Stephanie McClelland’s paper entitled “Highly virulent avian brood-parasitic species show elevated embryonic metabolic rates at specific incubation stages compared to less virulent and non-parasitic species” has been published in the journal Biology Letters. This study measured structural properties of the eggshells of brood parasites and their hosts around the world. The study found that embryos of high-virulence brood parasites exhibit higher metabolic rates than those of low-virulence parasites and non-parasitic species. This might be because of the strenuous demands placed on high-virulence parasites, such as ejecting host eggs or killing host chicks. In Zambia, Stephanie collaborated with Jess Lund, Tanmay Dixit, and Claire Spottiswoode, working on honeyguides, cuckoo finches, and Vidua finches. Well done Steph and everyone on the team!

Citation: McClelland, S. C., Lund, J., Dixit, T., Hamama, S., McClean, L. A., Spottiswoode, C. N., … & Portugal, S. J. (2024). Highly virulent avian brood-parasitic species show elevated embryonic metabolic rates at specific incubation stages compared to less virulent and non-parasitic species. Biology Letters, 20(9), 20240411.