Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) Science Article 4 abstract The western Indian Ocean supports over 6 200 000 pairs of Sooty Terns, some in very large colonies. During the past twocenturies colonies have exhibited increase, stability, decline and extinction. The main drivers of these trends have beenhabitat change and unregulated human exploitation, especially of adults; introduced […]
Category: Laridae
Influence of date and body mass at fledging on long-term survival of sooty terns sterna fuscata
Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) Science Article 5 abstract The Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata is a pan-tropical seabird that nests typically on isolated oceanic islands. Sooty Terns nest always on the ground, generally amongst sparse herb vegetation and often in large dense colonies, sometimes numbering hundreds of thousands of pairs (Gochfeld & Burger 1996, Schreiber at […]
Brown pelican foraging success and kleptoparasitism by laughing gulls
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) Science Article 9 abstract Previous studies have shown age-related differences in feeding success for a number of bird species, particularly those found in marine environments. We compared the foraging success of adult and immature Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) feeding along the Playa Miramar northwest of Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico. On many of […]
Phylogenetic Diversity and Molecular Detection of Bacteria inGull Feces
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) Science Article 5 abstract In spite of increasing public health concerns about the potential risks associated with swimming inwaters contaminated with waterfowl feces, little is known about the composition of the gut microbialcommunity of aquatic birds. To address this, a gull 16S rRNA gene clone library was developed andanalyzed to determine […]
Environmentally acquired lead in the laughing gull
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) Science Article 2 abstract Lead concentrations were measured in eggs, prefledglings and adult laughinggulls collected near Galveston, Texas. No lead was found in eggs. Prefledglingand adult birds had lead ranging from zero to 16 itg/g wet tissue. Liver had thegreatest lead concentrations followed by brain, heart and skeletal muscle. Therewere no […]
Nesting success and status of the least tern breeding colony at gibson lake in southwestern indiana
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) Science Article 6 abstract Federally-endangered interior least terns (Sterna antillarum) have nested at Gibson Lake in southwestern Indiana since 1986. In 2003 and 2004 we evaluated nesting success of least terns and identified factors influencing their productivity at Gibson Lake . In 2003 least terns nested only at secondary breeding sites, […]
Predation in a salt marsh Laughing Gull colony
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) Science Article 7 abstract As an apparent consequence of predation pressures many colonial seabirds nest in places inaccessible to terrestrial animals (e.g. Crook and GossCustard 1972). In many parts of their breeding range along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts ooe North America Laughing Gulls (Larus atticilia) nest on salt marsh islands, […]
Responses of nesting common terns and laughing gulls to flyovers by large gulls
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) Science Article 4 abstract Disturbance can reduce productivity by disrupting nesting behavior. We examined responses of nesting Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) and Laughing Gulls (Larus atricilla) to frequent overhead flights by Herring (L. argentutus) and Great Black-backed (L. murinus) gulls to determine if such flyovers may have contributed to declines in […]
Laughing gulls (Larus atricilla) and black skimmers (Rynchops nigra) brought to Newfoundland by hurricane
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) Science Article 6 abstract Sea-birds from the West Indies and nearby subtropical regions occasionally occur in New England and the Maritime Provinces of Canada as a result of hurricanes. Peterson (1947) lists three species, the Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) and the Noddy (Anous stolidus) which breed at Dry Tortugas and the […]
aerial Photography Techniques to Estimate Populations of Laughing Gull Nests in Jamaica Bay, New York, 1992-1995
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) Science Article 8 abstract We evaluated aerial photography (full coverage, using fixed-wing aircraft) and aerial video (transects, using helicopter) surveys to estimate the population of Laughing Gull (Larus ahicilla) nests in Jamaica Bay, New York, during June 1992-1995. We counted 4,920 nests in the colony using aerial photography and estimated 5,367 […]