Temporal and spatial patterns of laying in the Moluccan megapode Eulipoa wallacei (G.R. Gray)

The Moluccan megapode Eulipoa wallacei (G.R. Gray, 1860) lays its eggs at night in the sand at communal nesting beaches. The majority of the world’s Moluccan megapode population rely on only two nesting grounds on the islands of Halmahera and Haruku, Indonesia. An understanding of the ecological characteristics of these breeding sites is thus important in terms of conservation. Studies of the largest of the two nesting grounds in Halmahera have shown specific temporal and spatial patterns of egg laying. In this paper I discuss the adaptive significance and conservation implications of these laying patterns.