Funny Sea Gull Video

I thought I would finish off my SeaGull blog with a funny video staring a sea gull! This video shows how serious these birds can be when it comes to obtaining food – any food. In this video a large sea gull knowingly walks past a cat – a very likely predator – to not only steal a few bites of food, but (spoiler alert!) even the entire bowl. Pretty funny!

After reading my blog I hope you have learned a few things about the birds that appear to take over our beaches, roofs, boardwalks and even schools. When I first started the blog I figured it would be an easy bird to observe and blog about while living in San Diego. Not only was this true, but I also found out a lot of interesting facts about sea gulls and how they tie in to animal behavior as a whole. 

Seagull Fun Facts!

Who would have thought seagulls could have fun facts? Well doubt these birds no more because here are ten fabulous fun facts for you about seagulls!

1.     Seagulls are caring parents and work as a mother-father team caring for their chicks

2.     Living in captivity can increase a seagulls lifespan by 30 years!

3.     They can latch on to ledges with a small claw on their lower leg – helps with balance on those windy afternoons!

4.     They are incredibly not picky (you should know this by now if you have been reading this blog!)

5.     Seagulls have the capability to learn how specific behavior can cause provide them with benefits (ex: learning how to smash open shellfish from parents)

6.     They can drink salt water!

7.     Although their funny feet cause them to be clumsy, they are all terrain birds.

8.      A seagulls natural habitat is cliff faces, but many of them currently inhabit man-made cliffs including chimneys or roofs.

9.     They have better eyesight than us.

10.   Juvenile birds are watched over by adult males and will stay in the flock until old enough to breed.

See I told you! Seagulls really can be interesting J

Reference

http://goarticles.com/article/10-Facts-You-Didn-t-Know-About-Seagulls/1402371/

Image Reference

http://www.cruxcatalyst.com/

Seagulls on Stage??

When researching these birds commonly found on the coast, I was surprised to find not only information on the bird itself but on a play entitiled – The Seagull. I don’t know about you but I was pretty surprised to find out a play could be written about the bird but I guess anything can be a muse!

             The play was written by Anton Chekhov in 1895 and is a drama about romantic and artistic conflicts between four main characters. I will spare you all of the details about the cast and the plot of the play, but we do need to focus on the star animal! The actual seagull acts as two symbols in the play. First, representing freedom and security in the first act. Next, when the bird actually appears on stage in Act II, it is dead. This is when one of the characters gives the other a seagull he had shot. What a great gift… this dead bird, however, acts as inspriaction for a short story about a girl who is just like a seagull. The symbol shifts from meaning freedom in the beginning of the play to dependence at the end. Who would have thought a seagull could have so much meaning?

References

http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/seagull/themes.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seagull

Seagull Catching: The Next Big Thing?

One day while walking down Mission Beach with my friend, we noticed a small group of high school aged young adults quietly staring at an empty beach towel.  Being a strange behavior for these normally rambunctious aged students, I knew something was about to happen. Just moments later, a seagull landed on the beach towel, and was swiftly captured by the boy hiding underneath it. Proudly holding the captured bird in the air, the boy proceeded to pose for a couple pictures and eventually let the frazzled bird free.  Let’s just say this caused quite a bit of ruckus on the beach. So was it a good idea to catch the bird? Definitely not. But why?

1.     These birds can be violent when threatened, and they like to bite. Although people think they are tough, human skin cannot beat a fight against a seagull’s beak.

2.     Seagulls can carry some germs that no one wants to get their hands on. This includes dried feces, a variety of bacteria, and some forms of fungus as well. (Mixing point one and point two would result in a pretty gross infection!)

3.     Finally, it is mean to the bird. Not only can it injure you, it can also injure the bird.

I hate to be a party pooper but it does not sound like seagull catching is a very good beach activity. If I were you, I’d stick to volleyball and body surfing! 

Because I'm sure you are all curious though, I thought I'd include a video of the phenomenon.... 

References 

http://www.parrot-link.co.uk/index.php?topic=42141.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORARWFIt5Vc

Scholarly Article on Gulls and other Seabirds

Although the fact that gulls will eat just about anything seems apparent in the last blog post and the post on scavenging, to what extent will these birds hunt out food that at first glance appears disgusting, but could be an essential aspect of their diet? In the North Sea (the body of water between England and Norway) the fish production industry is a crucial part of a many of the sea birds and gulls’ diets found in the area. In the 1992 study by Garthe, Camphuysen and Furness, Amounts of discard by commercial fisheries and their significance as food for seabirds in the North Sea, examines the extent to which seabirds scavenge on fish discards and the effect of this on the birds and the environment.

The study operationally defined “fish discards” as fish that are either (1) too small for commercial sale, (2) below landing size, (3) species with no commercial demand or (4) caught in excess of quota. Amounts of these discards were obtained from previous data. In addition to this, researchers calculated the proportion of waste consumed by birds from experimental discard studies. These findings hypothesized 5.9 million individual birds in the average scavenger community. Findings also estimate industrial fish companies in the North Sea produce roughly 790,000 tons of fish discards each year. The study also estimated sea birds consume 310,000 tons of these discards (almost 40%). This incredible amount of consumption highlights the importance of the mutually beneficial relationship between the sea birds and the fishing industry.

However, because the amount of fish discards is so high, there is a call to action to decrease the amount of waste. One attempt to change this amount of waste was in 2008 by the Conservationists. By making it illegal to throw back any fish that was not alive, this movement would significantly decrease many animals’ diets, causing a decrease in survivability of gulls and other sea birds living at the North Sea. So which is worse? Fish waste or decreasing the sea birds’ diet? That is up to you!

References

Garthe, S., Camphuysen, K. C. J., & Furness, R. W. (1996). Amounts of discards by commercial fisheries and their significance as food for seabirds in the North Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 136(1-3), 1-11.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3464077/Tories-pledge-to-end-scandalous-waste-of-fish-thrown-back-into-sea.html

Spotted: An Unexpected Student on the USD Campus

Sure, the USD campus is pretty close to the ocean, so it would be understandable that you see a seagull here every now and then. However, this large bird made an appearance on our campus on Thursday night and was not afraid to be seen. This quite large seagull clearly had one thing in mind: food. Making it’s way all the way from the beach, this seagull has clearly been attracted by the overflowing trash cans, such as this one, on the USD campus.

As noted in the foraging and eating behavior blog post, seagulls can be very creative in how they obtain their food and they are not picky about how they get it. However, what caused this particular bird to risk coming all the way to the USD campus from the beach (about 5 miles) to scavenge for food? According the various foraging hypotheses discussed in class, it is clear USD must be a pretty consistent place to find a good amount of food for birds like this gull. Because it takes quite a bit of energy to travel this distance, the bird must be attracted by the security of knowing food will consistently be present.

One a separate note, what does this say about the USD campus? If a bird is willing to risk this much energy to search out food on our campus, trash must be consistently and readily available. Due to the fact foragers such as this seagull and others like raccoons are so prominent on our campus, maybe our school needs to cut down on trash or increase trash receptacles. Due to the fact a lot of the trash in this picture could be put in the nearly empty recycling bin right next to the trash bin, the answer might not be in increasing trash cans, but increasing knowledge on how to recycle! This will not only save a seagull from food it should not be eating, but it will also make our campus look a little nicer!

Picture credit: myself

Source 1: class lecture, Dr. Blaser Spring 2012

Source 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull

Source 3: http://www.ehow.com/about_6618858_seagull_s-diet.html

Seagull Conservation

Let’s be honest, when you first think of the Sea Gull, you do not expect for it to be a protected species. It seems as though the birds are literally everywhere and have no problem surviving. However, it turns out some gull species are indeed protected because they are in need of conservation measures. Herring gulls, who are in the same Genus larus as the California gull, are protected under the Conservation of Wildlife Law of 2000. Because of this, it is illegal to injure, kill, or destroy a nest of any gull. The only individuals who are allowed to remove gulls due to public safety reasons are licensed officials. Why, you might ask, is this bird protected by this law and on the UK’s “Red List” if it seems like it is everywhere? Turns out the Herring gull’s population dropped more than 50 percent in the last three decades, causing it to be included on the “red list.” Various causes have increased this birds need to be included on the list, including commercial fishing decline. Because of the decline in commercial fishing, gulls have had fewer opportunities to catch small fish as prey, forcing them to find food in other locations.

Because of protections such as these, what is one to do if they have seagulls and they want them to go away? The best answer is discouraging behavior. By simply removing possibly food (closing dumpsters) and blocking nesting sites, it is likely the seagulls will move on to a different area.

http://www.jspca.org.je/seagull_fsheet.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/save-the-seagull-2006774.html

Predator-Prey Behavior

Seagulls do not have any official natural predators; they do, however, have a variety of ways to protect themselves and their food. One way is “mobbing behavior” (see post on Territoriality for more info on mobbing). Although they do not have one specific predator, there have been instances in which seagulls have been attacked by sharks. Check out the fantastic picture below of this rare predetor-prey relationship! Another main predator of the seagull is the human. Although it is technically illegal to kill gulls in California according to the Federal Migratory Bird Act of 1916, many humans simply get fed up of the creatures and resort to inhumane measures of removing them. In addition to this, an estimated 100,000 marine animals are killed every year due to litter in their natural environment. When this litter is mixed with food contents, seagulls will risk their lives to obtain a meal.

Alternatively, when a seagull is a predator, it is not very picky about its prey (See forging post of more info). No gull species has one single prey that they are specialized to catch. In addition to this, no gull uses only one predatory behavior. One interesting behavior gulls do use to obtain their prey is dipping. This is when the birds sit in the water and swim in tight circles or foot paddle to bring up any marine invertebrates to the surface. Overall, a seagull does not have any specific prey or predators; however, this allows them to not only live in a variety of marine habitats but also consume almost anything they can get their beaks on!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull

http://www.ehow.com/about_6596844_california-seagull-law.html

http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/environmental_management/coast_and_oceans/coastal_management/beach_and_ocean_litter

Image: http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-special-features/article/great-white-shark-seagull-underwater-photography/

Reproductive Behavior

The way in which gulls mate is actually quite similar to humans in that monogamy is the accepted way to go! Most seagulls began the reproduction process of selecting a mate at around the age of 4. During this time, male seagulls work to show off in a variety of ways so they will be selected by the females as reproductive mates. Below is an image of two male seagulls taking part in this behavior.

Once a seagull has found her mate, however, their behavior remains pretty calm because all courtship behaviors are complete. Although gulls do settle in colonies or groups, each couple has their own personal plot of land (check out the last post for more information on that!). Divorce does happen on occasion with gulls; however, it is not often and the cost of the break up can persist for a few years after it occurs. The majority of gulls will breed once a year, producing a clutch size of three eggs. After the eggs are born, they being about a month long incubation process. At this point having a reliable mate is essential for seagulls. The parents will take turns incubating the eggs, allowing the their mate to feed.

An interesting fact regarding gulls and their courting behavior is they take part in homosexual mate selection. Similar to elephants and the very familiar Homo sapian, some gulls will select same sex mates. There was a particularly high instance of this off the coast of Santa Barbara. Although it is unclear why exactly gulls take part in this behavior, it possibly has to do with the high female to male ratio on the islands. Studies regarding this behavior continue to find out more about the lesbian seagulls that have caused quite the ruckus in both homosexual and conservative groups.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull

http://www.spwickstrom.com/seagull/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/goingslo/4527336492/ (image)

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-06-20/local/me-5238_1_channel-island

Territorial Behavior

Because seagulls nest in large colonies, they are also incredibly territorial in that they are protective of their homes. As a protection mechanism, many gull colonies use mobbing behavior, in which they attack and harass possible predators or intruders. Particularly during nesting and mating behaviors, the Gull can be very territorial. Many bird mates secure only a few meters worth of land by verbalizing their presence with specific calls or demonstrating it with a variety of displays. If other gulls decide to ignore such calls, the birds tend to become violent in their attempts to keep their area. Specific calls used by gulls are the “long call” as a threat, a “mew” used as a support call from a fellow mate, a “kek kek” is used when a colony as a whole is disturbed, a “yeow” is also used for the two previous functions. Specific postures are also used to communicate with other gulls. For examples of the previous calls and for posure examples, you can watch the movie attached!

But what happens when this protective territorial behavior is applied to an urban setting according to National Geographic News, urban Britain has really faced these problems. All across Britain there have been issues with swarming, attacking, and defecating on pedestrians. Even an 80-year-old Welshman suffered a fatal heart attack after being swooped by the gulls. Why exactly are these issues happening though? According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, it is because of the loss of cliff top breeding sites due to coastal development.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF8Jl2oBf5I

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0107_030107_seagulls.html

Eating Habits Foraging Behavior

Most gulls, including the common Larus species I referred to in the taxonomy post, are carnivores and like to eat live food like crabs and small fish. Their jaws unhinge, making it very easy for them to eat prey larger than expected. Some species of the gull (the Herring Gull) have really tricky ways of getting food. They use tools such as bread as bait to catch small fish. As many of us also know, the gull has gotten very good at cohabiting with humans and indulging in our food. Other gulls use “kleptoparasitism” to obtain food. In short, they steal food from other animals rather than catching their own. Gulls have even been seen landing on whales and picking off flesh from their backs… who would have thought a seagull would be so aggressive it would take on a whale??

One gull that has an interesting method of foraging is the California Gull. Like many other gulls, it is commonly seen scavenging at garbage dumps or docks, but the way it forages for flies is different! It starts at one end of a large swarm of flied and runs through the swarm with its mouth open snapping up flies. Sometimes seagulls’ attraction to human food has caused some ruckus in the human world. In 2009 at a Kansas City vs. Indians baseball game, a pack of seagulls arrived toward the end of an extra inning and camped in the outfield. When a hit ball struck one of the birds it was very alarmed and deflected the ball away from the outfielder, allowing the Indians to score the winning run!

http://www.ehow.com/about_6618858_seagull_s-diet.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull

http://www.spwickstrom.com/seagull/

Top 50 Animal Images 2011 (honestly has nothing to do with Seagulls...)

On a very random side note that has nothing to do with Seagulls... I thought I would share this link with my Animal Behavior classmates. It is the top 50 animal pictures of 2011, and has some great images! Enjoy!!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9liDjF/www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/incredible-photos-of-animals-from-2011/

Evolutionary Background and Taxonomy

First things first, my blog is slightly deceiving… the “Seagull” depicted’s name isn’t actually seagull, but Larus occidentalis, or a Western Gull. This is the species name, or the most specific way of categorizing a creature. Taxonomy can be a very confusing so as a little review, the different aspects of categorization are: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species (want an easy way to remember this? Just remember “Dumb kids playing chicken on freeways get squished!”). When applying this to the seagull we all see on the beach, the taxonomy is:

- Domain: Eukaryota

- Kingdom: Animalia

- Phylum: Chordata

- Class: Aves

- Order: Charadriformes

- Family: Laridae

- Genus: Larus

- Species: Larus occidentalis

Other gulls are part of the Laridae Family: Genus Ichthyaetus, Leucophaeus, Chroicocephalus, and others, making them all very close relatives. Although some posts in this blog (like this one!) will focus on either larger or more specific aspects of gulls, it will primarily focus on the Larus genus of the Laridae family.

The evolutionary background of the Aves Class is actually very interesting in that it highlights their evolutionary similarities to reptiles and dinosaurs. One of the most important finding that caused this bird-dinosaur hypothesis was that of the 150-million year old Archaeopteryx (check out the picture below!). This oldest bird on record had one essential characteristic that identified it as a bird: feathers. This clinching characteristic of a bird was found alongside reptilian jaw bones and an extended boney tail just like a reptile. In addition to this ancient bird’s similarities with reptilian dinosaurs, other similarities between the first birds and dinosaurs include (but are not limited to): eggshell microstructure, ankle held above the ground (you might think a bird’s knee is backwards, but that is actually because it isn’t it’s knee, but it’s ankle!), hollow bones, large eye openings in the skull and s-shaped curved neck. From these incredibly early beginnings, the bird evolved into an extremely diverse group with a variety of features that evolved dependent on naturally selected capabilities to succeed.

Think it looks anything like a Seagull??

References

- http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/avians.html

- http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/evolution/

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulls#Taxonomy

Photo Credit

- http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/oct/26/archaeopteryx-bird-family-tree

After their famous appearance in Disney's Finding Nemo, seagulls have been labeled as selfish and annoying birds. Especially now that I live on Mission Beach, these birds are seriously everywhere and their behavior can be less than appealing to most. But why do they do the things that they do? What explains their behavior? I hope to answer questions like these in my blog about seagulls and their behavior! Based out of my Psychology 344 class, Animal Behavior, this blog will include both structured and open ended posts regarding this bird's actions and the psychological explanation behind this behavior.