Published on February 4,
2018 by Lima Charlie
Brood parasitism has
fascinated many scientists since the behavior was identified. Popular human
affection for the devoir of child rearing has induced a particularly strong
“hathos” for the practice in other species. Brood parasitism– when animals
depend on other organisms to raise their young– is most notably an instance of
convergent evolution in birds.
The cuckoo, cowbird, and
honeyguides each lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, who are thus
bamboozled into feeding and caring for their nestlings. The fact that this
hijacked parenting operation occurred independently in each species yields an
opportunity for biologists to study the convergent evolution phenomenon. Convergent evolution
is the process by which species of different lineages separately develop
similar traits. The teleonomy (the apparent purposes of natural structures) of
such evolutionary changes are of great interest to scientists who want to put
together a full story of evolution’s history.
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