Question

Some species of cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. When the birds hatch, the other species tends to the cuckoo’s young as their own. While the other species takes care of their young, the parent cuckoos collect food for themselves and produce more offspring. How does this tactic affect the survival of the cuckoos and the offspring of the birds that care for young cuckoos?

It increases survival for both.

It decreases survival for both.

It increases survival for cuckoos, but decreases survival of the other birds.

It decreases survival for cuckoos, but increases survival of the other birds.

Answer 1

It increases survival for cuckoos, but decreases survival of other bird species.

Answer 2

The correct answer is- It increases survival for cuckoos, but decreases survival of the other birds.

Step-by-step explanation:

Birds like cuckoo bird are called parasite birds which lays their eggs in the nest of other birds and destroy some eggs already present in that nest. This behavior is called brood parasitism.

This decreases the fitness of other birds who raise the eggs of cuckoo bird because they are giving all the energy to raise the egg of other species but it increases the survival of cuckoo species because now the mother cuckoo again can utilize its energy to mate and give births to more offsprings.

So brood parasitism is one of the strategies that cuckoo and other parasite birds use to transfer their genes to the next generation. Therefore, the correct answer is it increases survival for cuckoos, but decreases survival of the other birds.