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The Auk.: Socially induced synchronization of
every-other-day egg laying in a seabird colony.
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| Article Type: | Brief article |
| Subject: |
Breeding colonies
(Research) Birds (Eggs and nests) Birds (Research) |
| Authors: |
Henson, S.M. Hayward, J.L. Cushing, J.M. |
| Pub Date: | 12/01/2010 |
| Publication: | Name: Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery Publisher: Association of Avian Veterinarians Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Health Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 Association of Avian Veterinarians ISSN: 1082-6742 |
| Issue: | Date: Dec, 2010 Source Volume: 24 Source Issue: 4 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 310 Science & research |
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| Accession Number: | 252005127 |
| Full Text: |
Spontaneous oscillator synchrony has been documented in a wide
variety of electrical, mechanical, chemical, and biological systems,
including the menstrual cycles of women and estrous cycles of Norway
rats (Rattus norvegicus). In temperate regions, many colonial birds
breed seasonally in a time window set by photoperiod; some studies have
suggested that heightened social stimulation in denser colonies can lead
to a tightened annual reproductive pulse. It has been unknown, however,
whether the analog of menstrual synchrony occurs in birds--that is,
whether avian ovulation cycles can synchronize on a daily timescale
within the annual breeding pulse. We report everyother-day
clutch-initiation and egg-laying synchrony in a breeding colony of
glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) and show that the level of
synchrony declined with decreasing colony density. We also pose a
mathematical model based on the hypothesis that preovulatory luteinizing
hormone surges synchronize through social stimulation. Model predictions
are consistent with observations. Finally, we suggest a procedure for
identifying synchronous egg laying in other colonies and species. 2010;127:571-580. |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2010 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |
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