Journal ArticleDOI
Diet Changes in Breeding Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) in Witless Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, over 40 Years
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TLDR
The consistently low contribution of fisheries discards suggests that changes in fishing practices and availability of discards are only one possible factor in the Herring Gull decline in Witless Bay.Abstract:
. The diets of gulls (Laridae) can have consequences for reproductive success, chick growth, and survival, yet there have been no quantitative assessments in eastern Newfoundland since the early 1970s. The diet of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) was examined through regurgitated prey items and pellets on Gull Island, Witless Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, in 2012, and compared with similar data from 1970–1971. There was a significant shift in Herring Gull diet composition from blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and capelin (Mallotus villosus) in the 1970s to garbage and Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggs in 2012. Delays in capelin spawning and the large increase in breeding Common Murres on Gull Island are likely factors influencing Herring Gull diet. Garbage, which includes human food scraps as well as plastic debris, now constitutes the single largest diet item for Herring Gulls, corresponding with a global increase in plastic pollution. The consistently low contribution of fisheries discards s...read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Marine birds and plastic debris in Canada: a national synthesis and a way forward
TL;DR: Marine plastic ingestion by seabirds was first documented in the 1960s, but over 50 years later our understanding about the prevalence, intensity, and subsequent effect of plastic pollution in the...
Journal ArticleDOI
Plastic and Non-plastic Debris Ingestion in Three Gull Species Feeding in an Urban Landfill Environment.
S. Seif,Jennifer F. Provencher,Stephanie Avery-Gomm,Stephanie Avery-Gomm,Pierre-Yves Daoust,Mark L. Mallory,Paul A. Smith +6 more
TL;DR: There were no differences among the species, age classes or sexes in the incidence of debris ingestion (plastic or otherwise), the mass or number of debris pieces ingested, and there was no correlation between ingested plastics burdens and individual condition.
Journal ArticleDOI
Plastic ingestion in aquatic birds in Portugal.
Marta N. Basto,Katy R. Nicastro,Ana I. Tavares,Christopher D. McQuaid,María Casero,Fábia Azevedo,Gerardo I. Zardi +6 more
TL;DR: This study sets a first multispecies baseline for incidence of plastic ingestion by aquatic birds in Portugal and finds that the Lesser Black-backed Gull had the highest incidence while, among those that did ingest plastics, the Northern Gannet had the lowest.
Journal ArticleDOI
Flame retardant concentrations and profiles in wild birds associated with landfill: A critical review
TL;DR: This work synthesise and critically evaluate a total of 18 studies covering eight avian species published between 2008 and 2018 across four continents that report flame retardant (FR) burdens in birds utilising landfill, and recommends that ongoing research be focused on landfill-associated birds.
Journal ArticleDOI
Substituted Diphenylamine Antioxidants and Benzotriazole UV Stabilizers in Aquatic Organisms in the Great Lakes of North America: Terrestrial Exposure and Biodilution
Zhe Lu,Amila O. De Silva,Daryl J. McGoldrick,Wenjia Zhou,Thomas E. Peart,Cyril J. Cook,Gerald R. Tetreault,Pamela A. Martin,Shane R. de Solla +8 more
TL;DR: Variations in herring gull eggs and fish indicate the differences in accumulation and elimination pathways of SDPAs and BZT-UVs and require further elucidation of these mechanisms.
References
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vegan: Community Ecology Package
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Measurement of "overlap" in comparative ecological studies
TL;DR: Objective, empirical measures of overlap between samples of items distributed proportionally into various qualitative categories derived from either probability or information theory should prove useful to the ecologist in comparative studies of diet, habitat preference, seasonal patterns of abundance, faunal lists, or similar data.
Journal ArticleDOI
Plastic Accumulation in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre
Kara Lavender Law,Skye Morét-Ferguson,Skye Morét-Ferguson,Nikolai Maximenko,Giora Proskurowski,Giora Proskurowski,Emily E. Peacock,Jan Hafner,Christopher M. Reddy +8 more
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