A note on the potential role of philopatry and conspecific attraction as conservation tools in Audouin's gull Larus audouinii

Published source details Martínez Abraín A., Viedma C., Ramón N. & Oro D. (2001) A note on the potential role of philopatry and conspecific attraction as conservation tools in Audouin's gull Larus audouinii. Bird Conservation International, 11, 143-147.
Share Tweet Email

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use captive breeding to increase or maintain populations of seabirds Action Link
	Artificially incubate and hand-rear seabirds in captivity Action Link

Use captive breeding to increase or maintain populations of seabirds

A small study in a captive-breeding centre in eastern Spain (Martínez-Abraín et al. 2001) found that a pair of captive Audouin’s gulls Larus audouinii successfully bred in captivity each year between 1996 and 2000. This followed a pair of wild gulls nesting inside the centre but outside the cages. Comparisons with the wild pair are made in ‘Artificially incubate and hand-rear birds in captivity’.
Artificially incubate and hand-rear seabirds in captivity

A small study at a captive-breeding centre in eastern Spain (Martínez-Abraín et al. 2001) found that, of five captive-bred, hand-reared Audouin’s gulls Larus audouinii released in 1992, one bird returned to the centre and successfully bred every year from 1995-2000. A second bird, released in 1995, returned in 1998 but did not breed. The released bird and its mate moved the location of their nest each year, each time nesting close to a captive pair also breeding. There were no significant differences between clutch size or hatching success of the released and captive pairs (an average of 2.6 eggs/clutch and 53% hatching success for released birds vs. 2.4 eggs/clutch and 67%). This study also describes the captive-breeding efforts, discussed in ‘Use captive breeding to increase or maintain populations’.