Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice

Mate Choice

Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.

Complementation Tests

Complementation Tests

A complementation test is a simple cross to identify whether the two mutations are located on the same gene or different genes. It was first performed by Edward Lewis in the 1940s while working on fruit flies. He developed the test to identify the location and arrangement of different mutations on chromosomes.
Organisms heterozygous for different mutations are crossed pairwise in all combinations. If present on different genes, the mutations can complement each other by providing the missing...

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.

Epistasis

Epistasis

In addition to multiple alleles at the same locus influencing traits, numerous genes or alleles at different locations may interact and influence phenotypes in a phenomenon called epistasis. For example, rabbit fur can be black or brown depending on whether the animal is homozygous dominant or heterozygous at a TYRP1 locus. However, if the rabbit is also homozygous recessive at a locus on the tyrosinase gene (TYR), it will have an unshaded coat that appears white, regardless of its TYRP1...

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...

Frequency-dependent Selection

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Heavy metals and eggshell coloration in House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) eggshells across the Eastern United States.

PloS one·2026

Same author

Pigment concentrations only partially predict avian eggshell colour mimicry in a polymorphic host-brood parasite system.

Biology letters·2025

Same author

Correlated evolution between nest architecture and the visual system of Passerine birds.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2025

Same author

Through an animal's eye: the implications of diverse sensory systems in scientific experimentation.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2024

Same author

Decision rules for egg-color-based rejection by two cavity-nesting hosts of the brown-headed cowbird.

The Journal of experimental biology·2023

Same author

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·2021

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients

Published on: August 22, 2018

Eggshell colour differences in a classic example of coevolved eggshell mimicry.

Juliana Villa¹, Phillip A Wisocki¹, Jacob E Dela Cruz¹

¹Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA.

Biology Letters

|November 28, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Great reed warblers reject cuckoo eggs based on color, favoring darker, bluer eggs. This study confirms warbler eggs are darker and bluer than cuckoo eggs, revealing imperfect mimicry in this coevolutionary relationship.

Keywords:

avian brood parasitism coevolutionary dynamics common cuckoo egg rejection great reed warbler

More Related Videos

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Processing Embryo, Eggshell, and Fungal Culture for Scanning Electron Microscopy

Processing Embryo, Eggshell, and Fungal Culture for Scanning Electron Microscopy

Published on: August 16, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients

Published on: August 22, 2018

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Processing Embryo, Eggshell, and Fungal Culture for Scanning Electron Microscopy

Processing Embryo, Eggshell, and Fungal Culture for Scanning Electron Microscopy

Published on: August 16, 2019

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Animal Behavior
Ornithology

Background:

Avian brood parasitism drives coevolutionary arms races between hosts and parasites.
The great reed warbler and common cuckoo exhibit a long-standing coevolutionary struggle.
Hosts, like the great reed warbler, evolve to reject parasite eggs, favoring mimicry.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the color-biased rejection behavior of great reed warblers towards common cuckoo eggs.
To test if warbler eggs are consistently darker and bluer than cuckoo eggs, supporting observed rejection patterns.
To provide insights into the coevolutionary dynamics between brood parasites and their hosts.

Main Methods:

Analysis of eggshell reflectance spectra from great reed warblers and common cuckoos in the Czech Republic.
Statistical comparison of egg color and darkness between host and parasite eggs.
Re-analysis of existing spectral data to re-evaluate host rejection criteria.

Main Results:

Great reed warbler eggs were found to be significantly darker and bluer than common cuckoo eggs at the population level.
This finding supports the hypothesis that hosts' color-biased rejection selects for darker, bluer parasite eggs.
Imperfect mimicry was demonstrated, contrary to assumptions of complete visual matching.

Conclusions:

The study demonstrates that great reed warblers exhibit imperfect egg color mimicry by the common cuckoo.
Color-biased egg rejection by hosts can drive parasite egg evolution.
These findings enhance our understanding of coevolutionary processes in brood parasitism.