Urban gulls adapt foraging schedule to human-activity patterns.

ABSTRACT: Numerous animals are able to adapt to temporal patterns in natural food availability, but whether species living in relatively novel environments such as cities can adapt to anthropogenic activity cycles is less well understood. We aimed to assess the extent to which urban gulls have adapted their foraging schedule to anthropogenic food source fluctuations related to human activity by combining field observations at three distinct urban feeding grounds (park, school and waste centre) with global positioning system (GPS) tracking data of gulls visiting similar types of feeding grounds throughout the same city. We found that the birds' foraging patterns closely matched the timing of school breaks and the opening and closing times of the waste centre, but gull activity in the park appeared to

SUBMITTER: Spelt A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7116490 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature