Increased Reproductive Effort with Age in the California Gull
            <i>(Larus californicus)</i>

Pugesek, Bruce H.

doi:10.1126/science.212.4496.822

Cited by 117 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…Egg production of Group 1 gulls was considerably lower than that of Group 2 gulls and that reported for gulls in the population of comparable age (Pugesek, 1981;Pugesek and Diem, 1983). Group 1 gulls skipped breeding frequently in all years and, when they did breed, produced small clutches.…”

Section: The Life Cyclecontrasting

confidence: 68%

“…Group 2 gulls also produced significantly greater numbers of fledglings in 1980 compared to other groups. Fledgling production among Group 2 gulls breeding in 1980 and 1984 was at the maximum reported among old gulls (>-12 years) in this population (Pugesek, 1981;Diem, 1983, 1990).…”

Section: The Life Cyclementioning

confidence: 85%

“…By 1984, these gulls still skipped breeding frequently but produced more eggs and a few offspring. Between 1984 and 1988 we rarely observed skipping behaviour and clutch size reached maximum levels observed in this group (Pugesek, 1981;Pugesek and Diem, 1983).…”

Section: The Life Cyclementioning

confidence: 88%

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Alternate reproductive strategies in the California gull

Pugesek

Wood

1992

Evol Ecol

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SummaryWe analysed 6 years of reproduction data for 176 California gulls (Larus californicus) surviving from 1980 to 1988. Using a statistical model adapted from Rao's (1958) andTucker's (1966) generalized growth curve analysis, we reconstructed the reproductive patterns of gulls aged from 0 to 26 years. Individuals were highly consistent in following one of two patterns of reproduction. In a primary pattern employed by most gulls, individuals skipped breeding less frequently and laid larger clutches as they aged. Clutch size increased to a plateau and remained at high levels throughout remaining life. In an alternate pattern employed by a smaller subset of the sample, clutch size also increased to a plateau. However, as a result of frequent skipping of breeding and smaller clutches, this plateau was considerably lower compared to that of gulls adopting the primary reproductive pattern. Data on fledging success from 1980 and 1984 were consistent with the finding of two reproductive patterns. Gulls adopting the alternate reproductive pattern produce fewer offspring per breeding attempt but survive longer than gulls adopting the primary pattern. The frequency of gulls employing the alternate pattern will increase with age relative to gulls employing the primary pattern. The alternate pattern, and not senescence, may explain why several cross-sectional studies on seabirds report declines among the oldest breeders in measures of clutch size, egg mass, hatching success, and fledging success.

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Section: The Life Cyclecontrasting

confidence: 68%

Section: The Life Cyclementioning

confidence: 85%

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Alternate reproductive strategies in the California gull

Pugesek

Wood

1992

Evol Ecol

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“…Y OU ng inexperienced birds in particular tend to breed less successfully dian older and more experienced birds. The improvement in breeding success with age is generally attributed to an increase in foraging efficiency and experience (e.g., Coulson and Horobin, 1976;Desrochers, 1992a,b;Lack, 1968;Newton, 1989;Newton et al, 1981;Nol and Smith, 1987;Nur, 1984;Perrins, 1979), but also to an increased reproductive effort (Charleswordi, 1980;Gadgil and Bossert, 1970;Pianka and Parker, 1975;Pugesek, 1981;Williams, 1966), or to die combination of bodi (Curio, 1983). Learning and/or practicing the skills associated with nest building and caring for eggs and young, may be crucial for future breeding success.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of helping and breeding experience on reproductive performance in the Seychelles warbler: a translocation experiment

Korndeur¹

1996

Behavioral Ecology

119

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Reproductive success of the cooperative breeding Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) increases with age. This age effect is not due to differential survival or increased reproductive effort, but to accumulated helping and breeding experience. In their first year of breeding, reproductive performance of inexperienced warblers with neither helping nor breeding experience was significandy lower than that of warblers of the same age with either previous helping or breeding experience. Reproductive performance was die same for primiparae witii helping experience and for birds with breeding experience. Female primiparae with helping experience or breeding experience built better nests and spent more time incubating than inexperienced females, which led to increased hatching success. Male primiparae with helping experience or males with breeding experience guarded the clutch better than inexperienced males, which led to reduced egg predation. Even-aged warblers with different previous experiences were transferred to unoccupied islands, where birds started breeding immediately in high-quality territories. The experiment showed that birds with helping experience produced their first fledgling as fast as experienced breeders, and significandy faster dian inexperienced birds. Breeding performance did not improve further widi experience after the first successful breeding attempt. Only birds with previous breeding experience who paired with inexperienced birds, were likely to change mate. The odier pair combinations remained stable. Thus, primiparous birds with helping experience have greater lifetime reproductive success dian inexperienced primiparae of the same age. This experiment shows that helping behavior has not only been selected for in die context of promoting an individual's indirect fitness, but also in die context of gaining helping experience which translates into improved reproductive success when a helper becomes a breeder.

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“…If this occurs in a long-lived species such as the Gannet, it should be reflected in lower hatching and fledging success in younger cohorts. In California Gulls, where a reduced commitment (effort) by younger birds occurs, its importance may influence interpretation of reproductive ability (Pugesek 1981;Curio 1983). The severe storm at Pope's Eye, which disproportionately affected group 4 (oldest) adults reduced the opportunity to 182 EMU Vol.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%