Spatial and temporal differences in the diet of Great Lakes herring gulls (Larus argentatus): evidence from stable isotope analysis

1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig E Hebert ◽  
J Laird Shutt ◽  
Keith A Hobson ◽  
DV Chip Weseloh
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Laurentian Great Lakes ◽  
Larus Argentatus ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
Egg Formation

Stable nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) isotope values were measured in lipid-free homogenates of herring gull (Larus argentatus) eggs collected from the Laurentian Great Lakes during 1974-1995. δ15N values provided an indication of adult gull trophic position during egg formation. After adjustment of egg δ15N values for interlake differences in baseline food web δ15N signatures, significant differences in gull trophic position were found among colonies. These results were attributed to differing proportions of fish in the diets of gulls from the various colonies. Aquatic foods available to gulls had greater δ15N values than terrestrial foods. δ13C measurements provided some support for our hypothesis that terrestrial foods, particularly garbage, were more enriched in 13C than aquatic foods. As the proportion of fish in the diet decreased, the fraction consisting of terrestrial food increased, resulting in an increase in δ13C values and a decline in δ15N values. Stable isotope values for gull eggs from Lake Erie changed significantly during the study period and may have reflected a decline in fish availability.

The effects of ice cover over the colony site on reproductive activities of herring gulls

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 607-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D. Morris ◽  
John W. Chardine
Keyword(s):  
Lake Erie ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Thick Layer ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Larus Argentatus ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Colony Site ◽  
Reproductive Activities

The substrate at a herring gull (Larus argentatus) colony on Lake Erie near Port Colborne, Ontario (Lighthouse), was completely covered by a thick layer of ice throughout April and early May 1982. Egg laying normally begins at this location in mid-April. An adjacent herring gull colony (Canada Furnace) was ice free. Herring gull pairs at the Lighthouse colony defended territories on top of the ice but only 3 of about 90 pairs built nests on the ice. Birds neither deserted the colony nor moved within it to ice-free areas as these became available. The mean date of egg laying at the Lighthouse colony in 1982 was about 2 weeks later than in the previous year. At the adjacent Canada Furnace colony, there was no difference in the mean date of egg laying between the 2 years. There were no differences in the distribution of clutch sizes, mean clutch sizes, or hatching success of three-egg clutches laid within ± 1 SD of the mean date of egg laying at either colony in the 2 years. By these measures, the ice-induced delay in breeding chronology of birds at the Lighthouse colony in 1982 did not adversely effect reproductive performance in that year.

Current-Use Flame Retardants in the Eggs of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) from the Laurentian Great Lakes

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (13) ◽  
pp. 4561-4567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis T. Gauthier ◽  
Craig E. Hebert ◽  
D. V. Chip Weseloh ◽  
Robert J. Letcher
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Flame Retardants ◽  
Laurentian Great Lakes ◽  
Larus Argentatus ◽  
Herring Gulls

Long-term food web change in Lake Superior

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 2118-2129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie N. Schmidt ◽  
M. Jake Vander Zanden ◽  
James F. Kitchell
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Food Web ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Food Web Structure

Restoration and rehabilitation of native species in the Laurentian Great Lakes is a priority for fisheries management agencies. Restoration efforts are increasingly incorporating a perspective that considers species within a broader food web context. We used stable isotope analysis and museum-preserved specimens to describe and quantify 100 years of food web changes in the Lake Superior fish community. We validated stable isotope analysis of museum specimens by showing a positive correlation between isotope- and diet-based estimates of trophic position. While introductions have created a more trophically diverse food web than historically found in Lake Superior, two separate metrics revealed little community-wide change in the food web. Our species-specific analysis revealed trophic niche differences between shortjaw ( Coregonus zenithicus ) and shortnose ( Coregonus reighardi ) ciscoes, two species previously argued to be indistinguishable based on morphological characteristics. By providing a historical context, our findings show the ability of the Lake Superior food web to accommodate non-native species introductions over the last century while still supporting native species populations. This long-term information about food web structure can help guide management and restoration goals in Lake Superior. Furthermore, Lake Superior can serve as a basis for comparing food web changes in other, more highly altered Great Lakes.

The diet of herring gulls during the nesting period in Canadian waters of the Great Lakes

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1075-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Fox ◽  
L. J. Allan ◽  
D. V. Weseloh ◽  
P. Mineau
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Larus Argentatus ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
The One

We report the content of 132 boli and 2000 pellets regurgitated by adults and 1749 boli regurgitated for or by chicks in 25 herring gull (Larus argentatus) colonies in Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior, between mid-April and mid-July, 1977–1983. Fish were the predominant food in all four lakes. Although 11 families of fish and a minimum of 16 species were identified, 80% of the fish were of two exotic species, the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and the rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax). The dietary importance of these two fish species reflected their relative abundance within a lake. In addition, representatives of eight orders of insects and 11 families of birds were identified. In the one colony where diets of birds of known sex were quantified, male and female gulls fed on different proportions of alewife and smelt, suggesting the sexes have different foraging strategies. Although some food was scavenged, most was obtained alive. Dietary differences existed between colonies and between lakes, both within and between years. We suggest that diet, contaminant burden, and population size of Great Lakes herring gulls will be affected by fisheries policies which alter the predator–prey dynamics of this exotic-dominated ecosystem.

Distribution of Parental Investment and Sibling Competition in the Herring Gull, Larus Argentatus

Behaviour ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 134 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 961-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S. Qu ◽  
Jennifer Davis
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Parental Investment ◽  
Larus Argentatus ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
The Third ◽  
Hatching Synchrony ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Older Siblings

AbstractHerring gulls, Larus argentatus, typically lay three eggs. The third laid egg is smaller, hatches later, and hatches a lighter, smaller chick than the first two. The third hatched chick also has a lower chance of survival. Observations of parent-chick and chick-chick interactions were conducted at two Ontario sites in the Great Lakes to determine whether and how parents might behaviorally bias investment in their chicks after the incubation period, and how interactions among chicks might add to the third chick disadvantage. Little evidence was found for behavioral discrimination against the third chick by either its parents or its siblings. The last hatched (C) chick was not less likely than its older siblings (A or B) to get to the food first, and while A and B were more likely to target C when initiating tugs-of-war over food, they were not more likely than C to initiate tugs-of-war in general. C pecked siblings the most, and, despite its younger age and smaller size, was not more likely to lose tugs-of-war with its siblings. It is likely that the locations where this study was conducted represent relatively benign environment in which to raise chicks compared to the marine populations observed in other studies. Given this, parents might be expected to reduce chick asymmetries if they are able. There was a high degree of hatching synchrony in Hamilton Harbor. In 7 out of 28 nests the C chick hatched on the same day as the B or A and B chicks.

Spatial and temporal comparisons of legacy and emerging flame retardants in herring gull eggs from colonies spanning the Laurentian Great Lakes of Canada and United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 142 ◽  
pp. 720-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanyong Su ◽  
Robert J. Letcher ◽  
Jeremy N. Moore ◽  
Lisa L. Williams ◽  
Pamela A. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Flame Retardants ◽  
Laurentian Great Lakes ◽  
Herring Gull

scholarly journals The herring gull Larus argentatus as a likely transmitting agent of Salmonella montevideo to sheep and cattle

1983 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Coulson ◽  
J. Butterfield ◽  
C. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Circumstantial Evidence ◽  
Larus Argentatus ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Breeding Area ◽  
Original Source ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
Wintering Area

SUMMARYThis paper presents evidence for the involvement of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) as vectors in the recent outbreaks of Salmonella montevideo in sheep and cattle in Scotland and suggests that the transfer can take place over considerable distances. The breeding area in Scotland of herring gulls which overwinter in N.E. England is remarkably similar to the geographical distribution of the outbreaks. This pattern, together with the feeding behaviour of herring gulls on farmland, the presence of S. montevideo in herring gulls just before their departure from the wintering area and the timing of the return just before the peak of outbreaks are all circumstantial evidence implicating this gull in the outbreaks. The rapid return of these gulls to their breeding areas means that S. montevideo can be transported long distances in one day and raises the possibility that the original source of S. montevideo could have been in N. E. England rather than in Scotland.

Responsiveness of young herring gulls to stimuli from their own and other species: effects of training with food

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1452-1457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger M. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Normal Development ◽  
Larus Argentatus ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Vocal Responses ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
Species Effects ◽  
Initial Tendency ◽  
Food Conditioning

Young herring gulls (Larus argentatus) are known to emit vocalizations and approach their mew-calling parents when the latter return lo the colony with food for their chicks. In contrast, laboratory-reared young deprived of experience with adults approach and vocalize only rarely lo parental mew calls, although they will respond more strongly to the mew calls of two other species. These results suggest that posthatch experience, such as receipt of food from a calling parent, may be important for the normal development of responses to species typical calls. I tested the effects of food training by exposing young herring gulls, in the laboratory, lo mew calls during feedings. By 7 days of age, responses to herring gull calls increased significantly for young trained with these calls, and the initial tendency for the young to respond selectively to mew calls of the ring-billed gull (L. delawarensis) was reversed. Food training also influenced approach and vocal responses to a visual stimulus (my hand) used to deliver food. Results suggest that approach and vocal responses of young herring gulls may be strongly and adaptively influenced by food conditioning during the first few days after hatching.

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