Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/P00959X/1
Gulls and garbage: the ecology, behaviour and physiology of a human-wildlife conflict
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor K Spencer, University of St Andrews, Psychology
- Grant held at:
- University of St Andrews, Psychology
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Marine
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Endocrinology
- Behavioural Ecology
- Conservation Ecology
- Population Ecology
- Pollution
- Abstract:
- In response to an increasingly urbanised world, many animals have rapidly adapted to living in built-up environments. This includes two species of gull in the UK, herring- and lesser black-backed gulls, which increasingly nest and forage in close proximity to humans. This has led to growing numbers of reports of disturbance and nuisance, including direct attacks, hazards to aircraft and pathogen transmission, and subsequent control efforts. This is problematic, as both species are currently undergoing population declines. The proposed projects takes a multidisciplinary approach to understand the behavioural and physiological mechanisms underlying the adaptation of herring and lesser black-backed gulls to anthropogenic environments, focussing on the role of early life experience. Early life experiences can have significant life-long impacts on many traits. Although this may be particularly relevant for gulls provisioning their chicks with diets increasingly sourced from urban areas, this has not been studied to date. For example, both diets of lower nutritional quality as well as variation in stress hormone levels associated with urban foraging may lead to changes in physiological and behavioural development of chicks. Studies in other species have suggested that such patterns may lead to "developmental programming" of offspring, so that they cope better in particular environments in later life. For gulls making increasing use of urban areas this may have strong effects on population dynamics, but this has not been studied. The proposed project aims to: 1. Determine the extent to which birds breeding in coastal and urban environments utilise anthropogenic sites for feeding and how resultant dietary differences affect both egg hormone levels and physiological stress responses in chicks. 2. Determine the nature and consequences of behavioural and physiological differences between individuals hatching in different environments, specifically the ability of nestlings to cope with unfamiliar environments, and effects of this on chick development and foraging behaviour of juveniles. 3. Develop a model to predict how variation in early life experience (e.g. diet and subsequent physiological and behavioural differences) in different environments may affect site usage in later life and resulting population dynamics. The outcome of this work will be of significant relevance to a range of organisations involved in the control of gull populations, and the wider public. Control efforts are costly; the proposed project will provide a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying adaptation of animals to urban areas, and its findings will thus be of value in developing more effective means to resolve this human-wildlife conflict. The project is a new collaboration between Dr Karen Spencer, Dr Jeroen Minderman (University of St Andrews) and Dr Liz Humphreys (British Trust for Ornithology [BTO], CASE partner). Our uniting interest is in predicting how individuals and populations respond to environmental change or disturbance. Within this theme we each bring specialised skills to the project. Dr Spencer has an outstanding track record in the study of the physiological basis of behavioural responses to stress. Dr Humphreys extensive experience in seabird ecology places her in an ideal position to supervise a student on the proposed project, particularly with regards to the seabird fieldwork. Time spent with the BTO will give the student the opportunity to work with a range of staff and receive training in e.g. field survey and sampling techniques, the use of tracking technologies, and modelling techniques. Dr Minderman has broad interests in linking individual-level behaviour to population processes, and extensive field work experience. It is the combination of interests and expertise of the supervisory team that make this project both unique and achievable, and will provide the student with an outstanding training experience.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/P00959X/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Industrial CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £89,095
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - Student Stipend | Total - RTSG |
|---|---|---|
| £17,296 | £60,801 | £11,000 |
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