DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mp0df
title: Data from: Egg mimicry by the pacific koel: mimicry of one host facilitates exploitation of other hosts with similar egg types

description: When brood parasites exploit multiple host species, egg rejection by hosts
 may select for the evolution of host-specific races, where each race
 mimics a particular host’s egg type. However, some brood parasites that
 exploit multiple hosts with the ability to reject foreign eggs appear to
 have only a single egg type. In these cases, it is unclear how the
 parasite egg escapes detection by its hosts. Three possible explanations
 are: (i) host-specific races are present, but differences in egg
 morphology are difficult for the human eye to detect; (ii) the brood
 parasite evolves a single egg type that is intermediate in appearance
 between the eggs of its hosts; (iii) or the parasite evolves mimicry of
 one of its hosts, which subsequently allows it to exploit other species
 with similar egg morphology. Here we test these possibilities by
 quantifying parameters of egg appearance of the brood-parasitic Pacific
 Koel (Eudynamys orientalis) and seven of its hosts. Koel eggs laid in the
 nests of different hosts did not show significant differences in colour or
 pattern, suggesting that koels have not evolved host-specific races. Koel
 eggs were similar in colour, luminance and pattern to the majority of
 hosts, but were significantly more similar in colour and luminance to one
 of the major hosts than to two other major hosts, supporting hypothesis
 (iii). Our findings suggest that mimicry of one host can allow a brood
 parasite to exploit new hosts with similar egg morphologies, which could
 inhibit the evolution of host defences in naïve hosts.
description: Average egg pattern
 energiesData in this file were
 used in the egg pattern discriminate function analysis to determine if the
 Pacific Koel exhibited host-specific egg mimicry in egg pattern. This data
 includes eggs from the CSIRO museum in Canberra, ACT, Australia and fresh
 from the field in Sydney, NSW and Canberra, ACT. Specific information
 about each clutch can be found in the appendix of the manuscript and
 details about this analysis can be found in the Methods section of the
 manuscript.Egg size analyses
 dataThis workbook contains
 three sheets all related to the egg size analyses. The first sheet
 contains average egg volume for all koel and host eggs used in an ANOVA
 analysis. The second sheet is data that was used in the first linear model
 mentioned in the manuscript, which was run to determine if koel egg volume
 was predicted by host species. The third sheet is data that was used in
 the second linear model, which was run to determine if koel egg volume was
 predicted by host egg volume. Eggs were from the CSIRO museum in Canberra,
 ACT, Australia and fresh from the field from Sydney, NSW and Canberra,
 ACT. For more information about each clutch, please see the supplemental
 material in the manuscript. For more information about the analyses,
 please see the Methods and Results sections in the
 manuscript.Egg size
 Analyses_DRYAD.xlsxCSIRO museum egg color
 dataThis workbook contains
 data related to the museum egg color analyses and only includes data from
 the eggs at the CSIRO museum in Canbera, ACT, Australia or eggs from the
 field in Sydney, NSW and Canberra, ACT that were blown prior to measuring.
 The first sheet contains the average spectrophotometric data at each
 wavelength for each clutch and koel egg, which was used to determine the
 color catch cone values (second sheet). The second sheet contains the
 color catch cone values for all four avian color cones (VS, SWS, MWS, LWS)
 and the double cone for luminance. These color catch cone values were used
 in the discriminate function analysis to determine if koels exhibit
 host-specific races in color and the color catchcone values were also used
 to calculate Just Notcieable Differences (JNDs) to compare egg colors and
 luminances between species. For more information about each clutch, please
 see the supplemental material in the manuscript. For more information
 about the analyses, please see the Methods and Results section in the
 manuscript.CSIRO_color
 data_DRYAD.xlsxField eggs color
 dataThis workbook contains
 data related to the color data for eggs collected fresh from the field
 from Sydney, NSW, Australia and Canberra, ACT, Australia. Species measured
 include the Noisy Friarbird, Magpie-lark, Red Wattlebird, and Pacific Koel
 eggs from Red Wattlebird nests. Eggs were measured from 2013-2015. The
 first sheet contains the average spectrophotometric data for each
 wavelength from 300-700 nm, which was used to calculate the color
 catchcone values (second sheet). The second sheet contains the color
 catchcone values for the four avian color cones (VS, SWS, MWS, and LWS)
 and the double cone for luminance. Catchcone values were used to calculate
 Just Noticeable Differences to compare egg colors and luminance values
 between species. For more information about each clutch, please see the
 supplemental material in the manuscript. For more information about the
 analyses, please see the Methods and Results section in the
 manuscript.Field eggs_color
 data_DRYAD.xlsx