Winter home range and habitat selection differs among breeding populations of herring gulls in eastern North America

Abstract

Background Recognizing the factors influencing migratory individuals throughout their annual cycle is important for understanding the drivers of population dynamics. Previous studies have found that Herring Gulls ( Larus argentatus ) in the Atlantic region have lower survival rates than those in the Great Lakes and the Arctic. One possible explanation for divergent survival rates among these populations is differences in their non-breeding habitats. Methods We tracked Herring Gulls from five populations, breeding in the eastern Arctic, the Great Lakes, Newfoundland, Sable Island, and the Bay of Fundy. We assessed the extent of migratory connectivity between breeding and wintering sites, and tested if there were differences in home range size or habitat selection among these populations during the winter. Results The tracked Herring Gulls had strong migratory connectivity between their breeding and wintering areas. We found that Herring Gulls from the Arctic spent most of the winter in marine habitats, while the other populations used a wider variety of habitats. However, the Newfoundland and Sable Island populations selected for urban habitats, and almost all individuals the specialized in urban habitats came from one of the three Atlantic populations. Conclusions Our results suggest that there could potentially be a link between urban habitat use during the winter and reduced adult survival in Atlantic Canada Herring Gulls. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40462-019-0152-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Humans shape the year‐round distribution and habitat use of an opportunistic scavenger

“…This is particularly the case for yellow‐legged gulls ( Larus michahellis ) in the southern regions of the European continent, where populations have exponentially increased over the last decades and throughout their distribution range, likely as the result of their ability to efficiently exploit organic matter from refuse dumps or discards from fisheries (Duhem et al, 2008; Martínez‐Abraín & Jiménez, 2016; Ramos, Ramírez, Sanpera, Jover, & Ruiz, 2009b). While its opportunistic behavior and adaptable nature is widely accepted, few studies have previously investigated fine‐scale seasonal changes in the foraging ecology of this species (Anderson et al, 2019; Ramos, Ramírez, Carrasco, & Jover, 2011; Van Donk, Shamoun‐Baranes, Bouten, Meer, & Camphuysen, 2019); thus constraining our comprehension on their degree of dependence on human food subsides.…”

Age and season predict influenza A virus dynamics in urban gulls: consequences for natural hosts in unnatural landscapes

“…2016, Anderson et al. 2019). We propose that coastal habitat is likely to support a higher turnover and species richness of hosts relevant to transmission of gull‐origin virus, a process that is also favorable to reassortment involving co‐infection by multiple viruses.…”

Both short and long distance migrants use energy-minimizing migration strategies in North American herring gulls

“…Herring Gulls breeding in the eastern Arctic appeared to use two distinct autumn migration routes. Two individuals migrated using a strictly coastal route, passing east through Hudson Strait, south along the coast of Labrador, and then following the Atlantic coast to their wintering range offshore from Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico [35]. By contrast, six individuals migrated south from their breeding colony through Hudson Bay, made overland crossings of 1588 ± 433 km to the Atlantic Coast between the St. Lawrence River Estuary and Chesapeake Bay, and then followed a coastal route to the same wintering range.…”

“…1b-d). All wintering locations were in coastal areas, except two individuals from Newfoundland and one from Sable Island spent part of the winter in the Finger Lakes region of New York State [35]. All stopovers made by Herring Gulls breeding in Atlantic Canada were spread across their migratory route, with no particular stopover site attracting a large proportion of individuals ( Fig.…”

“…If migration distance does not have a strong influence on the migratory behaviour of Herring Gulls, owing to their ecological flexibility, we expect that both short and long distance migrants would use an energy minimizing strategy. In this case, we would expect each of the Herring Gull populations would follow coastal routes given their preference for aquatic habitats [35], even if this meant detouring from direct routes [28]. For an energy minimizing strategy, we predicted that both long and short distance migrants would have low overall migration speeds, and spend a large proportion of the migration at stopover sites.…”