The abundance of yellow-legged gulls Larus michahellis breeding in the historic centre of Venice, Italy and the initial effects of the new waste collection policy on the population

Abstract

The yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis has undergone widespread colonization of the urban environment in the recent past. The first urban breeding gulls were recorded in the historical centre of Venice, Italy, in 2000, and by 2005 there were already 24 roof-nesting pairs, with this number increasing significantly over the last decade. In 2016, a new door-to-door garbage collection system was introduced in Venice to prevent the accumulation of rubbish in the streets and limit the trophic resources available for the species. This study provides an up-to-date estimate of the Venice yellow-legged gull urban population using distance sampling method. We also studied the effect of the new waste collection system on the species by comparing the population estimate before (2017) and after (2018) the full implementation of this change and by analysing the trend of individuals collected in the old town by the wildlife recovery service during 2010–2018. Results estimated ca. 430 breeding pairs in June 2018 showing a 36% decrease with respect to 2017. We also found a decrease in the number of 1-year-old birds and pulli collected by the wildlife recovery service starting from 2016, when the policy implementation began. Our data did not show a significant decrease in the overall number of individuals, suggesting that 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.

Winged Resistance: Storks and Gulls Increase Carriage of Antibiotic Resistance by Shifting from Paddy Fields to Landfills

“…These strategies may include: i) improving food waste collection policies to limit inputs to landfills; ii) covering landfill waste to limit the access of wild birds to garbage, as already applied in some landfills; and iii) implementing bird deterrent measures in the landfills (e.g., through falconry). A recent study showed positive outcomes of urban waste management/collection policy on the breeding population of yellow-legged gulls (Coccon et al, 2022).…”

High diversity of pathogenic Escherichia coli clones carrying mcr‐1 among gulls underlines the need for strategies at the environment–livestock–human interface

“…Thus, tackling ABR not only requires coordinated Global Health interventions focused on impairing the selection of ABR bacteria (either due to antibiotics or by other co-selecting agents like heavy metals and biocides) in specific niches but should also include measures targeted to break transmission routes between different ecosystems through vectors of AMR bacteria/genes like gulls (EFSA, 2021;Hernando-Amado et al, 2019;Hernando-Amado et al, 2020). A recent study showed positive outcomes of urban waste management/ collection policy on control of the yellow-legged gulls' breeding population (Coccon et al, 2021). This opens the possibility for environmental strategies containing urban gull's population to act as a complement to colistin restrictions on both food-producing animals and healthcare sectors.…”

Changes in the feeding ecology of an opportunistic predator inhabiting urban environments in response to COVID-19 lockdown

“…This is the example of the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), a large-size gull with a widespread distributed along the Mediterranean region [19]. It is well adapted to urban life, efficiently preying on abundant urban birds such as rock pigeons (Columba livia) or monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) and other resources associated with human activity such as human garbage and fishery discards [13,[20][21][22][23]. Under scenarios of reduction of fishing activity or the closure of landfills or fisheries, natural populations of large gulls respond by changing their foraging strategies [24][25][26].…”