15巢中只有4巢接受寄生卵并继续孵化,7巢成功识别,剩余4巢无法确定是否识别。白腹短翅鸲为雌鸟单独孵卵,推测识别大杜鹃卵可能只与雌鸟有关。     

大杜鹃对北红尾鸲的放牧行为

在宿主的寄生防御压力下,鸟类巢寄生者通常会进化出一系列有效的寄生行为以提高其自身的繁殖适合度。以往研究发现,部分巢寄生者可能具有类似人类的"放牧"行为,即通过破坏或捕食不适合寄生的宿主巢,促使其重新筑巢以获取新的寄生机会。然而,对于其野外行为事件的报道并不多见。2018年5至8月,在贵州六枝地区,通过对宿主北红尾鸲(Phoenicurusauroreus)的巢进行录像监控,首次记录到大杜鹃(Cuculus canorus)对正在孵卵的北红尾鸲的放牧行为。进一步查阅了大杜鹃寄生系统中已有的放牧案例,说明放牧行为很可能是大杜鹃普遍采用的一种寄生策略。     

大杜鹃雌鸟鸣声的日节律

本文描述了三个地区大杜鹃(Cuculus canorus)雌鸟鸣声的日节律。通过在北京野鸭湖湿地公园(2017年5月7日至7月8日)、辽宁辽河口自然保护区(2018年6月28日至7月29日)和吉林大岗子林场(2018年5月17日至7月10日)分别布设自动录音机10台、10台和8台,连续记录繁殖季大杜鹃的鸣声。共录到2 777次大杜鹃雌鸟的鸣叫。其中,1 431次来自北京野鸭湖湿地公园,1 222次来自辽宁辽河口自然保护区,124次来自吉林大岗子林场。野鸭湖湿地公园和辽河口自然保护区的大杜鹃雌鸟在日出时段出现鸣叫的高峰,而大岗子林场的大杜鹃在日出和日落时段各有一个鸣叫的高峰。通过比较大杜鹃雌鸟鸣声的日节律和大杜鹃产卵时间的日节律,本研究认为在上述地区大杜鹃雌鸟鸣叫的功能更可能是宣示领域和吸引异性,而非恐吓宿主。本研究有助于进一步了解大杜鹃雌鸟鸣声的功能。     

哈尔滨家燕mandschurica亚种繁殖生态特征

许多鸟种因具有较强的适应性而分布广泛,例如家燕(Hirundo rustica)。在不同纬度地区研究其繁殖生态学特征有助于了解家燕对不同环境的适应。家燕mandschurica亚种在国内仅分布于黑龙江省,且该亚种的繁殖资料少有报道,为此,于2016和2017年每年的4至10月,在哈尔滨对其繁殖生态特征开展研究,并与国内目前已发表的家燕gutturalis亚种繁殖生态特征进行对比。家燕mandschurica亚种4月底或5月初迁来哈尔滨,9月下旬或10月初南迁;窝卵数为4～6枚(n=19);卵长径(18.7±1.4)mm(15.9～22.5 mm)、卵短径(13.0±0.5)mm(12.2～14.2 mm),卵重(1.6±0.1)g(1.3～1.9 g),n=35;孵卵期为(16±2)d(14～18 d,n=19);育雏期为(17±1)d(16～18 d,n=6)。雏鸟的体长、翅长及尾羽长的生长曲线能与Logistic较好地拟合;体重、嘴峰和跗跖在5日龄左右生长最快,体长和翅长在7日龄左右增长最快,雏鸟的生长模式符合能量分配假说。与我国南方的家燕gutturalis亚种相比,在哈尔滨繁殖的mandschurica亚种的卵更小、更轻,二者孵卵期相似,但后者育雏期更短。这或许与不同地区食物丰富度及亲鸟喂食策略有关。     

家燕和金腰燕的卵胚胎心率比较

胚胎心率是衡量胚胎新陈代谢速率的重要指标。鸟类的胚胎心率随新陈代谢的增加而呈上升趋势。对早成性鸟类的种间比较发现,胚胎心率平均值随卵重量的增大而减小,卵体积小的种类具有相对较高的胚胎心率。国内有关野生鸟类胚胎心率的研究较少。2014年5~8月,在黑龙江扎龙国家级自然保护区,利用红外胚胎心率测量仪对两种近缘鸟类家燕(Hirundo rustica,n=14)和金腰燕(Cecropis daurica,n=14)的卵胚胎心率及其变化进行了测量与比较。两种燕均在孵卵的第2天开始出现胚胎心率,并随胚龄增加心率呈上升趋势,但在第8天及第11~14天家燕的胚胎心率显著低于金腰燕(第8天:z=﹣2.602,P=0.009;第11天:z=﹣2.497,P=0.013;第12天:z=﹣2.354,P=0.019;第13天:z=3.424,P=0.001;第14天:z=﹣3.380,P=0.001)。家燕卵胚胎日均增长心率(19.0±3.1)次/min,金腰燕卵胚胎日均增长心率(16.1±3.4)次/min,二者差异不显著(z=﹣1.792,P=0.073)。两种燕的胚胎心率与卵容量和卵重均不存在显著相关性[家燕:卵容量(1.73±0.09)cm3,r=0.192,P=0.511;卵重(1.74±0.09)g,r=0.128,P=0.663。金腰燕:卵容量(1.74±0.08)cm3,r=0.040,P=0.891;卵重(1.51±0.09)g,r=0.054,P=0.855]。这可能表明,卵大小和卵重量对家燕与金腰燕的胚胎心率均影响不明显。     

鹰鹃对白腹短翅鸲的巢寄生

2015年4~8月,在贵州宽阔水国家级自然保护区,记录到1巢白腹短翅鸲(Hodgsonius phaenicuroides)被鹰鹃(Cuculus sparverioides)寄生,寄生率为1/16(n=16)。发现时白腹短翅鸲巢内有1枚白色的寄生卵和2枚蓝色的寄主卵,且卵已凉,疑为亲鸟弃巢。鹰鹃卵重6.09 g,卵大小20.20 mm×27.73 mm;两枚白腹短翅鸲的卵重分别为2.34 g和2.40 g,大小分别为20.05 mm×14.94 mm和19.95 mm×15.09 mm。鹰鹃的卵重量(6.09 g)和大小(27.73 mm×20.20 mm)均明显大于白腹短翅鸲的卵。卵色光谱测量结果表明,鹰鹃和白腹短翅鸲卵色的反射光谱图差别明显,鹰鹃卵在色度和色调上明显低于白腹短翅鸲,但卵色亮度却明显比白腹短翅鸲卵高,为典型的非模拟寄生卵。     

The Mitogenome Relationships and Phylogeography of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica)

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) poses a number of fascinating scientific questions, including the taxonomic status of postulated subspecies. Here, we obtained and assessed the sequence variation of 411 complete mitogenomes, mainly from the European H. r. rustica, but other subspecies as well. In almost every case, we observed subspecies-specific haplogroups, which we employed together with estimated radiation times to postulate a model for the geographical and temporal worldwide spread of the species. The female barn swallow carrying the Hirundo rustica ancestral mitogenome left Africa (or its vicinity) around 280 thousand years ago (kya), and her descendants expanded first into Eurasia and then, at least 51 kya, into the Americas, from where a relatively recent (<20 kya) back migration to Asia took place. The exception to the haplogroup subspecies specificity is represented by the sedentary Levantine H. r. transitiva that extensively shares haplogroup A with the migratory European H. r. rustica and, to a lesser extent, haplogroup B with the Egyptian H. r. savignii. Our data indicate that rustica and transitiva most likely derive from a sedentary Levantine population source that split at the end of the Younger Dryas (YD) (11.7 kya). Since then, however, transitiva received genetic inputs from and admixed with both the closely related rustica and the adjacent savignii. Demographic analyses confirm this species’ strong link with climate fluctuations and human activities making it an excellent indicator for monitoring and assessing the impact of current global changes on wildlife.     

Errors in egg-laying by female Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus in nests of its common host

Dozens of studies have documented that brood parasites are well adapted to a brood parasitic lifestyle but not all parasitism events are successful. Co-evolution between brood parasites and their hosts is a dynamic process so it is reasonable to expect that a female brood parasite may commit errors during egg deposition by laying her eggs outside the laying period of the host, with consequent impacts on her fitness. Using an extensive dataset from a long-term study, we evaluated egg-laying patterns and errors related to the timing of egg-laying in the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus (hereafter ‘Cuckoo’). Specifically, we tested whether the Cuckoo avoids laying before or on the day of host clutch initiation to reduce the risk of rejection of parasitic eggs, whether laying errors will be more frequent in periods with a lack of active host nests, and whether the laying errors will be more frequent in periods with intense Cuckoo parasitism and a consequent lack of suitable host nests. We found that about one-third of Cuckoo eggs were laid on the host clutch initiation day or 1 day before, and the percentage of Cuckoo eggs laid decreased thereafter. Surprisingly, the probability of Cuckoo egg acceptance by the hosts was not affected by the egg-laying stage of the host clutch. Errors in the timing of egg-laying with fatal consequences (i.e. those precluding Cuckoo hatching because of laying in incubated or deserted clutches) were recorded in about 5% of cases. Only laying date of a Cuckoo egg had a significant effect on the probability of errors, which increased during the breeding season. This may be related to the higher number of deserted and incubated host nests at the site at the end of the breeding season. Errors in egg-laying may be attributed to young and inexperienced females but also impaired body condition or intraspecific competition may cause this behaviour. Future studies, which will test these possible explanations, will help to understand better the mechanism of co-evolutionary arms races and differences between host specialist and generalist brood parasites in various host–parasite systems.     

Egg phenotype differentiation in sympatric cuckoo Cuculus canorus gentes

The brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus consists of gentes, which typically parasitize only a single host species whose eggs they often mimic. Where multiple cuckoo gentes co‐exist in sympatry, we may expect variable but generally poorer mimicry because of host switches or inter‐gens gene flow via males if these also contribute to egg phenotypes. Here, we investigated egg trait differentiation and mimicry in three cuckoo gentes parasitizing great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus, marsh warblers Acrocephalus palustris and corn buntings Miliaria calandra breeding in close sympatry in partially overlapping habitat types. The three cuckoo gentes showed a remarkable degree of mimicry to their three host species in some but not all egg features, including egg size, a hitherto largely ignored feature of egg mimicry. Egg phenotype matching for both background and spot colours as well as for egg size has been maintained in close sympatry despite the possibility for gene flow.