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Brood parasitism is a subclass of parasitism and phenomenon and behavioural pattern of animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds , insects and fish . The brood parasite manipulates a host , either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own, usually using egg mimicry ...
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, ... Intraspecific social parasitism occurs in parasitic nursing, where some ...
Kleptoparasitism is a feeding strategy where one animal deliberately steals food from another. This may be intraspecific, involving stealing from members of the same species, or interspecific, from members of other species. [3] [4] The term denotes a form of parasitism involving theft, from Greek κλέπτω (kléptō, 'steal'). [5]
Parasitism is a relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or in another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. [20] The parasite either feeds on the host, or, in the case of intestinal parasites, consumes some of its food.
The significance and general relevance of this pattern are still a matter of some debate, as a great many exceptions exist, though a common explanation for the phenomenon when it occurs is that the parasites may have started as facultative parasites within the host species itself (such forms of intraspecific parasitism are well-known, even in ...
Mutualism can be contrasted with interspecific competition, in which each species experiences reduced fitness, and exploitation, and with parasitism, in which one species benefits at the expense of the other. [2] However, mutualism may evolve from interactions that began with imbalanced benefits, such as parasitism. [3]
Conspecific brood parasitism is a behaviour that occurs when females lay their eggs in another female's nest, of the same species. [17] It can reduce the cost of incubation and nestling young by passing it on to another bird. Black-headed gulls usually lay three egg clutches, and the first two are normally larger than the third. [17]
The cattle egret engages in low levels of brood parasitism, and there are a few instances of cattle egret eggs being laid in the nests of snowy egrets and little blue herons, although these eggs seldom hatch. [16] There is also evidence of low levels of intraspecific brood parasitism, with females laying eggs in the nests of other cattle egrets.