Spatial and temporal variation in population trends of Kelp Gulls in northern Patagonia, Argentina
Nora Lisnizer A D , Pablo Garcia-Borboroglu A B and Pablo Yorio A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centro Nacional Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACV, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina. Email: nora@cenpat.edu.ar.
B Department of Biology, University of Washington, Box 351800, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA. Email: popi@uw.edu
C Wildlife Conservation Society, Amenabar 1595, P 2, Office 19, C1426AKC, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Email: yorio@cenpat.edu.ar
D Corresponding author. Email: nora@cenpat.edu.ar
Emu 111(3) 259-267 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU11001
Submitted: 6 January 2011 Accepted: 2 March 2011 Published: 24 August 2011
Abstract
Many populations of seabird species with opportunistic or generalist feeding habits have expanded worldwide, possibly because they are using additional food resources provided by human activities. The Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) is a generalist feeder that often feeds on urban and fish waste and its populations have been expanding in several regions of the southern hemisphere. In Patagonia, Argentina, it is the most abundant species of gull. However, population trends have been reported for only a few colonies and there has been no evaluation of population changes at a regional scale. In this study we provide an update on the distribution and size of Kelp Gull colonies along 1800 km of coastline of northern Patagonia, and assess population trends over a period of 15 years (1994–2008) at different spatial scales (colony, coastal sector, region). In northern Patagonia, Kelp Gulls currently breed in 68 colonies, which range in size from a few to 11 000 breeding pairs. Ten new sites were colonised in the study period. Most colonies (74%) are increasing and the overall population increased by 37% (from 52 784 to 72 616 pairs), at an annual growth rate of 2.7%. Two of the four coastal sectors showed significant annual increases (5%), whereas the other two remained stable. Our results confirm the expansion of populations of Kelp Gulls along a long section of the coast of northern Patagonia, although the observed trends varied with the spatial scale considered.
Additional keywords: Larus dominicanus, breeding numbers.
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