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.
Thesis Record URL
Location
Buller Hallway
Start Date
3-6-2015 2:30 PM
End Date
3-6-2015 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.
Acknowledgments
J.N. Andrews Honors Scholar
Advisors: James Hayward, Biology and Shandelle Henson, Mathematics