Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/N009045/1
The conservation conundrum of gulls: How do you develop a management strategy for nuisance species of conservation concern?
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor SC Votier, University of Exeter, Biosciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Exeter, Biosciences
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Conservation Ecology
- Population Ecology
- Abstract:
- Managing human/wildlife conflicts is a major societal challenge. However, in cases where species are both a target for conservation and a potential human hazard, this challenge is greater still. In such instances, research is critical to develop effective and appropriate management strategies, but is often lacking. Gulls represent just such a management nightmare. After sharp rises in the latter half of the twentieth century, many gull populations declined steeply in recent decades making them species of conservation concern. However, at the same time, distribution shifts have brought gulls into increasing conflict with humans, leading to licenced control or calls for direct intervention. For instance, ~60% of the graellsii subspecies of lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus (hereafter LBBG) breeds in the UK, most at a few key sites, and is therefore included on the UK Amber list of Birds of Conservation Concern. It is protected under the EU Birds Directive at 10 Special Protection Areas (SPAs); one of the highest levels of legal protection afforded to wild birds. However, it is also subject to licensed control at non-SPA sites on conservation grounds, or because of risk to human health and safety. This current legislative contradiction is problematic since we know virtually nothing about the biology of birds breeding in SPA and non-SPA (particularly urban) sites. This void is significant since birds at urban sites may have access to more predictable prey and safer nesting sites, leading to higher reproductive output, making them important source populations. The aim of the current proposal will provide a much-needed comparison of SPA and non-SPA LBBG colonies to inform policy advice, improve the conservation status of gulls, and secure better management of conflicts between gulls and humans. The project will take focus on three lines of evidence: 1. Dispersal: to what extent are SPA and non-SPA sites discrete populations? We do not currently have an answer to this question but the studentship will use new analysis of ringed birds (both metal-ringed and colour-ringed birds) to address this key question. 2. Movement: do SPA and non-SPA gulls move freely between sites? Using existing fine-scale GPS tracking and newtargeted tracking, we will examine the movement ecology of gulls in different populations. This information is key since management currently treats the two as different entities, but it is not known whether they segregate or overlap in terms of their habitat use. 3. Foraging and breeding: what do gulls from SPA and non-SPA sites feed on and how does this influence their reproductive biology? Addressing this question is key to determine where any future population recovery may originate from and will also inform the significance of any targeted control. The CASE student will work closely with Natural England (NE) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to contextualise the ecological research from these three key areas to directly inform advice on policy. NE will use this information to directly inform internal processes and policy advice to Government, to be disseminated more widely to SNCBs and NGOs such as the RSPB via through a directed workshop towards the completion of the studentship. This work will benefit ongoing SPA review and help ensure that appropriate species management is established to meet government commitments such as those associated with Biodiversity 2020.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/N009045/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Industrial CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £89,793
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - RTSG | Total - Student Stipend |
|---|---|---|
| £17,622 | £11,000 | £61,173 |
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