Intracolony variability during periods of poor reproductive performance at a glaucous-winged gull colony
Murphy EC, Hoover-Miller AA, Day RH, Oakley KL. 1992. Intracolony variability during periods of poor reproductive performance at a glaucous-winged gull colony. The Condor. 94(3):598-607
(Adapted from authors' abstract.) This article reports the findings of a study investigating the intracolony variability in habitat attributes of nest sites and the resulting impact on the breeding performance of glaucous-winged gulls during a two-year time span when the colony's average breeding success was poor. The study took place at Squab Island during 1979 and 1980. The authors found few significant relationships between habitat attributes of nest sites and either breeding chronology or breeding success within samples taken that represented four island-years; no relationships were consistent among samples. Hatching success was strongly related to clutch size. Differences in reproductive performance among pairs were more pronounced during periods of stress. The results contradict hypotheses that intrapopulation variability in clutch size represents adaptive adjustments of pairs based on their relative parenting ability or that pairs laying large clutches are most adversely affected in bad years.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Murphy, Edward; Hoover-Miller, Anne; Day, Robert; Oakley, Karen
- Units
- KEFJ
- Keywords
- Aialik Bay, Birds, Breeding, Clutch Size, glaucous-winged gulls, Habitat, Kenai Fjords National Park, Larus glaucescens, Nests, Reproduction, reproductive failures, Squab Island