Animal Sciences Commons^™

Socially Induced Synchronization Of Every-Other-Day Egg Laying In A Seabird Colony, Shandelle M. Henson, James L. Hayward, J. M. Cushing, Joseph C. Galusha

Faculty Publications

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 birdsthat is, whether avian ovulation cycles can synchronize on a daily timescale within the annual breeding pulse. We report every-other-day clutch-initiation and …