A cuckoo may lay its eggs in a warbler’s nest. The cuckoo’s young will displace the warbler’s young getting more food and attention. The warbler parents spend more time and energy on the cuckoo and neglect the warbler young.

Question

Who benefits?
Who is harmed?
Who is neutral?
What relationship is this?

Answer 1

In this scenario:

• Who benefits? The cuckoo benefits because its young are receiving more food and attention from the warbler parents, leading to a higher chance of survival and growth.

• Who is harmed? The warbler and its young are harmed. The warbler parents are spending more time and energy on the cuckoo chick, which means they neglect their own chicks, potentially leading to their decreased survival.

• Who is neutral? There are no neutral parties in this specific interaction. The cuckoo actively benefits at the expense of the warbler and its young, so all involved have distinct roles.

• What relationship is this? This is an example of brood parasitism, a specific type of parasitism. In this relationship, one species (the cuckoo) exploits another (the warbler) by placing its eggs in the host's nest, leading to the host's offspring being harmed (due to neglect) while the parasite's offspring benefit.