Behavioural responses to human intruders of herring gulls (Larus Argentatus) and great black-backed gulls (L. Marinus) with varying exposure to human disturbance

doi:10.1016/0376-6357(83)90022-0

Behavioural Processes

Volume 8, Issue 4, October 1983, Pages 327-344

https://doi.org/10.1016/0376-6357(83)90022-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

This study examined differences in response to humans approaching the nest for incubating herring and great black–backed gulls with varying amounts of prior exposure to humans. Gulls nesting in frequently disturbed areas sat more tenaciously, responded more slowly, and returned to the nest more quickly following the intruder's retreat, than birds nesting in less disturbed areas. The species differed in their responses in different areas. Stage of incubation had little effect, except that late in incubation herring gulls returned to the nest more quickly. Weather variables affected responses of great black-backed gulls. For both species the behaviours we scored when the experimenter approached the nest were correlated, as were those following departure, but there was no correlation between these two sets of responses. Our study provides evidence on the relationships among components of an alarm and escape response, and provides a measure of influence of human disturbance for two species of gulls.

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Cited by (32)

Effects of alarm call playback on the behaviour of wild European herring gulls
2021, Learning and Motivation
Citation Excerpt :
This involved a person walking towards incubating herring gulls and recording the yeow calls as the distance between the human and gull got smaller. In keeping with earlier findings (Burger & Gochfeld, 1983) and the distance-dependent-defence-hierarchy (Gallup, 1974; Ratner, 1977, see Hendrie, Weiss, & Eilam, 1996 for review) the character of these calls changed in relation to the intensity of the perceived threat, with the ‘high threat’ calls eliciting the strongest response on playback. It is noteworthy in this context that the alarm calls used in the present study were likely to have been of the ‘high threat’ variety as the recordist of the alarm calls used writes in his notes that birds were attacking him from the air whilst the recording was being made.
Playback of audio recordings is a well-established method of eliciting behavioural responses in the wild. The effects of audio playback on the behaviour of wild European herring gulls (Larus argentatus) has not been well researched however. The present study was conducted in order to address this using playback of recordings of European herring gull alarm calls, European herring gull food begging calls, a woodland dawn chorus or silence to wild free-living birds that had been attracted to the study site by the scattering of a highly palatable food mixture. Each call type was played 8–9 times in randomised order across the 40 day study period with only one call being played per day. Playback was initiated 30 s after two or more gulls had landed within the within the baited area and continued for 2 min thereafter. The number of birds on the ground within this area was recorded at 10 s intervals during the 30 s before the playing of the calls was initiated through to the 30 s afterwards. Results were clear and showed that whilst groups of herring gulls typically arrived in close temporal proximity to each other and quickly began consuming the food, they took flight within seconds of hearing their own species’ alarm calls even though there was still food left to be eaten. The woodland dawn chorus produced a similar effect for reasons that are not fully understood. The begging calls were largely without effect and as with the ‘silent’ condition numbers of gulls on the ground appeared to decrease in relation to a reducing amount of food left to be eaten. These data together demonstrate that whilst wild European herring gulls respond with flight upon hearing their own species’ alarm calls, other sounds can produce this effect also.
Herring gull aversion to gaze in urban and rural human settlements
2020, Animal Behaviour
Citation Excerpt :
Additionally, gulls could be approached more closely when there were other humans in the vicinity, which may also reflect tolerance of human presence. Previous research on American herring gulls, Larus smithsonianus, and great black-backed gulls, Larus marinus, found that both species tended to tolerate closer approach to their nests before fleeing in areas with high prior human disturbance (Burger & Gochfeld, 1983). Alternatively, the presence of other humans may have acted as a distraction from the approaching experimenter, thus affecting the gulls’ ability to assess risk.
With an increasing human population and expansion of urban settlements, wild animals are often exposed to humans. As humans may be a threat, a neutral presence or a source of food, animals will benefit from continuously assessing the potential risk they pose in order to respond appropriately. Herring gulls, Larus argentatus, are increasingly breeding and foraging in urban areas, and thus have many opportunities to interact with humans. We recently found that herring gulls take longer to approach food when being watched by a human. However, it is not known whether aversion to human gaze arises from experience with humans, and whether individual differences in responsiveness are a result of differential exposure. Here, we tested whether herring gulls' responses to human gaze differ according to their age class and urbanization of their habitat. We measured the gulls' flight initiation distance when an experimenter approached with either a direct or an averted gaze. Neither gull age class nor urbanization significantly influenced the effect of human gaze on flight initiation distance. However, as recently fledged juveniles responded strongly to the experimenter's gaze, aversion to human gaze may not require extensive exposure to humans to develop. Gulls in urban areas could be approached more closely than those in rural areas, consistent with findings in other species. These results indicate that gaze aversion is present early in development and that exposure to humans may influence gulls' responses to perceived risk from humans. Investigating the processes generating individual differences in responses to humans will provide further insights into human–wildlife interactions and the effects of urbanization.
Towards ecologically meaningful and socially acceptable buffers: Response distances of shorebirds in Victoria, Australia, to human disturbance
2011, Landscape and Urban Planning
Citation Excerpt :
The study area included a variety of land tenures and uses; from popular summer recreation areas to private farmland and commercial land with highly restricted human access. As FID might be influenced by prior experience with humans (Burger & Gochfeld, 1983; Cayford, 1993; Cooke, 1980; Fernández-Juricic, Jimenez, & Lucas, 2002; Pienkowski, 1992), each sampling location was categorised as ‘restricted’ or ‘unrestricted’ human access. Restricted access refers to a requirement of any form of permission for entry and, unrestricted access refers to land that is easily accessible, without access restrictions.
Buffers are often used to separate threatening stimuli, such as humans, from wildlife but with few exceptions buffer widths are based on little empirical information. We measured the distance at which a response (i.e., flight initiation distance [FID]) occurred among 28 of Australia's 36 regularly occurring shorebird species when presented with an approaching human (n = 760 approaches in Victoria, south eastern Australia). Species differed in their FID, with species with higher body masses having longer FIDs (F_1,26 = 36.830, p < 0.001; R² = 0.586). Mean FIDs for species were 18.6–126.1 m (n = 370 approaches by a walker). Depending on the species, FID was significantly influenced by the starting distance of the human approach, flock size, previous exposure to humans and stimulus type (walker, jogger, walker with dog). The FIDs reported suggest that current buffer designations will reduce disturbance to many but not all shorebird species tested. We also surveyed 295 residents and users of shorebird habitat, who reported an overall positive attitude to shorebird conservation, and generally regarded buffers as an appropriate way of managing disturbance to shorebirds (except for walkers, the commonest recreational activity). By overlaying the buffer widths nominated by respondents as appropriate for shorebirds with the FIDs exhibited by shorebirds, we present the efficacy of buffers from both social and ecological perspectives.
Behavioural responses to human disturbance: A matter of choice?
2004, Animal Behaviour
The strength of an animal's behavioural response to human presence has often been used as an index of an animal's susceptibility to disturbance. However, if behavioural responsiveness is positively related to the animal's condition, this may be an inappropriate index, as individuals showing little or no response may in fact be those with most to lose from changing their behaviour. We tested the link between individual state and responsiveness by manipulating condition via the provision of supplementary food for turnstones, Arenaria interpres, on rocky shores. Birds at one site were fed 450 g of mealworms at low tide every day for 3 days while birds at another site acted as a control. On the fourth day, using a standardized disturbance protocol, we recorded flush distances, flight lengths and the amount of time between predator scans for birds in both flocks. After a break of 3 days, the treatments were then swapped between sites and the procedure repeated for a total of six trials. Birds whose condition had been enhanced showed greater responsiveness to standardized human disturbance, flying away at greater distances from the observer, scanning more frequently for predators and flying further when flushed. These findings suggest that our current management of the impact of human disturbance may be based on inaccurate assessments of vulnerability, and we discuss the implications of this for refuge provision.
Do fences protect birds from human disturbance?
2003, Biological Conservation
Outdoor recreation and ecotourism are becoming increasingly popular, but such human activities are not entirely benign to birds. One way to manage wildlife habitats is to restrict public access with a fence or some similar barrier, under the assumption that this provides wildlife with a refuge from human activities. We tested this assumption by measuring the responses of 10 species of birds at a site containing a fence with a relatively large number of visitors on only one side. We compared these responses to those at a less-visited, control site. Responses were measured by quantifying flight initiation distance (FID), the distance birds would allow a human to approach before fleeing. Overall, we found birds on the protected side of the fence responded similarly to birds at the low visitation control site, and significantly differently from birds at the high visitation site. Our results suggest that by reducing the number of humans and providing areas of refuge within highly visited habitats, protective barriers allow birds to behave as they would in an undisturbed environment.
Effects of human approaches to nests of northern New Zealand dotterels
2001, Biological Conservation
Citation Excerpt :
New Zealand dotterels leave their nests if potential predators (including humans) approach (Dowding and Chamberlin, 1991). This is a common response among ground-nesting birds (Burger and Gochfeld, 1983; Evans and Pienkowski, 1984), and may be a primary cause of low hatching success in birds frequently exposed to human activity (e.g. Piatt et al. 1990; but see Gillet et al., 1975). It is desirable, although often not practical, to prohibit human access from breeding areas occupied by threatened or endangered species.
The northern New Zealand dotterel Charadrius obscurus aquilonius is an endangered shorebird, and it is thought that human disturbance may decrease its nesting success. We made three types of approach to nests (walking, running or leading a dog). We measured the flush distance, length of time parents spent off the nest and distraction display intensity. Leading a dog caused the greatest disruption of incubation, while responses to walking and running approaches did not differ significantly. Distraction display intensity appeared to be unrelated to approach type. There was evidence of habituation to humans on busy beaches. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that shorebirds perceive dogs as posing more of a threat than humans on foot, and that their subsequent avoidance response is greater. We recommend that human activity, particularly the walking of dogs, should be limited near nesting sites. Further study on causes of nest failure is required.

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Behavioural responses to human intruders of herring gulls (Larus Argentatus) and great black-backed gulls (L. Marinus) with varying exposure to human disturbance

Abstract

Anim. Behav.

Biol. Cons.

Temperature regulation in young pelicans, herons and gulls

Ecology

Colony Size: A test for breeding synchrony in herring gull (Larus argentatus) colonies

Auk

Effects of human disturbance on Colonial birds, particularly gulls

Colonial Waterbirds

Piracy in Larus gulls at a dump in New Jersey

Proc. Colonial Waterbird Group

Discrimination of the threat of direct versus tangential approach to the nest by incubating Herring and Great Black–backed Gulls

J. Comp. Physiol Psychol.

Reaction of ring–billed gulls to predators and human disturbance at their breeding colonies

Proc. Colonial Waterbird Group

Functional aspects of incubation in the herring gull (Larus argentatus Pont.)

Behav. Suppl.

Effects of human activity on egg and chick mortality in a glaucous–winged gull colony

Condor

Field criteria for determining incubation stage in eggs of the Common Tern

Wilson Bull.

Temperature regulation in the sooty tern Sterna fuscata

Ibis

Influence of good distribution and human disturbance on the reproductive success of herring gulls

Ecology

Reproductive ecology of the western gull: the importance of nest spacing

Auk

Behavioural responses to human intruders of herring gulls ( $Larus Argentatus$ ) and great black-backed gulls ( $L. Marinus$ ) with varying exposure to human disturbance

Colony Size: A test for breeding synchrony in herring gull ( $Larus argentatus$ ) colonies

Piracy in $Larus$ gulls at a dump in New Jersey

Functional aspects of incubation in the herring gull ( $Larus argentatus$ Pont.)

Temperature regulation in the sooty tern $Sterna fuscata$