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Possible effects of local enrichment by gulls on feeding‐site selection by wintering Barnacle Geese Branta leucopsis
Author(s) -
BAZELY D. R.,
EWINS P. J.,
McCLEERY R. H.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-919x.1991.tb04820.x
Subject(s) - larus , goose , biology , herring gull , waterfowl , branta , salt marsh , ecology , anatidae , barnacle , zoology , herring , fishery , habitat , crustacean , fish <actinopterygii>
The selection of salt‐marsh feeding sites by wintering Barnacle Geese Branta leucopsis was investigated on Schiermonnikoog, The Netherlands. Use of sites by geese was estimated by counts of goose droppings. Geese spent significantly more time grazing in sites with evidence of Herring Gull Larus argentatus and Lesser Black‐backed Gull Lfuscus breeding activity than in nearby non‐gull sites. The nitrogen content of red fescue grass Festuca rubra was significantly greater in gull sites. We suggest that the geese preferred to feed in these locations because of the improved nutritional value of the grass. The higher nitrogen content of F. rubra in gull sites was most likely the result of nutrient inputs from gull droppings rather than goose droppings.