Black-headed Gulls Chroicocephalus ridibundus capturing chironomids in flight: have flight costs been overestimated?
The diurnal and seasonal occurrence of flight foraging for midges (Chironomidae) by Black-headed Gulls Chroicocephalus ridibundus was studied at a shallow semi-eutrophic lake in South Sweden and their capture rates were recorded. The gulls captured 0.28 chiromids s(-1) (1,012 h(-1)). With a dry mass...
Published in: | Journal of Ornithology |
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Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Springer
2014
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4608984 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-014-1055-7 |
Summary: | The diurnal and seasonal occurrence of flight foraging for midges (Chironomidae) by Black-headed Gulls Chroicocephalus ridibundus was studied at a shallow semi-eutrophic lake in South Sweden and their capture rates were recorded. The gulls captured 0.28 chiromids s(-1) (1,012 h(-1)). With a dry mass of 2.08 mg ind(-1) and an energy content of 22.7 kJ g(-1), they achieved an energy intake of c.47 kJ h(-1). It seems that estimates of flight costs may have been over-estimated, and it is concluded that aerial feeding on chironomids by Black-headed Gulls results in a positive energy balance. |
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