Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment
A survey in 1994 recorded nearly 14,000 pairs of Larus gulls of four species nesting on buildings in Britain and Ireland. The majority of these records involved Herring Gulls, although large numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also observed. Since the last such survey in 1976, Lesser Black-bac...
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ftunidurhamethes:oai:etheses.dur.ac.uk:5069 2023-05-15T17:07:55+02:00 Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment Raven, Susan Jane 1997 application/pdf http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5069/ http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5069/1/5069_2522.PDF unknown oai:etheses.dur.ac.uk:5069 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5069/1/5069_2522.PDF Raven, Susan Jane (1997) Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment. Doctoral thesis, Durham University. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5069/ Thesis NonPeerReviewed 1997 ftunidurhamethes 2022-09-23T14:13:33Z A survey in 1994 recorded nearly 14,000 pairs of Larus gulls of four species nesting on buildings in Britain and Ireland. The majority of these records involved Herring Gulls, although large numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also observed. Since the last such survey in 1976, Lesser Black-backed Gulls had shown the highest rate of increase. Despite the sharp decline in the numbers of Herring Gulls breeding in Britain and Ireland since the mid-1970s, numbers nesting on roofs had continued increasing, albeit at a lower rate than before. New developments since 1976 included increasing numbers nesting inland and on the roofs of large industrial buildings. The study of a colony of Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls nesting on one such industrial building showed that the breeding success of these birds, although lower than that found for roof-nesting birds at more dispersed colonies, was higher than that at many traditional colonies. Low nest density, shelter for chicks and safety from predators were thought to be important contributors to this success. In addition, die colony was situated very close to the sources of food, agricultural land and urban areas, found to be most important in die diet of Herring Gulls nesting there. A review of dietary studies of roof-nesting Herring Gulls found that, despite the location of such colonies in urban areas, urban sites were not always an important source of food. The reduction in availability of one urban source of food, untreated sewage, was found to have little effect upon the gulls using an urban stretch of river. In particular, neither of the species causing most problems in urban areas, the Herring Gull and Lesser Black- backed Gull, decreased in number; in fact, numbers of these species nesting on buildings in the area increased considerably. Thesis Lesser black-backed gull Durham University: Durham e-Theses |
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Durham University: Durham e-Theses |
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A survey in 1994 recorded nearly 14,000 pairs of Larus gulls of four species nesting on buildings in Britain and Ireland. The majority of these records involved Herring Gulls, although large numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also observed. Since the last such survey in 1976, Lesser Black-backed Gulls had shown the highest rate of increase. Despite the sharp decline in the numbers of Herring Gulls breeding in Britain and Ireland since the mid-1970s, numbers nesting on roofs had continued increasing, albeit at a lower rate than before. New developments since 1976 included increasing numbers nesting inland and on the roofs of large industrial buildings. The study of a colony of Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls nesting on one such industrial building showed that the breeding success of these birds, although lower than that found for roof-nesting birds at more dispersed colonies, was higher than that at many traditional colonies. Low nest density, shelter for chicks and safety from predators were thought to be important contributors to this success. In addition, die colony was situated very close to the sources of food, agricultural land and urban areas, found to be most important in die diet of Herring Gulls nesting there. A review of dietary studies of roof-nesting Herring Gulls found that, despite the location of such colonies in urban areas, urban sites were not always an important source of food. The reduction in availability of one urban source of food, untreated sewage, was found to have little effect upon the gulls using an urban stretch of river. In particular, neither of the species causing most problems in urban areas, the Herring Gull and Lesser Black- backed Gull, decreased in number; in fact, numbers of these species nesting on buildings in the area increased considerably. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Raven, Susan Jane |
spellingShingle |
Raven, Susan Jane Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment |
author_facet |
Raven, Susan Jane |
author_sort |
Raven, Susan Jane |
title |
Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment |
title_short |
Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment |
title_full |
Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment |
title_fullStr |
Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment |
title_sort |
aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5069/ http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5069/1/5069_2522.PDF |
genre |
Lesser black-backed gull |
genre_facet |
Lesser black-backed gull |
op_relation |
oai:etheses.dur.ac.uk:5069 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5069/1/5069_2522.PDF Raven, Susan Jane (1997) Aspects of the ecology of gulls in the urban environment. Doctoral thesis, Durham University. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5069/ |
_version_ |
1766063453852663808 |