燕鷗在繁殖期時會大量聚集在同一繁殖區，築巢於岩石、岩壁、短草叢、灌叢或沙洲上，巢構造簡陋。燕鷗卵上頭的花紋經常與背景顏色融為ㄧ體，對親鳥而言，利用視覺辨識卵就顯得重要，特別是高密度聚集的種類。本實驗於2007及2008年5月至8月在澎湖三個無人島活龍灘、小白沙嶼與積善嶼進行。實驗操作分為移蛋實驗、破壞巢型實驗與兩巢蛋互換實驗，兩種燕鷗在實驗操作下，尋找巢位的時間皆顯著性變長，且行為模式與對照組相比，有顯著性地改變。在2007年移蛋實驗中，69.7％ (n = 33)蒼燕鷗選擇原來的巢位，儘管巢中的卵已被移除，親鳥仍會安穩的坐巢 ; 紅燕鷗則有52.0％ (n = 25)的親鳥會安穩的坐在無卵的原巢上，在2008年則有29.6 %的紅燕鷗親鳥有同樣的行為。在破壞巢型實驗中，兩種燕鷗都呈現高度不安的行為模式，但是辨識行為受到不同程度的干擾，其中巢周遭的植被存在與否紅燕鷗有著截然不同的行為模式，但石牆的存在與否卻有著相似的行為模式。21.1% (n = 19)蒼燕鷗在兩巢蛋互換實驗中，選擇他種鷗類的卵並且安穩的坐巢。燕鷗擁有低能力的辨識卵的行為，但是高度辨識巢位週邊環境的能力，例如利用周遭石牆當路標。

Terns usually will aggregate in the same reproduction area during breeding season. The color pattern of eggs may match the background, and it is important for breeding adults to distinguish their own eggs, especially in colonies with high density. This research was carried out at three islands, Huolung Shoal, Baisha and Jishan Islets of Penghu from May to August of 2007 and 2008. The experiment was divided into three parts, egg moving (EM) experiment, nest modification (NM) experiment and egg switching (ES) experiment. Terns spent more time for searching their own nests of each of the experiment situation. In the EM experiment 69.7% Black-naped Tern adults settled on original nests without eggs in 2007; 52.0% Roseate Tern in 2007 and 29.6 % in 2008 did the same. In the NM experiment, the behavior patterns of returning adults were significantly different between each operation and the control group. Adults were confused by the interference of the experimental conditions. In some occasions, adults settled on incorrect eggs quietly in ES experiment. In conclusion, terns have low ability of egg recognition but high ability of nest recognition. Terns presumably can recognize nests with the nearby environmental landmarks, but not be able to recognize eggs.

Introduction.................................1
Methods and Materials.............5
Results.......................................12
Discussion ................................17
Literature Cited.........................24
Figures.......................................29
Tables........................................38

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