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Frontiers | Western Gull Foraging Behavior as an Ecosystem State Indicator in Coastal California

With accelerating climate variability and change, novel approaches are needed to warn managers of changing ecosystem state and to identify appropriate management actions. One strategy is using indicator species - like seabirds as ecosystem sentinels - to monitor changes in marine environments. Here, we explore the utility of western gullsbreeding on Southeast Farallon Island as a proxy of ecosystem state in coastal California by investigating the interannual variability in gull foraging behavior from 2013-19 in relation to upwelling conditions, prey abundances, and overlap with humpback whales as gulls frequently feed in association with whales. Western gulls have a flexible diet and forage on land and at-sea. We combined gull GPS tracking data during the incubation phase, ecosystem survey data on multiple predator and prey species, and derived oceanographic upwelling products. When foraging at sea, gulls overlapped with cool upwelled waters. During 2015-17, 25% more gull foraging trip ....

Farallon Islands , United States , New York , United Kingdom , Palo Alto , Stanford University , City Of , San Francisco , San Jose State University , San Francisco Bay , Monterey Bay , Northwest Fisheries Science Center , Van Waerebeek , Gull Larus , Santa Cruz Ocean , Pacific Ocean , Wadden Sea , Le Maho , Indian Ocean , El Ksabi , Rr Core Team , Rr Core Team , Farallon Institute , Faction Technology , American Ornithologist Union , Stanford University Press ,