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Article
Every-other-day clutch-initiation synchrony in ring-billed gulls (Larus Delawarensis)
Faculty Publications
  • Amanda Sandler, Andrews University
  • Libby C. Megna, Andrews University
  • James L Hayward, Andrews University
  • Shandelle M Henson, Andrews University
  • Cynthia Tkachuck
  • Richard Tkachuck
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2016
Keywords
  • clutch initiation,
  • egg laying,
  • Fraser Darling effect,
  • Larus delawarensis,
  • Ring-billed Gull,
  • Synchrony
Disciplines
Abstract

Fraser Darling suggested that reproductive synchrony enhances reproductive success of colonial seabirds as a result of predator satiation. However, the cost of yearly reproductive synchrony is high for colonial species for which intraspecific predation is the primary cause of egg and chick loss. A few studies indicate that egg-laying synchrony on a daily time scale within the annual breeding pulse may be an adaptive response to intraspecific predation. Here, we report every-other-day clutch-initiation synchrony in densely nesting cohorts of Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis). This is the second known case of clutch-initiation synchrony on a daily time scale in larids, the first being for Glaucous-winged Gulls (L. glaucescens). In both Ring-billed Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls, the degree of clutch-initiation synchrony is inversely related to nearest neighbor distance. Further studies are needed to test whether clutch-initiation synchrony in Ring-billed Gulls is adaptive in the presence of cannibalism, or if it is simply a neutral byproduct of colonial nesting.

Journal Title
Wilson Journal of Ornithology
First Department
Biology
Citation Information
Amanda Sandler, Libby C. Megna, James L Hayward, Shandelle M Henson, et al.. "Every-other-day clutch-initiation synchrony in ring-billed gulls (Larus Delawarensis)" Vol. 128 Iss. 4 (2016) p. 760 - 765
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/james_haywardandrewsedu/26/