Dataset Information

Habitat use of urban-nesting lesser black-backed gulls during the breeding season.

ABSTRACT: Increasing urbanisation is detrimental for some animal species and potentially advantageous for others. Urban-nesting populations of gulls have undergone rapid population increases worldwide, which has resulted in an increase in human-gull conflicts. In order to inform management and conservation decisions in relation to these populations, more information is needed about the behaviour of these birds in urban settings and how they utilise their environment. This study combined Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking data of 12 urban-nesting lesser black-backed gulls, Larus fuscus, with habitat and behaviour data over three breeding seasons (2016-2018). Despite the proximity of marine areas (~10?km), the birds only made significant use of terrestrial environments, spending two-thirds of their time away from the nest in suburban and urban areas, and one-third in rural green areas. The gulls utilised suburban and urban areas more as their chicks grew and appeared to use diverse foraging strategies to suit different habitats. These results indicate that the range of potential foraging areas available needs to be considered in management decisions and that urban bird populations may not use the resources they are expected to.

SUBMITTER: Spelt A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6642139 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Habitat use of urban-nesting lesser black-backed gulls during the breeding season.

Spelt Anouk A Williamson Cara C Shamoun-Baranes Judy J Shepard Emily E Rock Peter P Windsor Shane S

Scientific reports 20190719 1

Increasing urbanisation is detrimental for some animal species and potentially advantageous for others. Urban-nesting populations of gulls have undergone rapid population increases worldwide, which has resulted in an increase in human-gull conflicts. In order to inform management and conservation decisions in relation to these populations, more information is needed about the behaviour of these birds in urban settings and how they utilise their environment. This study combined Global Positioning ...[more]

PMID: 31324838

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Project description:The home range size and habitat use of the blue-crowned laughingthrush (Garrulax courtoisi, hereafter BCLT), a critically endangered, subtropical, cooperative-breeding bird species in southeast China, were studied during its breeding period using radio telemetry at different sites during 3 consecutive years (2016-18, from May to June of each year). A total of 17 birds (12 males, four females, and one of unknown sex) were tagged, and a total 1515 locations (mean ± se = 89.12 ± 11.42) were obtained over 54 days of tracking. The average 100% minimum convex polygon (MCP) home range size was 10.05 ± 1.17 ha, and the estimated KDE core area (fiexed kernel density estimator, KDE) size was 7.84 ± 1.18 ha. According to the Wilcoxon rank sum tests, both the 100% MCP and KDE core area size of males did not significantly differ from those of females. There were no significant differences in the 100% MCP or KDE core area sizes of the three breeding sites. The available habitats in the breeding sites included water areas, shrubs, grass plots, woodland, residential areas, vegetable field, farmland, and sandy beaches; among them, only woodland was significantly preferred by BCLTs. Woodland (average use ratio was 45.86 ± 1.74%) was strongly preferred by BCLTs for nesting, foraging and roosting. Shrubs/grass plots (24.72 ± 3.39%) and vegetable plots (11.80 ± 1.83%) were used relatively more often than the other habitats, except woodland, since shrubs were always used as perches, and vegetable plots were rich in food resources. Vertically, the canopy layer was used most often from April to June, but it was used most in May when the birds were hatching and brooding. This result indicates that BCLT is predominantly active in the upper strata during the breeding season. In addition, broadleaved trees within or adjacent to villages were important activity areas for the breeding birds; protection and management measures should be increased in these areas.

Dataset Information

Habitat use of urban-nesting lesser black-backed gulls during the breeding season.

Publications

Habitat use of urban-nesting lesser black-backed gulls during the breeding season.

Similar Datasets

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