Different individual-level responses of great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus) to shifting local prey availability

Maynard, Laurie D.; Gulka, Julia; Jenkins, Edward; Davoren, Gail K.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252561

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(103 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Goumas et al 2019). Additionally, quantifying the diversity of individual foraging specializations within gull populations is key to fully understanding colony-level responses to environmental change (Maynard et al 2021). A more sophisticated approach, using high-resolution tracking data from a large number of individuals across multiple urban and coastal colonies, could address important questions relating to the individual foraging preferences of urban and coastal breeding gulls.…”

Section: Individual-level Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, generalist species such as gulls often show marked inter-individual differences in foraging behaviour at a given colony (Ceia et al 2014, Navarro et al 2017, van den Bosch et al 2019, Jakubas et al 2020, Van Donk et al 2020, which may have implications for management, as specialist individuals may be responsible for most nuisance behaviour (Sanz-Aguilar et al 2009, Swan et al 2017. The diversity of individual foraging strategies may also influence population-level responses to environmental change (Maynard et al 2021). Therefore, we also compared the overall habitat use of individual GPS-tracked Lesser Black-backed Gulls between breeding sites.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diversity of individual foraging strategies may also influence population‐level responses to environmental change (Maynard et al . 2021). Therefore, we also compared the overall habitat use of individual GPS‐tracked Lesser Black‐backed Gulls between breeding sites.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Urban and coastal breeding lesser black‐backed gulls (Larus fuscus) segregate by foraging habitat

Langley

Bearhop

Burton

et al. 2022

Ibis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite urbanization's general erosion of biodiversity, towns and cities provide novel opportunities for some species. During the 20th century, gulls (Laridae) colonized urban areas around the world where they flourished. At the same time, some coastal populations declined. The reasons for this difference are not fully understood, partly because little is known about any ecological differences between urban and non‐urban gulls, such as their foraging ecology. Here we compare the movement ecology and habitat selection of Lesser Black‐backed Gulls Larus fuscus graellsii breeding at two neighbouring colonies – one urban and one coastal – in north‐west England. We used bird‐borne GPS loggers to first compare colony‐level movement behaviour and habitat selection and then investigated individual‐level habitat use. We observed clear colony‐level habitat segregation: urban breeders preferentially foraged in urban areas whereas coastal breeders foraged primarily in coastal habitats and avoided urban areas. Coastal breeders also had larger core and home‐ranges than urban breeders, possibly due to differences in colony size. However, we also found inter‐individual differences in habitat use, which may have important management implications. These findings suggest a link between nesting and foraging ecology, and thus management or environmental change altering food availability will impact gulls at the coastal and urban sites differently.

show abstract

Section: Individual-level Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Urban and coastal breeding lesser black‐backed gulls (Larus fuscus) segregate by foraging habitat

Langley

Bearhop

Burton

et al. 2022

Ibis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Changes in food availability across (e.g., in alcids: Jenkins and Davoren 2021) or within (e.g., in thick-billed murres Uria lomvia: Kokubun et al 2018; in Cape Verde Shearwater Calonectris edwardsii: Ramos et al 2018) breeding seasons can cause all individuals to shift their diet and/or foraging behavior, resulting in population-level changes in these parameters. In some systems, however, intraspecific variation in seabird diet (e.g., in two species of shearwater and two species of gull: Gulka et al 2017; in Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus: Ciancio et al 2021) or foraging behavior (e.g., in great black-backed gulls Larus marinus; Maynard et al 2021) increases when the availability of preferred prey is low, indicating divergent individual strategies for coping with resource decline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns in tern trophic diversity in a region experiencing rapid climate change

Gownaris,

Welch,

Tengeres

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Foraging plasticity provides a mechanism for long-lived species to adapt to rapidly changing environments and, when individuals vary in their plasticity, can drive changes in trophic diversity. We use chick provisioning data and stable isotope values of blood cells and plasma to test for drivers of trophic diversity in the diet of common terns (Sterna hirundo) and Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) breeding in the rapidly changing Gulf of Maine. We hypothesized that individual adult terns would differ in their response to reduced food availability, driving higher diversity in tern chick diet in lower-resource contexts, and that individual-level responses would influence fitness. We used the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index as our measure of trophic diversity for provisioning data and the size of the two-dimensional isotope ellipse as our measure of trophic diversity for stable isotope data. We compared these measures of trophic diversity to proxies for food availability, including the occurrence of preferred prey (herring and hake) in tern chick diets and the average sea surface temperature in terns’ foraging range. Additionally, we compared shifts in isotope values across time for individually paired blood cell and plasma samples and, on one island and year, for individually paired plasma samples taken 10 days apart. Trophic diversity measured using provisioning and stable isotope data were correlated across contexts. Although both measures of trophic diversity were highly variable, neither was correlated with measures of food availability. Arctic tern chicks had less-enriched δ13C values, lower δ15N values, and were fed smaller prey than common tern chicks, but did not differ in their trophic diversity. Isotope measures of trophic diversity were greater for plasma samples, which tended to show higher δ15N values and more-enriched δ13C values, than for blood cell samples. For the paired plasma samples collected on one island, chicks shifted to higher δ15N values and less-enriched δ13C values later in the season. Chicks that shifted to relatively higher δ15N values also showed greater magnitude shifts to less-enriched δ13C values and, in Arctic terns, fledged at a smaller mass. Our study suggests trade-offs in individual-level foraging and diet plasticity in terns, with possible implications for fitness.

show abstract

Key breeding habitats of threatened golden eagles across Eastern Canada identified using a multi-level, multi-scale habitat selection approach

Maynard,

Lemaître,

Therrien

et al. 2024

Landsc Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context In a conservation context, identifying key habitats suitable for reproduction, foraging, or survival is a useful tool, yet challenging for species with large geographic distributions and/or living in remote regions. Objectives The objective of this study is to identify selected habitats at multiple levels and scales of the threatened eastern North American population of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). We studied habitat selection at three levels: landscape (second order of selection), foraging (third order of selection), and nesting (fourth order of selection). Methods Using tracking data from 30 adults and 366 nest coordinates spanning over a 1.5 million km2 area in remote boreal and Arctic regions, we modelled the three levels of habitat selection with resource selection functions using seven environmental features (aerial, topographical, and land cover). We then calculated the relative probability of selection in the study area to identify regions with higher probabilities of selection. Results Eagles selected more for terrain ruggedness index and relative elevation than land cover (i.e., forest cover, distance to water; mean difference in relative selection strength: 1.2 [0.71; 1.69], 95% CI) at all three levels. We also found that the relative probability of selection at all three levels was ~ 25% higher in the Arctic than in the boreal regions. Eagles breeding in the Arctic travelled shorter foraging distances with greater access to habitat with a high probability of selection than boreal eagles. Conclusion Here we found which aerial and topographical features were important for several of the eagles’ life cycle needs. We also identified important areas to monitor and preserve this threatened population. The next step is to quantify the quality of habitat by linking our multi-level, multi-scale approach to population demography and performance such as reproductive success.

show abstract

Different individual-level responses of great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus) to shifting local prey availability

Cited by 6 publications

References 57 publications

Urban and coastal breeding lesser black‐backed gulls (Larus fuscus) segregate by foraging habitat

Urban and coastal breeding lesser black‐backed gulls (Larus fuscus) segregate by foraging habitat

Patterns in tern trophic diversity in a region experiencing rapid climate change

Key breeding habitats of threatened golden eagles across Eastern Canada identified using a multi-level, multi-scale habitat selection approach

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About