Presenter Information

Sumiko Weir, Andrews University

Abstract

Every-other-day egg-laying synchrony has been demonstrated in the Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) colony at Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge ,where cannibalism is the predominant cause of egg loss. Here we show that (1) eggs are most likely to be cannibalized within the first 24 hours after they are laid, and (2) the odds that an egg is cannibalized within the first 24 hours decreases with an increase in the number of eggs laid on that day. This suggests that egg-laying synchrony functions as an adaptive response to cannibalism by maximizing an egg’s chance of survival during its most vulnerable period.

Acknowledgments

J.N. Andrews Honors Scholar

Advisors: James Hayward, Biology and Shandelle Henson, Mathematics

Location

Buller Hallway

Start Date

3-6-2015 2:30 PM

End Date

3-6-2015 4:00 PM

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Mar 6th, 2:30 PM Mar 6th, 4:00 PM

P-29 Ovulation Synchrony as an Adaptive Response to Egg Cannibalism in a Seabird Colony

Buller Hallway

Every-other-day egg-laying synchrony has been demonstrated in the Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) colony at Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge ,where cannibalism is the predominant cause of egg loss. Here we show that (1) eggs are most likely to be cannibalized within the first 24 hours after they are laid, and (2) the odds that an egg is cannibalized within the first 24 hours decreases with an increase in the number of eggs laid on that day. This suggests that egg-laying synchrony functions as an adaptive response to cannibalism by maximizing an egg’s chance of survival during its most vulnerable period.