P-49 Mathematical Model of Gull Egg-laying Behavior: Tracking the Egg Order

Abstract

During years of high sea surface temperature, food resources for glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) are scarce. In response, male gulls cannibalize the eggs of neighbors. When this occurs, female gulls in dense areas of the colony adopt a tactic called egg-laying synchrony, in which they lay eggs synchronously on an every-other-day schedule. Field observations show that the first-laid egg of each clutch is the most likely to be cannibalized. Here we analyzed the equilibria, stability, and bifurcations of a discrete-time model of egg-laying behavior that tracks the order in which eggs were laid in the nest

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