Foraging ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls during brood-rearing in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick
We studied nesting ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus L., 1758) in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, in 1988 and 1989. We documented diet, feeding rate, and meal size for chicks from hatching to fledging. In 1989, colonies consisted of about 350 nests on five islands. Brood size decli...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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2004
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z04-124 2024-03-03T08:43:41+00:00 Foraging ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls during brood-rearing in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick Gilliland, S G Ankney, C D Hicklin, P W 2004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z04-124 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z04-124 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 82, issue 9, page 1416-1426 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2004 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z04-124 2024-02-07T10:53:35Z We studied nesting ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus L., 1758) in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, in 1988 and 1989. We documented diet, feeding rate, and meal size for chicks from hatching to fledging. In 1989, colonies consisted of about 350 nests on five islands. Brood size declined with chick age, and by the end of the first week of the nestling period, 11%, 22%, 31%, and 36% of nests consisted of broods of 0, 1, 2, and 3 chicks, respectively. Average meals size increased and feeding frequency declined slightly with chick age. We estimated that 619.6 kg (dry mass) of food was fed to chicks during the nestling period in 1989. The composition of the chicks' diet changed with age and was most varied early in the nestling period, when they were fed relatively equal proportions of major food types. Overall, Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus L., 1758) was the most important prey item and contributed 63% of the energy consumed by chicks during the nestling period. Northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica (M. Sars, 1857); 11.9%), lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L., 1758; 10.4%), and waste (fisheries and domestic; 4.7%) were also important foods. Gull chicks and Common Eider (Somateria mollissima (L., 1758)) ducklings made up 1.9% and 0.8%, respectively, of the chicks' energy budget. We conclude that the primary factor effecting productivity of the Great Black-backed Gull was food availability, and the amount of food available varied little over the nesting period in 1989. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common Eider Meganyctiphanes norvegica Northern krill Somateria mollissima Canadian Science Publishing Five Islands ENVELOPE(-69.415,-69.415,60.184,60.184) Canadian Journal of Zoology 82 9 1416 1426 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Gilliland, S G Ankney, C D Hicklin, P W Foraging ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls during brood-rearing in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
We studied nesting ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus L., 1758) in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, in 1988 and 1989. We documented diet, feeding rate, and meal size for chicks from hatching to fledging. In 1989, colonies consisted of about 350 nests on five islands. Brood size declined with chick age, and by the end of the first week of the nestling period, 11%, 22%, 31%, and 36% of nests consisted of broods of 0, 1, 2, and 3 chicks, respectively. Average meals size increased and feeding frequency declined slightly with chick age. We estimated that 619.6 kg (dry mass) of food was fed to chicks during the nestling period in 1989. The composition of the chicks' diet changed with age and was most varied early in the nestling period, when they were fed relatively equal proportions of major food types. Overall, Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus L., 1758) was the most important prey item and contributed 63% of the energy consumed by chicks during the nestling period. Northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica (M. Sars, 1857); 11.9%), lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L., 1758; 10.4%), and waste (fisheries and domestic; 4.7%) were also important foods. Gull chicks and Common Eider (Somateria mollissima (L., 1758)) ducklings made up 1.9% and 0.8%, respectively, of the chicks' energy budget. We conclude that the primary factor effecting productivity of the Great Black-backed Gull was food availability, and the amount of food available varied little over the nesting period in 1989. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gilliland, S G Ankney, C D Hicklin, P W |
author_facet |
Gilliland, S G Ankney, C D Hicklin, P W |
author_sort |
Gilliland, S G |
title |
Foraging ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls during brood-rearing in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick |
title_short |
Foraging ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls during brood-rearing in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick |
title_full |
Foraging ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls during brood-rearing in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick |
title_fullStr |
Foraging ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls during brood-rearing in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick |
title_full_unstemmed |
Foraging ecology of Great Black-backed Gulls during brood-rearing in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick |
title_sort |
foraging ecology of great black-backed gulls during brood-rearing in the bay of fundy, new brunswick |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z04-124 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z04-124 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-69.415,-69.415,60.184,60.184) |
geographic |
Five Islands |
geographic_facet |
Five Islands |
genre |
Common Eider Meganyctiphanes norvegica Northern krill Somateria mollissima |
genre_facet |
Common Eider Meganyctiphanes norvegica Northern krill Somateria mollissima |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 82, issue 9, page 1416-1426 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z04-124 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
82 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1416 |
op_container_end_page |
1426 |
_version_ |
1792499137603698688 |