Modelling terrestrial and marine foraging habitats in breeding Audouin's gulls Larus audouinii: timing matters.

ABSTRACT: Although the breeding ecology of Audouin's gull has been widely studied, its spatial distribution patterns have received little attention. We assessed the foraging movements of 36 GPS-tracked adult Audouin's gulls breeding at the Ebro Delta (NW Mediterranean), coinciding with the incubation period (May 2011). This also coincided with a trawling moratorium northwards from the colony. We modelled the distribution of the gulls by combining these tracking data with environmental variables (including fishing activities from Vessel Monitoring System, VMS), using Maxent. The modelling range included both marine and terrestrial areas. Models were produced separately for every 2h time interval across the day, and for 2 fishing activity scenarios (workdays vs. weekends), allowing to assess the spati

SUBMITTER: Becares J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4397092 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature