Seagulls are everywhere. Their high-pitched call can be heard daily in many coastal cities and towns. In Vancouver, the most common species of seagull is the glaucous-winged gull, shown below. Are these birds here to stay and if so, what does this mean for cities?
Glaucous-winged gull adult by Edward Kroc via Flickr
Glaucous-winged gull chick by Edward Kroc via Flickr
Since there had been little research looking at urban gulls, Dr. Edward Kroc, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia, decided to compare the fledging success (the number of chicks that are raised until they leave the nest) of urban gulls to coastal gulls.
What he found was that urban gulls had higher fledging success than coastal gulls. One of main reasons for this is that rooftops in the city provide secluded locations for nesting, meaning that gulls are protected from predators, and so more chicks survive. In addition, cities provide an abundance of food and because seagulls can eat almost anything, they are able to thrive.
This means that we are likely to see a rise in the urban gull population. For those who find these birds to be nuisances, this may be bad news. Nevertheless, we live in a shared environment and it’s important that we learn to adapt and coexist with nature.
After all, the main reason driving these birds to the city is the fact that human activities in their natural habitat have depleted their food supply and caused a decline in the coastal gull population. In a sense, we have caused this shift in habitat.
So, what impact will we have on these birds, with regards to evolution? The following video discusses the issue with Dr. Kroc.
Undoubtedly, we will have an impact on these birds but what does their potential rise mean for cities, in terms of wildlife management and conservation efforts? Dr. Kroc discusses in the following podcast.
It seems that these birds are here to stay and increasing public awareness of this fact and ways to peacefully coexist are important. To avoid conflicts with these birds, the most important thing you can do is to limit food availability. Most of the time seagulls get their food from food waste in landfill sites but because there is often food discarded on urban streets, they are drawn closer to humans and this can cause conflict. This report outlines some of the ways to peacefully coexist.
These birds may be a nuisance to some and may likely increase costs for cities, mainly due to cleaning, but it’s important to understand that they are a part of our natural setting and we should be inclined to protect them. In addition, their coastal decline may be an indicator of a marine ecosystem crisis. Quoting the well-known conservationist, Paul Paxton:
“Only when the last of the animals’ horns, tusks, skin and bones have been sold, will mankind realize that money can never buy back our wildlife.”
These gulls are not heading towards extinction, but if we do nothing to enhance their protection and learn how to coexist, they just might.
― By: Ami Patel, Helia Barzandeh, Zhaolin Deng, Brian Kim
