Henslow's swimming crab (Polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans) in NW Spain
An analysis of the contents of 2562 pellets sampled from 1987 to 1993 at breeding colonies and roosting sites showed that Henslow's swimming crabs ( Polybius henslowii ) are by far the most important marine prey for yellow-legged gulls ( Larus cachinnans ) on the coasts of Galicia (north-wester...
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1997
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:icesjms:54/4/631 2023-05-15T17:07:54+02:00 Henslow's swimming crab (Polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans) in NW Spain Munilla, Ignacio 1997-08-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/54/4/631 https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1997.0249 en eng Oxford University Press http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/54/4/631 http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1997.0249 Copyright (C) 1997, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer Short communication TEXT 1997 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1997.0249 2013-05-27T06:34:03Z An analysis of the contents of 2562 pellets sampled from 1987 to 1993 at breeding colonies and roosting sites showed that Henslow's swimming crabs ( Polybius henslowii ) are by far the most important marine prey for yellow-legged gulls ( Larus cachinnans ) on the coasts of Galicia (north-western Spain), occurring in 36.4% of pellets. The results also suggest that yellow-legged gulls in Galicia are to a great extent marine foragers. Galicia has one of the largest yellow-legged gull populations in western Europe, largely dominating the seabird community. Polybius henslowii is the most abundant decapod crab over the continental shelf of Galicia. It enters coastal waters in large shoals and frequently stays close to the sea surface. Compared with the diets of other yellow-legged gull populations or any of the other closely related gull species, such as the herring ( L. argentatus ) and the lesser black-backed gull ( L. fuscus ), Polybius henslowii appears as a characteristic and even exclusive prey of yellow-legged gull populations in the Iberian Atlantic. There is also some evidence that the regular irruption of large Polybius henslowii shoals is a phenomenon peculiar to Iberian Atlantic waters. Text Lesser black-backed gull HighWire Press (Stanford University) ICES Journal of Marine Science 54 4 631 634 |
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HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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fthighwire |
language |
English |
topic |
Short communication |
spellingShingle |
Short communication Munilla, Ignacio Henslow's swimming crab (Polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans) in NW Spain |
topic_facet |
Short communication |
description |
An analysis of the contents of 2562 pellets sampled from 1987 to 1993 at breeding colonies and roosting sites showed that Henslow's swimming crabs ( Polybius henslowii ) are by far the most important marine prey for yellow-legged gulls ( Larus cachinnans ) on the coasts of Galicia (north-western Spain), occurring in 36.4% of pellets. The results also suggest that yellow-legged gulls in Galicia are to a great extent marine foragers. Galicia has one of the largest yellow-legged gull populations in western Europe, largely dominating the seabird community. Polybius henslowii is the most abundant decapod crab over the continental shelf of Galicia. It enters coastal waters in large shoals and frequently stays close to the sea surface. Compared with the diets of other yellow-legged gull populations or any of the other closely related gull species, such as the herring ( L. argentatus ) and the lesser black-backed gull ( L. fuscus ), Polybius henslowii appears as a characteristic and even exclusive prey of yellow-legged gull populations in the Iberian Atlantic. There is also some evidence that the regular irruption of large Polybius henslowii shoals is a phenomenon peculiar to Iberian Atlantic waters. |
format |
Text |
author |
Munilla, Ignacio |
author_facet |
Munilla, Ignacio |
author_sort |
Munilla, Ignacio |
title |
Henslow's swimming crab (Polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans) in NW Spain |
title_short |
Henslow's swimming crab (Polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans) in NW Spain |
title_full |
Henslow's swimming crab (Polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans) in NW Spain |
title_fullStr |
Henslow's swimming crab (Polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans) in NW Spain |
title_full_unstemmed |
Henslow's swimming crab (Polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans) in NW Spain |
title_sort |
henslow's swimming crab (polybius henslowii) as an important food for yellow-legged gulls (larus cachinnans) in nw spain |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/54/4/631 https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1997.0249 |
genre |
Lesser black-backed gull |
genre_facet |
Lesser black-backed gull |
op_relation |
http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/54/4/631 http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1997.0249 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 1997, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1997.0249 |
container_title |
ICES Journal of Marine Science |
container_volume |
54 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
631 |
op_container_end_page |
634 |
_version_ |
1766063428273700864 |