Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) Science Article 12
abstract
In The Netherlands Cormorants reached a minimum number of breeding pairs in the mid-1960s. Since the end of the 1970s the population is increasing again, and many new and rapidly expanding colonies have been settled. However, in a colony in Dordtse Biesbosch, situated in the centre of the sedimentation area of the rivers Rhine and Meuse, breeding success was very poor during 1987-1989. In order to establish the factors responsible, a study of breeding biology was carried out in 7 colonies, representing a wide range of contamination levels in surrounding feeding areas. Because literature on breeding biology of the species is relatively scarce, this paper firstly presents data on the breeding biology from a colony of Cormorants in a relatively clean area, producing average numbers of fledglings.
Boudewijn T.J. & Dirksen S., ARDEA 83 (1): 325-338