Abstract
In recent decades, the Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) has become a problematic species in many Mediterranean countries, mainly because it interferes with human interests. However, this gull also has a negative impact on several other bird species, many of which are classified as endangered. Two different European Union Action Plans are currently under development with the aim of decreasing the availability of food derived from human activities, such as garbage and fishery discards, which are considered to be the main causes of the superpopulations of this gull. Here, we describe the diet of Yellow-legged Gull chicks, with particular emphasis on establishing the dependence of each population on refuse dumps, in order to forecast changes in gull population dynamics in response to the management decisions being implemented. We sampled four colonies along the Western Mediterranean in Spain: the Medes Islands, the Ebro Delta, the Columbretes Islands, and Mazarrón Island. To elucidate their feeding ecology and to avoid obtaining a discrete estimation from a single sampling, we collected regurgitates from each colony three times throughout the chick-rearing period. Slightly differential feeding habits were observed between chick age classes. Younger chicks in all four colonies tended to be consistently provisioned with smaller prey such as invertebrates. Distinct uses of several foraging habitats among localities were observed. In particular, the use of refuse dumps was common and abundant in two of the colonies: the Medes and Mazarrón Islands. As a consequence of current management strategies, generalized reductions in Yellow-legged Gull populations and increases in the consumption of alternative food resources to those of fishery discards and refuse scraps are expected. Finally, we predict that decreased food availability will force some gulleries to increase predation on endangered species, thereby raising a conservation concern.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the wildlife authorities of the respective communities for permission to conduct this study. We would like to thank the wardens of the Columbretes Islands, especially R. Belenguer, M. Prados, and V. Tena, for their warm welcome and their invaluable assistance with the fieldwork. We also thank our colleague S. Ferrer for his help in the field and in the laboratory. R.R. was supported by a FPU grant awarded by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEyC), and financial support throughout the study was provided by the project REN2003-07050 Aplicación de biomarcadores a la gestión de una especie problemática (Larus cachinnans). All experiments and protocols performed in this study comply with current European legislation.
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Communicated by P.H. Becker.
X. Ruiz: deceased on 27 April 2008.
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Ramos, R., Ramírez, F., Sanpera, C. et al. Diet of Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) chicks along the Spanish Western Mediterranean coast: the relevance of refuse dumps. J Ornithol 150, 265–272 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-008-0346-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-008-0346-2