MATHEMATICAL-MODEL OF THE POPULATION-DYNAMICS OF BROOD PARASITISM - WHAT IS THE BENEFIT FOR THE HOST

The problem of how the system of a brood-parasite with parasite-accept ing host (i.e. a host that accepts a parasite's eggs) exists in stable equilibrium, is considered. We analyse a mathematical model of host-p arasite population dynamics for this system, corresponding to certain cases bf brood-parasitic animals where brood-parasitization causes dra stic failure of the reproduction of the brood-parasitized host, and di scuss the possible benefit to the persistence of a parasite-accepting host from the viewpoint of population dynamics.