Poster Title
P-08 Bifurcations in an Animal Behavior Model for Synchronous Egg Laying in a Seabird Colony
Abstract
Glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) breed on Protection Island, Washington. During years with high sea surface temperature (and hence low food resource), they exhibit egg cannibalism and every-other-day egg-laying synchrony in dense areas of the colony. Here we present a bifurcation analysis of a discrete-time model of egg-laying behavior. We use the Jury Conditions to find the stability criteria of the system as a function of the crowding factor. The equilibrium loses stability in a synchronous two-cycle bifurcation as the crowding factor increases beyond a critical value. We show that in the presence of egg cannibalism synchrony can increase population size.
Thesis Record URL
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/honors/174
Start Date
3-2-2018 2:30 PM
P-08 Bifurcations in an Animal Behavior Model for Synchronous Egg Laying in a Seabird Colony
Glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) breed on Protection Island, Washington. During years with high sea surface temperature (and hence low food resource), they exhibit egg cannibalism and every-other-day egg-laying synchrony in dense areas of the colony. Here we present a bifurcation analysis of a discrete-time model of egg-laying behavior. We use the Jury Conditions to find the stability criteria of the system as a function of the crowding factor. The equilibrium loses stability in a synchronous two-cycle bifurcation as the crowding factor increases beyond a critical value. We show that in the presence of egg cannibalism synchrony can increase population size.
Acknowledgments
Shandelle M. Henson, PhD.
J. N. Andrews Honors Program.
National Science Foundation.