Effects of a new waste collection policy on the population of yellow-legged gulls, Larus michahellis, in the historic centre of Venice (Italy)

Coccon, Francesca; Fano, Shira

doi:10.1007/s10344-020-01384-z

Cited by 12 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…To sum up, the available data suggest that the new waste management policy affect not only the number of foraging yellow-legged gulls, as reported by Coccon & Fano (2020), but also the abundance of breeding pairs and possibly their breeding success, even though our data does not provide a clear-cut demonstration of this effect. This result is likely affected by the short period (i.e.…”

Section: Analysis Of the Initial Effects Of The New Waste Collection contrasting

confidence: 56%

“…We considered density and not abundance since the estimates concerned a fraction of the study area. We expected that the estimates in 2018 were noticeably lower than those obtained in 2017, especially concerning the number of breeding pairs, as an effect of the widespread reduction of food availability in 2018 following the implementation of the new waste collection system, as highlighted by Coccon and Fano (2020).…”

Section: Comparison Of the Density Estimation Before (2017) And Aftermentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The policy was then applied to Santa Croce and San Polo in March 2017, to San Marco in May and to Cannaregio in December. The last district was Castello, where the new method for collecting waste was introduced in May 2018 (Coccon and Fano, 2020). Due to funding limitation, it was not possible to estimate the abundance of the population of yellow-legged gulls before and after the implementation of the new policy in the whole city centre.…”

Section: Analysis Of the Initial Effects Of The New Waste Collection mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The demographic growth highlighted by the species in the Venetian lagoon was followed by an increase in the number of individuals attending the historic centre of Venice both for breeding and feeding purposes, exacerbating the problems of coexistence with this species (Coccon et al 2019). Among the main critical issues which have been widely documented by the local press, are the recurring attacks on passer-by to steal their food and the breaking open of garbage bags dropped by residents and tourists on the street and spreading of their contents both on the ground and in the city's canals (Coccon and Fano 2020). The latter situation has created what appear to be open-air landfills in the city leading to a negative image of Venice, considered an iconic place all over the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was to prevent the accumulation of rubbish in the streets and limit the amount of trophic resources available for the yellow-legged gulls. With this regard, a recent study (Coccon and Fano 2020) revealed that the new urban waste collection regime had a significant effect on lowering both the presence of waste and gulls attending the city for feeding purposes. However, the effect of the new policy on yellow-legged gulls' breeding population has not been investigated yet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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More than expected: the abundance of yellow-legged gullsLarus michahellisbreeding in the historic centre of Venice and the initial effects of the new waste collection policy on the population

Coccon

Vanni

Dabalà

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Yellow-legged gull, Larus michahellis, has undergone widespread colonization of the urban environment in recent past. Starting in 2000 this affected the historical centre of Venice, 24 roof-nesting pairs being recorded in 2005, with this number increasing significantly in the last decade. In 2016, the waste management company of Venice established a new door to door garbage collection system to prevent the accumulation of rubbish in the streets and limit the trophic resources available for the species. The study provides an up-to-date estimate of the urban population of yellow-legged gulls, using Distance Sampling method. We also studied the effect of the new system on the species by comparing the population estimate before and after the change and by analysing the trend of individuals collected in the old town by the service of wildlife recovery during 2010-2018. Results estimate 440 breeding pairs (95s% confidence interval: 326-593) in June 2018 and show a 34% decrease of breeding pairs in 2018 with respect to 2017, as well as a decrease in number of 1-year birds and pulli collected by wildlife recovery service starting from 2016, year of the policy implementation. Our data did not show a significant decrease in the overall number of individuals, suggesting the new policy has a stronger effect on the breeding success of the species than on adult survival. This study emphasizes the importance of preventing rubbish accumulation in the streets as factor for reducing the abundance of urban yellow-legged gulls.

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Section: Analysis Of the Initial Effects Of The New Waste Collection contrasting

confidence: 56%

Section: Comparison Of the Density Estimation Before (2017) And Aftermentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Analysis Of the Initial Effects Of The New Waste Collection mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

More than expected: the abundance of yellow-legged gullsLarus michahellisbreeding in the historic centre of Venice and the initial effects of the new waste collection policy on the population

Coccon

Vanni

Dabalà

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Crumb bums? Context dependence in ecosystem services supplied by common urban animals

Swartz,

Blaney,

Behm

2024

Ecosphere

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Bolstering the supply of animal‐mediated ecosystem services is an emerging priority in human‐altered landscapes. Such services are driven not only by environmental factors that shape communities of species that provide the service but also by the ecological context that affects the behavior of these species. In this study, we used a field experiment to investigate an ecosystem service that depends on resource use behavior—the removal of littered food waste by birds and squirrels in urban green spaces. We first explore how landscape‐scale urbanization affects the composition of the litter‐removing species community. We then examine two facets of waste removal provisioning—the amount of food removed and the speed of removal—and how they vary across ecological contexts represented by green space type (picnic areas, urban parks, and forest preserves), bird and squirrel abundance, number of people, amount of existing litter, and weather conditions. We found that although landscape‐scale urbanization affected the composition of species within green spaces, service provisioning was context‐dependent. Littered food removal services were provided at higher rates in park and picnic sites than in forest preserves and the abundance of eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) was a main driver of littered food removal services. Where squirrels were abundant, more food was removed, and food removal began and was completed more quickly. When squirrel abundance is accounted for, removal from picnic areas is higher than park sites, indicating context dependence in this service is likely driven by squirrel behavioral responses to ambient food waste levels in these habitats. This study highlights the role of common urban species in providing a valuable ecosystem service and the importance of ecological context in its supply. Efforts to account for animal‐mediated ecosystem services in human‐altered landscapes should address the potential for services to be driven by a single species and context‐dependent factors that influence behavior.

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Importance of predictable anthropogenic food subsidies for an opportunistic gull inhabiting urban ecosystems

2021

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The provision of predictable anthropogenic food subsidies (PAFS) to urban wildlife has been recognized as an important trophic input in urban ecosystems. However, there is a lack of agreement about the benefits and harms of urban PAFS for avian species. While there are many studies about the impact of PAFS on birds, little information is available about the potential importance of PAFS on the ecology of urban gulls. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the importance of human PAFS for the urban population of the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) in the city of Barcelona, northeastern Spain. This opportunistic seabird is considered a pest species in urban areas. Specifically, by conducting a visual census in a location where PAFS were provided every week yearround, we examined the total number and age structure of gulls using this PAFS station. We identified the presence of yellow-legged gulls with some physical anomalies using the PAFS station. The results of this study suggest that PAFS may be an important artificial resource for urban yellow-legged gulls inhabiting Barcelona, used by either breeders or non-breeders, and also used by handicapped individuals. Based on these results, we suggest the regulation of this activity as a complement to other measures focused on the reduction of available food resources present in urban areas to manage this problematic species.

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Effects of a new waste collection policy on the population of yellow-legged gulls, Larus michahellis, in the historic centre of Venice (Italy)

Cited by 12 publications

References 38 publications

More than expected: the abundance of yellow-legged gullsLarus michahellisbreeding in the historic centre of Venice and the initial effects of the new waste collection policy on the population

More than expected: the abundance of yellow-legged gullsLarus michahellisbreeding in the historic centre of Venice and the initial effects of the new waste collection policy on the population

Crumb bums? Context dependence in ecosystem services supplied by common urban animals

Importance of predictable anthropogenic food subsidies for an opportunistic gull inhabiting urban ecosystems

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