Responses of Nesting Common Terns and Laughing Gulls to Flyovers by Large Gulls
Publication Date
1993
Journal or Book Title
Wilson Bulletin
Abstract
Disturbance can reduce productivity by disrupting nesting behavior. We examined responses of nesting Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) and Laughing Gulls (Lams atricilh) 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 productivity. Common Terns and Laughing Gulls ignored most flyovers (97.9 and 99.4% respectively) and selectively responded to large gulls that exhibited behaviors associated with predation. Common Terns mobbed large gulls more often than did Laughing Gulls (G = 18.3 1, P < 0.00 l), but numbers of birds per mobbing were similar between species (2 = 1.206, df = 11, 6, P = 0.2388). We suggest that when conditions favor habituation, the presence of large gulls has minimal impact on productivity.
Volume
105
Issue
2
Pages
333-338
Recommended Citation
CAVANAGH, PM and Griffin, CR, "Responses of Nesting Common Terns and Laughing Gulls to Flyovers by Large Gulls" (1993). Wilson Bulletin. 163.
Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/nrc_faculty_pubs/163