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Diet of Herring Gull Larus argentatus chicks in the gulf and estuary of the St. Lawrence River, Québec, Canada = Het voedsel van kuikens van Zilvermeeuwen in de golf en het estuarium van St. Lawrence River, Québec, Canada
Rail, J.-F.; Chapdelaine, G. (2000). Diet of Herring Gull Larus argentatus chicks in the gulf and estuary of the St. Lawrence River, Québec, Canada = Het voedsel van kuikens van Zilvermeeuwen in de golf en het estuarium van St. Lawrence River, Québec, Canada. Atlant. Seabirds 2(1): 19-34
In: Atlantic Seabirds. Seabird Group and Dutch Seabird Group: Sandy, Bedfordshire. ISSN 1388-2511, more
Peer reviewed article  

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Keyword
    Marine/Coastal

Authors  Top 
  • Rail, J.-F.
  • Chapdelaine, G.

Abstract
    Food availability is often an important regulating factor of seabird populations. In the Estuary and Gulf of the St. Lawrence River, most colonies of Herring Gulls Larus argentatus are actually decreasing while diet information is lacking. Collection of 635 regurgitations in three areas (Estuary, Corossol Island and Carleton colonies) revealed that the overall diet of Herring Gull chicks was extremely varied and variable over time and space, which is typical of an opportunist species. Nevertheless, capelin, a key species in the food chain in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf, constituted the bulk of gulls' diet. At Carleton, located in the southern Gulf, capelin was less abundant, and more human waste completed the chicks' diet, in comparison with the other sites. This study provides baseline data for future investigation of the relationship between trends in Herring Gull populations and food availability in the Estuary and Gulf of the St. Lawrence River.

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