Anton Antonov's Web Page

:: Research interests

I am an ornithologist particularly interested in avian breeding biology and habitat selection. I have studied various aspects of coevolutionary interactions between the Common Cuckoo and several of its host species in NW Bulgaria having been supervised by Prof. Eivin Røskaft, Prof. Arne Moksnes and Dr. Bard G. Stokke at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). In 2010, I defended my PhD thesis entitled "Why do cuckoos lay strong-shelled eggs? Tests of the puncture resistance hypothesis."

Recently, I have started investigating the intricate coevolutionary relationships in multiple sympatric cuckoo-host systems in China in a close collaboration with Prof. Wei Liang and Dr. Canchao Yang at Hainan Normal University. Since 2011 I have been assigned a Visiting Professor position in Behavioral Ecology at Hainan Normal University.

I have acted as a referee (ca. 20 times so far) at leading international journals on animal behaviour and general ornithology like Behavioral Ecology, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, Animal Behaviour, Ethology, Behaviour, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Avian Biology, Journal of Field Ornithology, Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Chinese Birds, Sylvia

:: Scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals

1. Antonov, A. & Atanasova D. (2001). Second clutches in the alpine swift Apus melba. Ardea 89: 543-544.

2. Antonov, A. & Atanasova, D. (2001). Laying dates, clutch-size and breeding success in the pallid swift Apus pallidus in Sofia, Bulgaria. Avocetta 25: 299-303.

3. Antonov, A. & Atanasova, D. (2002). Breeding biology of the alpine swift Apus melba in Sofia, Bulgaria. Avian Science 2: 131-138.

4. Antonov, A. & Atanasova, D. (2002). Cohabitation and nest-site selection of common swift (Apus apus) and pallid swift (A. pallidus). Vogelwarte 41: 231-239.

5. Antonov, A. & D. Atanasova. (2002). Nest-site selection in the magpie Pica pica in a high density urban population of Sofia (Bulgaria). Acta Ornithologica 37: 55-66.

6. Antonov, A. & Atanasova, D. (2003). Chick conditions in first and second broods in the pallid swift Apus pallidus. Ardea 61: 197-204.

7. Antonov, A. & Atanasova, D. (2003). Small-scale differences in the breeding ecology of urban and rural magpies Pica pica. Ornis Fennica 80: 21-30.

8. Antonov, A. & Atanasova, D. (2003). Re-use of old nests versus building the new ones in the magpie Pica pica in Sofia city (Bulgaria). Acta Ornithologica 38: 1-4.

9. Antonov, A. (2004). Smaller Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Hippolais pallida elaeica nests suffer less predation than larger ones. Acta Ornithologica 39: 87-92.

10. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. , Kleven, O., Honza, M. & Røskaft, E. (2006). Eggshell strength of an obligate brood parasite: a test of the puncture resistance hypothesis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 60: 11-18.

11. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2006). Egg rejection in marsh warblers (Acrocephalus palustris) heavily parasitized by common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus). Auk 123: 419-430.

12. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2006). Coevolutionary interactions between Common Cuckoos and Corn Buntings. Condor 108: 414-422.

13. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2007). Factors influencing the risk of common cuckoo Cuculus canorus parasitism on marsh warblers Acrocephalus palustris. Journal of Avian Biology 38: 390-393.

14. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2007). First evidence of regular common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, parasitism on eastern olivaceous warblers, Hippolais pallida elaeica. Naturwissenschaften 94: 307-312.

15. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2007). Aspects of breeding ecology of the eastern olivaceous warbler (Hippolais pallida). Journal of Ornithology 148: 443-451.

16. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2008). Getting rid of the cuckoo Cuculus canorus egg: why do hosts delay rejection? Behavioral Ecology 19: 100-107.

17. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2008). Unusually high losses to nest collapse in Black-headed Buntings (Emberiza melanocephala) nesting on a preferred plant species. Bird Study 55: 233-235.

18. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2008). Does the cuckoo benefit from laying unusually strong eggs? Animal Behaviour 76: 1893-1900.

19. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2009). Evidence for egg discrimination preceding failed rejection attempts in a small cuckoo host. Biology Letters 5: 169-171.

20. Avilés, J., Vikan, J. R., Fossøy, F., Antonov, A., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E. & Stokke, B. G. (2010). Avian visual perception predicts behavioural responses to experimental brood parasitism in chaffinches. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23: 293-301.

21. Antonov, A., B. G. Stokke, J. R. Vikan, F. Fossøy, P. S. Ranke, E. Røskaft, A. Moksnes, A. P. Møller & J. A. Shykoff. (2010). Egg phenotype differentiation in sympatric cuckoo Cuculus canorus gentes. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23: 1170-1182.

22. Yang, C., Liang, W., Cai, Y., Shi, S., Takasu, F., Møller, A. P., Antonov, A., Fossøy, F., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E., Stokke, B. G. (2010). Coevolution in action: Disruptive selection on egg colour in an avian brood parasite and its host. PLoS ONE 5(5): e10816. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010816.

23. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Ranke, P. S., Fossøy, F., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E. (2010). Absence of egg discrimination in a suitable cuckoo host breeding away from trees. Journal of Avian Biology 41: 501-504.

24. A. P. Møller, N. Saino, P. Adamík, R. Ambrosini, A. Antonov, D. Campobello, B. G. Stokke, F. Fossøy, E. Lehikoinen, M. Martin-Vivaldi, A. Moksnes, C. Moskat, E. Røskaft, D. Rubolini, K., Schulze-Hagen, M. Soler & J. A. Shykoff. (2010). Rapid change in host use of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus linked to climate change. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London, B 278: 733-738.

25. Avilés, J. M., Vikan, J. R., Fossøy, F., Antonov, A., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E., Shykoff, J. A., Møller, A. P., Jensen, H., Prochazka, P. & Stokke, B. G. (2010). The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus host. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24: 314–325.

26. Fossøy, F., Antonov, A., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E. Vikan, J. R., Møller, A. P., Shykoff, J., & Stokke, B. G. (2010). Genetic differentiation among sympatric cuckoo host races – males matter. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B 278: 1639-1645.

27. Møller, A. P., Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Fossøy, F., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E. & Takasu, F. (2010) Isolation by time and habitat and coexistence of distinct host races of the common cuckoo. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24: 676-684.

28. 8. Yang, C., Liang, W., Antonov, A. (2011). Breeding biology of the golden parrotbill (Paradoxornis verreauxi) (Aves: Timaliidae) in southwestern China. Journal of Natural History 45: 1817-1822.

29. Antonov, A., Aviles, J. M., Stokke, B. G., Spasova, V., Vikan, J. R., Moksnes, A., Yang, CC., Liang, W., Røskaft, E. (2011). Egg discrimination in an open nesting passerine under dim light conditions. Ethology 117: 1128-1137.

30. Yang, C., Antonov, A., Cai, Y., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A., Roskaft, E., Liang, W. (2012). Large Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides parasitism on the Chinese Babax Babax lanceolatus may be an evolutionarily recent host-parasite system. Ibis 154: 200-204.

31. Liang, W., Yang, C., Antonov, A., Fossøy, F., Stokke, B. G., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E., Shykoff, J. A., Møller, A. P., Takasu, F. (2012). Sex roles in egg recognition and egg polymorphism in avian brood parasitism. Behavioral Ecology (in press, doi:10.1093/beheco/arr203).

32. Avilés J. M., Vikan, J. R., Fossøy, F., Antonov, A., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E., Shykoff, J. A., Møller, A. P., Stokke, B. G. (2012). Egg phenotype matching by cuckoos in relation to discrimination by hosts and climatic conditions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B: doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.2498 (in press).

33. Antonov, A., Stokke, B. G., Fossøy, F., Ranke, P.S., Liang, W., Yang, C., Moksnes, A., Shykoff, J., Røskaft, E. (2012). Are cuckoos maximizing egg mimicry by selecting host individuals with better matching egg phenotypes? PLoS ONE (in press).

34. Liang, W., Yang, C., Stokke, B. G., Antonov, A., Fossøy, F., Vikan, J. R., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E., Shykoff, J. A., Møller, A. P., Takasu, F. (2012). Modeling the maintenance of egg polymorphism in avian brood parasites and their hosts. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (in press).

35. Yang, C., Liang, W., Cai, Y., Wu, J., Shi, S., Antonov, A. (2012). Variation in Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus) breeding biology in relation to small scale of altitudinal differences in China. Zoological Science (in press)

:: Other publications

Simov, N. & Antonov, A. 2006. First data of the true bugs (Heteroptera) in the diet of the second brood of the pallid swift (Apus pallidus (Shelley)) in Bulgaria. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 142: 243–245.