Migratory Behavior of Franklin’s Gulls (Larus pipixcan) in Peru

Information on the migratory pathways for birds is essential to the future citing of wind power facilities, particularly in off-shore waters. Yet, relatively little is known about the coastal or offshore migratory behavior of most birds, including Franklin’s gulls (Larus pipixcan), a long-distant migrant. We report observations along the coast of Peru made in November 2008 to determine where birds concentrated. Wind facilities can not avoid regions of high avian activity without knowing where that activity occurs. Migrant flocks of 250 to 50,000 were observed on coastal farmfields, dumps and estuaries, on beaches and mudflats, and up to 45 km offshore. Bathing and foraging flocks ranged in size from 20 to 500 birds, and most flocks were monospecific, with occasional grey-headed (Larus cirrocephalus) and band-tailed (L. belcheri) on the periphery. While previous notes report Franklin’s gulls foraging coastally, we found flocks feeding up to 45 km offshore by diving for prey or feeding on the water. The relative percentage of birds of the year varied in migrant flocks from zero to 14%, with lower numbers of young foraging aerially on insects (only 1%). The percentage of young feeding over the ocean decreased with increasing distance from shore;no young of the year were recorded at 36-44 km offshore. While there were large flocks of Franklin’s gulls resting on the water inshore, the number of gulls foraging offshore did not decline up to 45 km offshore. The presence of foraging flocks of Franklin’s gulls out to 45 km offshore, and occupying space from 0 to 20 m above the water, suggests that they would be vulnerable to offshore anthropogenic activities, such as offshore drilling and wind facilities.

Nest sanitation behavior does not increase the likelihood of parasitic egg rejection in herring gulls

Birds’behavioral response to brood parasitism can be influenced not only by evolution but also by context and individual experience.This could include nest sanitation,in which birds remove debris from their nests.Ultimately,nest sanitation behavior might be an evolutionary precursor to the rejection of parasitic eggs.Proximately,the context or experience of performing nest sanitation behavior might increase the detection or prime the removal of parasitic eggs,but evidence to date is limited.We tested incubation-stage nests of herring gulls Larus argentatus to ask whether nest sanitation increased parasitic egg rejection.In an initial set of 160 single-object experiments,small,red,blocky objects were usually rejected(18 of 20 nests),whereas life-sized,3D-printed herring gull eggs were not rejected whether red(0 of 20)or the olive-tan base color of herring gull eggs(0 of 20).Next,we simultaneously presented a red,3D-printed gull egg and a small,red block.These nests exhibited frequent nest sanitation(small,red block removed at 40 of 48 nests),but egg rejection remained uncommon(5 of those 40)and not significantly different from control nests(5 of 49)which received the parasitic egg but not the priming object.Thus,performance of nest sanitation did not shape individuals’responses to parasitism.Interestingly,parents were more likely to reject the parasitic egg when they were present as we approached the nest to add the experimental objects.Depending on the underlying mechanism,this could also be a case of experience creating variation in responses to parasitism.

Non-breeding movements of the Black-tailed Gull(Larus crassirostris)

With the continued development of tracking technology and increasing interest in animal movement,our understanding of migration behavior has become more comprehensive.However,there are still many species that have not been well studied,particularly sea birds.Here,we present the first year-round Global Positioning System(GPS)tracking data of the Black-tailed Gull(Larus crassirostris)at the population level.We used solar-powered GPS-Global System for Mobile communication(GSM)loggers to successfully track 30 individuals breeding at Xingrentuo Islet,Liaoning Province,China,for 1-3 years.Except for one individual who roamed in the far north of the Yellow Sea during non-breeding period,all others did a directed southward migration.Migration routes and wintering sites differed among migrating gulls and between years for the birds tracked for two or more years.Additionally,during wintering,the migrating gulls were more likely to travel over a large body of water and shift sites,and some trajectories were quite complex,which was probably closely related to what we observed in the field about their boat-chasing behavior.Compared to wintering movements,the post-breeding movements ranged over a smaller area.Specifically,almost all of them had a long post-breeding period near the breeding islet(≥120days,<220 km from the breeding islet),and 80%of the gulls who were tracked more than one year had at least one faithful post-breeding site.Compared to the post-breeding period,only approximately half of the migrating gulls had a pre-breeding period that was shorter(3-20 days)and closer to the breeding islet(≤80 km).Migration distance varied among migrating gulls(range 209-2405 km)and the gulls moved least distance during postbreeding period.Furthermore,we found that the southward movement of the migrating gulls occurred when the temperature near the breeding islet dropped;specifically,the gulls directly migrated southward away from the post-breeding site.Our results suggest that the Black-tailed Gull has a long post-breeding period but a short prebreeding period near the breeding islet and high diversity of their migrating patterns(in especial migration routes and wintering sites).

Distribution and Status of the Pallas’s Gull Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus(Pallas,1773)in the Reservoirs of the Palearctic:Review

The Pallas’s Gull Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus is a piscivorous gull,some local populations of which are rare and vulnerable.The review presents data on the status and distribution of the Pallas’s Gull in the reservoirs of the Palearctic-water bodies in which the water level is controlled by humans.The aim of the study was to assess the current state of the species in the reservoirs of the Palearctic.The review was based on 1080 publications found in the search engines Yandex,Google,Google Scholar,eLybrary.During the last 35 years,the Pallas’s Gull has been found in 63 reservoirs of the Palearctic.Breeding has been established in 11 reservoirs,breeding has not been established in 43 reservoirs,and birds were present in 9 reservoirs,but the status was not specified.Two-thirds of the reservoirs where the gull was recorded or bred were located in the European part and only 1/3 in Asia.It is assumed that up to 5000 adults(0.45%-4.0%of the global population of the species)breed annually in the reservoirs of the Palearctic,and the reservoirs are not the main habitats for maintaining and reproducing the population of the species.The majority of the breeding population reproduces in natural water bodies,and the reservoirs of the Palearctic are important for the maintenance of non-breeding individuals.Detection of presumed breeding and new breeding colonies in reservoirs north of the historical range of the species has been established on the Russian Plain,in the Urals and Trans-Urals.The reservoirs of Russia play a leading role in providing breeding sites for the species in water bodies of this type.An analysis of the data allows us to state the important and increased role of reservoirs in the modern distribution and expansion of the range of the Pallas’s Gull in the Palearctic.

Investigation of Unsteady Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Seagull Wing in Level Flight

Unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a seagull wing in level flight are investigated using a boundary element method.A new no-penetration boundary condition is imposed on the surface of the wing by considering its deformation.The geometry and kinematics of the seagull wing are reproduced using the functions and data in the previously published literature.The proposed method is validated by comparing the computed results with the published data in the literature.The unsteady aerodynamics characteristics of the seagull wing are investigated by changing flapping frequency and advance ratio.It is found that the peak values of aerodynamic coefficients increase with the flapping frequency.The thrust and drag generations are complicated functions of frequency and wing stroke motions.The lift is inversely proportional to the advance ratio.The effects of several flapping modes on the lift and induced drag(or thrust)generation are also investigated.Among three single modes(flapping, folding and lead & lag),flapping generates the largest lift and can produce thrust alone.For three combined modes,both flapping/folding and flapping/lead & lag can produce lift and thrust larger than the flapping-alone mode can.Folding is shown to increase thrust when combined with flapping,whereas lead & lag has an effect of increasing the lift when also combined with flapping.When three modes are combined together,the bird can obtain the largest lift among the investigated modes.Even though the proposed method is limited to the inviscid flow assumption,it is believed that this method can be used to the design of flapping micro aerial vehicle.

Nest site tenacity and mate fidelity in the Black-headed Gull(Chroicocephalus ridibundus)

Breeding philopatry is well known in the Black-headed Gull(Chroicocephalus ridibundus).Using a capture-markrecapture method,we studied if Black-headed Gulls show nest site tenacity and mate fidelity as well,and investigated if there are differences between a stable,and a newly established and fast-growing colony,as well as for differences between the center and edges of these colonies located in north-eastern Germany.We found a high level of nest site tenacity in the center of the stable colony on B?hmke Island,and lower degrees of nest site tenacity at the edge of the same colony and in the newly established and fast-growing colony on Riether Werder.Mate fidelity was very strong in all individuals which returned to their previous breeding place,regardless of the nest site location.

Seasonal changes in the number of Relict Gull (Larus relictus) at Ebinur Lake, Western China

The Relict Gull(Larus relictus) is recognized as a vulnerable species,with a worldwide population of about 6,000 individuals.Always inhabiting the extreme arid regions of Central Asia,their migratory routes and winter grounds are unclear.This research focused on distribution sites,habitat,behavior,population size and seasonal changes of Relict Gull.Line transects and point counts in every month were used to investigate the gulls around the Ebinur Lake.The result showed Relict Gull was summer visitor to Xinjiang,Western China.Population curve with a single peak was obtained.This gull appeared in early April and was 63 individuals(1% of the global population).The number remained stable from May to July in 2009.The discovery of fledglings indi-cates that Relict Gull may breed here.They left Ebinur Lake in August.Relict Gull in Ebinur Lake should belong to the Central Asian subpopulation,which was the most westerly record in China.

The use of demersal trawling discards as a food source for two scavenging seabird species:a case study of an eastern Mediterranean oligotrophic marine ecosystem

Background: The banning of fisheries discards by imposing an obligation to land unwanted catch constitutes a key point of the Common Fishery Policy reform proposed by the European Commission. The effect of such a ban on discards on top marine predators such as seabirds is largely unknown, especially in oligotrophic systems of the Medi?terranean. The current study investigates the presence of scavenging seabirds around fishing trawlers as well as the exploitation of discards produced by bottom trawlers in the eastern Ionian Sea.Methods: On?board observations were randomly conducted in May and December 2014, in order to record the presence and use of fishery discards by two common seabird species, namely, Scopoli's Shearwater(Calonectris diomedea) and the Yellow?legged Gull(Larus michahellis).Results: A total of 3400 seabirds were counted during May of which 2190 individuals were Scopoli's Shearwaters and 1210 were Yellow?legged Gulls. The latter species was the only scavenger observed during winter and in total, 768 individuals were counted. Differences in species abundance in the study area are related to breeding phenology and migratory movements. The number of seabirds attending bottom trawler operations during morning and afternoon hours showed no significant differences for both seabird species. Both scavenging seabirds extensively exploited fishery discards, which were mainly demersal fish, and consumed 70–80% of the total fishery discards biomass; how?ever, they appeared to avoid poisonous species and/or large?sized fish. Yellow?legged Gulls displayed kleptoparasitic behaviour on Scopoli's Shearwater during feeding experiments. The number of such incidents depended on the number of gulls around the fishing vessel, with more than 90% success rates.Conclusions: Considering the average annual biomass of discards estimations and the consumption rate found in this work, 106.1–117.9 t may be offered as a food subsidy to scavenging seabirds in the study area and should support a substantial part of local populations. Our results constitute baseline information on the annual amount of fishery discards and their exploitation rate by seabirds in the Ionian Sea, and suggest further work for a complete understand?ing of the potential impacts of the discards reform bill on seabirds.

霜之新星的华丽绽放

每周一次的ZCUP从来不缺乏关注,各种精彩的比赛层出不穷,这里面不仅有国手SKY,UNA,FLY,还有韩国的大神如Lucifer,Space,FoCuS,ReMinD等,但Z罩杯除了是职业选手们的练兵之处外,还是业余选手和一些欧洲喜爱WAR3的玩家们锻炼实力的地方。

两地时间 一处思绪

地球沦为村落,天涯也是比邻。作为传统也时尚的腕表界,具有"两地时间"显示功能的腕表在公务、商务领域大行其道。海鸥SEA-GULL早前推向市场的M169S和新近推向市场的M176S,以及M189S与M188S就都为两地时间腕表。

Perinatal variation and covariation of oxidative status and telomere length in yellow-legged gull chicks

The perinatal period is critical to survival and performance of many organisms.In birds,rapid postnatal growth and sudden exposure to aerial oxygen around hatching markedly affect the chick redox status,with potentially negative consequences on physiology mediated by oxidative stress.In addition,telomere length(TL)undergoes reduction during birds’early life,partly depending on oxidative status.However,relatively few studies have focused specifically on the changes in oxidative status and TL that occur immediately after hatching.In this study of the yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis,we found that chicks undergo a marked increase in plasma total antioxidant capacity and a marked decrease in the concentration of pro-oxidant molecules during the first days after hatching.In addition,TL in erythrocytes decreased by 1 standard deviation over the 4days post-hatching.Body mass and tarsus length covaried with total antioxidant capacity and concentration of pro-oxidants in a complex way,that partly depended on sex and laying order,suggesting that oxidative status can affect growth.Moreover,TL positively covaried with the concentration of pro-oxidant molecules,possibly because retention of high concentrations of pro-oxidant molecules results from mechanisms of prevention of their negative effects,including reduction in TL.Thus,this study shows that chicks undergo marked variation in oxidative status,which predicts growth and subsequent TL,prompting for more studies of the perinatal changes in the critical posthatching stages.