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Mutualism or parasitism? Using a phylogenetic approach to characterize the oxpecker-ungulate relationship.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Nunn, CL; Ezenwa, VO; Arnold, C; Koenig, WD
Published in: Evolution; international journal of organic evolution
May 2011

With their striking predilection for perching on African ungulates and eating their ticks, yellow-billed (Buphagus africanus) and red-billed oxpeckers (B. erythrorhynchus) represent one of the few potentially mutualistic relationships among vertebrates. The nature of the oxpecker-ungulate relationship remains uncertain, however, because oxpeckers are known to consume ungulate tissues, suggesting that the relationship between oxpeckers and ungulates may also be parasitic. To examine this issue further, we obtained data on oxpecker preferences for different ungulate species, the abundance of ticks on these ungulates, and ungulate hide thickness. In support of the mutualism hypothesis, we found that both species of oxpeckers prefer ungulate hosts that harbor a higher abundance of ticks. We found no evidence that hide thickness-a measure of the potential for parasitism by oxpeckers-predicts oxpecker preferences for different ungulate species. Oxpeckers also prefer larger-bodied ungulates, possibly because larger animals have more ticks, provide a more stable platform upon which to forage, or support more oxpeckers feeding simultaneously. However, the preference for ungulates with greater tick abundance was independent of host body mass. These results support the hypothesis that the relationship between oxpeckers and ungulates is primarily mutualistic.

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Published In

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution

DOI

EISSN

1558-5646

ISSN

0014-3820

Publication Date

May 2011

Volume

65

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1297 / 1304

Related Subject Headings

  • Ticks
  • Symbiosis
  • Songbirds
  • Phylogeny
  • Mammals
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Epidermis
  • Body Size
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Nunn, C. L., Ezenwa, V. O., Arnold, C., & Koenig, W. D. (2011). Mutualism or parasitism? Using a phylogenetic approach to characterize the oxpecker-ungulate relationship. Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution, 65(5), 1297–1304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01212.x
Nunn, Charles L., Vanessa O. Ezenwa, Christian Arnold, and Walter D. Koenig. “Mutualism or parasitism? Using a phylogenetic approach to characterize the oxpecker-ungulate relationship.Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution 65, no. 5 (May 2011): 1297–1304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01212.x.
Nunn CL, Ezenwa VO, Arnold C, Koenig WD. Mutualism or parasitism? Using a phylogenetic approach to characterize the oxpecker-ungulate relationship. Evolution; international journal of organic evolution. 2011 May;65(5):1297–304.
Nunn, Charles L., et al. “Mutualism or parasitism? Using a phylogenetic approach to characterize the oxpecker-ungulate relationship.Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution, vol. 65, no. 5, May 2011, pp. 1297–304. Epmc, doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01212.x.
Nunn CL, Ezenwa VO, Arnold C, Koenig WD. Mutualism or parasitism? Using a phylogenetic approach to characterize the oxpecker-ungulate relationship. Evolution; international journal of organic evolution. 2011 May;65(5):1297–1304.
Journal cover image

Published In

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution

DOI

EISSN

1558-5646

ISSN

0014-3820

Publication Date

May 2011

Volume

65

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1297 / 1304

Related Subject Headings

  • Ticks
  • Symbiosis
  • Songbirds
  • Phylogeny
  • Mammals
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Epidermis
  • Body Size