DOCSLIB.ORG

“Vega” Herring Gull in Algoma District: a New Taxon for Ontario Kirk Zufelt

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
“Vega” Herring Gull in Algoma District: a New Taxon for Ontario Kirk Zufelt Adult Vega Gull. Photo: Kirk Zufelt “Vega” Herring Gull in Algoma District: A new taxon for Ontario Kirk Zufelt Introduction IT was a dreary morning Typical of The IT was 30 OcTober 2010 and I was laTe fall on easTern Lake Superior. An in - parTaking in my ongoing survey work of TermiTTenT lighT drizzle necessiTaTed The The large gulls of The SaulT STe. Marie occasional use of my windshield wipers area boTh in OnTario and Michigan. The as I pulled up To The adminisTraTive kiosk SaulT ST. Marie landfill is The municipal aT The SaulT STe. Marie landfill. AfTer ex - landfill for The CiTy of SaulT STe. Marie, changing pleasanTries wiTh The very ac - OnTario. This siTe aTTracTs large numbers commodaTing landfill sTaff, I eagerly of gulls in The fall wiTh beTween 2,000 headed back Towards The large cloud of and 4,000 gulls being presenT on an gulls circling The gianT rubbish heap. average day fro m laTe OcTober To laTe Volume 30 Number 1 13 Figure 1. Adult Vega Gull, Sault Ste. Marie landfill, 30 October 2010 . Photo: Kirk Zufelt November. The dumping area is an in - car and a T Times closer. IniTially I ex - dusTrial siTe ThaT is noT open To The gen - pecTed iT mighT be a hybrid, buT afTer eral public. I had negoTiaTed access To close observaTion I sTarTed To consider conTinue my surveying work wiTh sTricT The possibiliTy ThaT This could be an guidelines To ensure safeTy and To avoid adulT “Vega” Herring Gull ( L. a. vegae ). any inTerference wiTh workflow. AfTer very careful sTudy, over several Trying To avoid The gianT mud-filled hours, I was able To confirm This idenTi - craTers ThaT can swallow a small vehicle, ficaTion and obTained a large series of I maneuvered my way back To an opTi - diagnosTic phoTographs. mal observaTion spoT. I seTTled in and sTarTed sorTing Through The several Thou - Taxonomy sand “American” Herring Gulls ( Larus According To The American OrniTholo - argentatus smithsonianus ). QuiTe quickly, gisTs’ Union, Vega Gull is a subspecies I came across an inTeresTing darker-man - of The Herring Gull ( L argentatus ). The Tled gull (Figure 1). AlThough iT was elu - NorTh American subspecies is com - sive aT firsT, wiThin a half an hour iT was monly known as American Herring Gull loafing wiTh several hundred American (L. a. smithsonianus ) (American OrniTh - Herring Gulls wiThin 25 meTres of The ologisTs’ Union 2012), while The disTincT 14 Ontario Birds April 2012 Siberian-based Taxon is referred To as Vega Vagrancy in North America Gull ( L. a. vegae ). ClemenTs’ checklisT of DocumenTaTion of exTralimiTal Vega The birds of The world, Version 6.6, con - Gulls in NorTh America has been ham - curs wiTh This ouTlook (ClemenTs et al. pered by iTs official sTaTus as a subspecies 2012). The InTernaTional OrniThological of Herring Gull and The relucTance of Congress — IOC ChecklisT version 2.11 many bird records commiTTees To review — follows The phylogeneTic species con - The Taxon. The significanT difficulTy in cepT and considers iT a full species, Larus idenTifying immaTure birds, especially vegae (Gill and Donsker 2012). Those in firsT cycle, has cerTainly con - Olsen and Larsson (2003) considered TribuTed To The pauciTy of confirmed Vega Gull a disTincT species in Their records. monograph Gulls of North America, Eu - Only Two previous widely accepTed rope and Asia . Howell and Dunn (2007) records exisT in NorTh America ouTside supporT This approach and sTaTe ThaT iT is of Alaska. The firsT was an adulT docu - “quiTe disTincT from American Herring menTed by MarTin Reid and Willie Gull and beTTer TreaTed as a separaTe Sekula aT The EllioT Landfill, Corpus species, Vega Gull, L. vegae ”. ChrisTi, Texas on 6 March 2000. PicTures AlThough world opinion generally of This are feaTured on The Texas Bird favors TreaTing Vega Gull as a disTincT Records CommiTTee websiTe. The second species , changes in The currenT AOU Tax - record was of an adulT meTiculously doc - onomy will undoubTedly be deferred un - umenTed by Michael BroThers on 2 Jan - Til definiTive scienTific daTa are pre senTed. uary 2009 aT DayTona Beach Shores, Florida (Figure 2). Figure 2. Adult Vega Gull, Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, 2 January 2009 . Photo: Michael Brothers Status and Distribution The Vega Gull breeds predominanTly on islands and sea cliffs in The high arcTic of norTheasT Siberia (Olsen and Larrson 2003). There is a small breeding popula - Tion on ST. Lawrence Island in The Bering Sea, which is The only regular NorTh American breeding locaTion (Howell and Dunn 2007). Vega Gulls winTer predominanTly in Japan, Korea, souTh and easT China and Taiwan. Olsen and Larsson (2003) sTaTe “some posT breeding wandering To N. Alas - kan coasT, buT no oTher reliable observaTions from NorTh America”. Howell and Dunn (2007) refer To specimens from BriTish Columbia and Oregon, noTing ThaT “The former perTains To a hybrid…and The laTTer warranTs criTical examinaTion”. Volume 30 Number 1 15 This reporT was reviewed and ac - AlThough a fair amounT of gull cepTed by The Florida OrniThological sTudy has Taken place in The Yukon, SocieTy Records CommiTTee (FOS and V ega Gull is considered casual Records CommiTTee ReporT-2009-FOS norTh To The ArcTic coasT of Alaska RC 09-761) (KraTTer 2010). Howell (Howell and Dunn 2007), There are and Dunn (2007) reporT ThaT iT is no known records from Canada’s far “almosT cerTainly overlooked in wesTern norTh alThough iT is quiTe possible ThaT NorTh America, wiTh several December iT has been overlooked (C. EckerT pers. To March records of presumed Vega comm.). Gulls from cenTral California”. A specimen record from Henderson Description Lake, BriTish Columbia from 27 Nov - The following descripTion of The bird em ber 1922 (Campbell 1990) was re - was compiled from my careful observa - fuTed by Howell and Dunn (2007) wiTh Tions and noTes aT The Time of observa - The asserTion ThaT The specimen “per - Tion as well as from The deTailed Tains To hybrid Glaucous-winged ( Larus phoTographs. IT is, in essence, The same glaucescens ) x WesTern Gull ( Larus occi - descripTion submiTTed To and accepTed dentalis ) or Glaucous-winged x Ameri - by The OnTario Bird Records CommiT - can Herring Gull”. Tee (WormingTon and Cranford 2011). Twelve records of Vega Gull from Size and Structure beTween 2000 and 2009 in BriTish Co - This bird was comparable in overall size lumbia were noTed by Toochin and Fen - To The Herring Gulls ThaT iT accompa - neman (2008). FifTy percenT of These nied. From direcT comparison To a large were adulT birds. The auThors noTed number of Herring Gulls, I esTimaTed ThaT “no aTTempT has been made To uni - iT was aT abouT The 70Th percenTile in laTerally pass judgmenT on any sighT size, being smaller Than abouT 30% of records. This responsibiliTy is besT lefT The associaTed gulls. To a proper Rare Birds CommiTTee, The sTrucTure was also very compa - which currenTly does noT operaTe in The rable. The head was relaTively rounded province.” AT presenT none of These aT resT suggesTing This bird mighT be a records have been published or re - relaTively large female. The bill was av - viewed by an independenT records com - erage in widTh and lengTh wiTh a rela - miTTee so They are considered TenTaTive. Tively modesT gonydeal expansion when Hopefully a mech anism for independ - compared To The Herring Gulls. A di - enT review of BriTish Columbia bird recT comparison of The bird’s bill wiTh records can be developed To provide le - American Herring Gulls nearby showed giTimacy To These and oTher rare bird ThaT The bill was well wiThin “average” records from The province. range a nd cerTainly noT in The larger 16 Ontario Birds April 2012 Figure 3 . Algoma Vega Gull (right) showing similar structure to American Herring Gull but with a darker mantle, 30 October 2010. Photo: Kirk Zufelt end of The American Herring Gull spec - in his sTudy “IdenTificaTion of AdulT Vega Trum which one would expecT in a Her - Gull: Field ObservaTions from Japan”. ring Gull x GreaT Black-backed Gull The eye of This Vega Gull was brown - (L. marinus ) hybrid. The leg lengTh and ish-yellow (Figure 4). IT was darker Than primary exTension were boTh very similar average for an American Herring Gull, To The Herring Gulls. alThough uncommonly They can have a In conclusion, This bird fiT well wiThin dark eye. This “in beTween” eye colour The average range for size and sTrucTure was neiTher lighT as in The vasT majoriTy in direcT comparison To several hundred of Herring Gulls or in The easTern Pacific Herring Gulls wiTh which iT closely as - populaTion of SlaTy-backed Gull ( Larus sociaTed during The observaTion period schistisagus ), nor Truly dark as would be (Figure 3). This would be The expecTaTion expecTed in, for insTance, a California for a Vega Gull. Gull ( Larus californicus ). Gibbins (2003) noTed ThaT The vasT majoriTy of adulT Bare Parts Vega Gulls he observed had a n “in-be - In discussing The bare parTs, I will com - Tween eye color wiTh only abouT 10 per - pare The findings on This bird wiTh The cenT having a very dark eye and none daTa presenTed by Chris Gibbins (2003) having a very lighT eye”. Volume 30 Number 1 17 Figure 4. Algoma Vega Gull showing darkish eye and reddish orbital ring, 30 October 2010. Figure 5. American Herring Gull showing typical light eye and yellowish-orange orbital ring, 30 October 2010. Photos: Kirk Zufelt on The gonys, near The Tip of The lower mandible, wiTh no black markings. In Gibbins’ (2003) sTudy of 103 adulT Vega Gulls in Japan, The majoriTy had This bill paTTern wiTh no black markings.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Winter Distribution of the Western Gull-Billed Tern (Gelochelidon Nilotica Vanrossemi) Kathy C
    WESTERN BIRDS Volume 40, Number 1, 2009 THE WINTER DISTRIBUTION OF THE WESTERN GULL-BILLED TERN (GELOCHELIDON NILOTICA VANROSSEMI) KATHY C. MOLINA and KIMBALL L. GARRETT, Section of Ornithology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, Cali- fornia 90007; [email protected] KEITH W. LARSON, Klamath Bird Observatory, P. O. Box 758, Ashland. Oregon 97520; current address: Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada DAVID P. CRAIG, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301 ABSTRACT: We surveyed 73 sites along the Gulf of California and Pacific coasts of mainland Mexico during five nonbreeding seasons from December 1999 to Janu- ary 2007 to clarify the winter status and distribution of the western North American subspecies of the Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica vanrossemi), a taxon of conservation concern. We located birds at 44 of the 73 sites, (60%) with the largest numbers found around coastal lagoons with extensive tidal flats in southern Sonora, Sinaloa, and extreme northern Nayarit. Local concentrations were also noted at other sites from the Colorado River delta of extreme northwestern Sonora south to Guer- rero. Resightings of birds banded as chicks at California breeding colonies establish the first evidence of connectivity to specific wintering sites in Mexico as far south as southern Sonora and possibly into Nayarit. The Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) is widespread in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of the Old and New Worlds, but many popu- lations, particularly those in North America, appear to be declining (Parnell et al. 1995, Molina and Erwin 2006).
    [Show full text]
  • Morphological Variation Among Herring Gulls (Larus Argentatus) and Great Black-Backed Gulls (Larus Marinus) in Eastern North America Gregory J
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of New England University of New England DUNE: DigitalUNE Environmental Studies Faculty Publications Environmental Studies Department 4-2016 Morphological Variation Among Herring Gulls (Larus Argentatus) And Great Black-Backed Gulls (Larus Marinus) In Eastern North America Gregory J. Robertson Environment Canada Sheena Roul Environment Canada Karel A. Allard Environment Canada Cynthia Pekarik Environment Canada Raphael A. Lavoie Queen's University See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: http://dune.une.edu/env_facpubs Part of the Ornithology Commons Recommended Citation Robertson, Gregory J.; Roul, Sheena; Allard, Karel A.; Pekarik, Cynthia; Lavoie, Raphael A.; Ellis, Julie C.; Perlut, Noah G.; Diamond, Antony W.; Benjamin, Nikki; Ronconi, Robert A.; Gilliland, Scott .;G and Veitch, Brian G., "Morphological Variation Among Herring Gulls (Larus Argentatus) And Great Black-Backed Gulls (Larus Marinus) In Eastern North America" (2016). Environmental Studies Faculty Publications. 22. http://dune.une.edu/env_facpubs/22 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Environmental Studies Department at DUNE: DigitalUNE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Environmental Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DUNE: DigitalUNE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Gregory J. Robertson, Sheena Roul, Karel A. Allard, Cynthia Pekarik, Raphael A. Lavoie, Julie C. Ellis, Noah G. Perlut, Antony W. Diamond, Nikki Benjamin, Robert A. Ronconi, Scott .G Gilliland, and Brian G. Veitch This article is available at DUNE: DigitalUNE: http://dune.une.edu/env_facpubs/22 Morphological Variation Among Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) and Great Black-Backed Gulls (Larus marinus) in Eastern North America Author(s): Gregory J.
    [Show full text]
  • First Record of a California Gull for North Carolina
    General Field Notes LYNN MOSELEY EIS M. OSYE rth Crln Edtr Sth Crln Edtr prtnt f l prtnt f l Glfrd Cll h Ctdl Grnbr, C 240 Chrltn, SC 240 OICE Publication of any unusual sightings of birds in the Field Notes or Briefs for the Files does not imply that these reports have been accepted into the official Checklist of Birds records for either North or South Carolina. Decisions regarding the official Checklists are made by the respective State Records Committees and will be reported upon periodically in THE CHAT. rt rd f Clfrn Gll fr rth Crln Stephen J. Dinsmore John O. Fussell Jeremy Nance 2600 Glen Burnie 1412 Shepard Street 3259 N 1st Avenue Raleigh, NC 27607 Morehead City, NC 28557 Tucson, AZ 85719 At approximately 1400 h on 29 January 1993, we observed an adult California Gull (Larus californicus) at the Carteret County landfill, located southwest of Newport, North Carolina. We were birding the northwest corner of the landfill when Fussell called our attention to a slightly darker-mantled gull resting with hundreds of other gulls, mostly Herring Gulls (L. argentatus). We immediately recognized the bird as an adult California Gull. We were able to observe and photograph the bird for the nest half hour at distances of 75-100 m. At 1430 the bird suddenly flew south over the dump and we were not able to relocated it over the next 2 hours. Sprn 6 The following is a detailed description of the bird, much of it written immediately after the sighting. The bird was slightly smaller and slimmer than the numerous Herring Gulls surrounding it.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Threatened Birds of Asia: The BirdLife International Red Data Book Editors N. J. COLLAR (Editor-in-chief), A. V. ANDREEV, S. CHAN, M. J. CROSBY, S. SUBRAMANYA and J. A. TOBIAS Maps by RUDYANTO and M. J. CROSBY Principal compilers and data contributors ■ BANGLADESH P. Thompson ■ BHUTAN R. Pradhan; C. Inskipp, T. Inskipp ■ CAMBODIA Sun Hean; C. M. Poole ■ CHINA ■ MAINLAND CHINA Zheng Guangmei; Ding Changqing, Gao Wei, Gao Yuren, Li Fulai, Liu Naifa, Ma Zhijun, the late Tan Yaokuang, Wang Qishan, Xu Weishu, Yang Lan, Yu Zhiwei, Zhang Zhengwang. ■ HONG KONG Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (BirdLife Affiliate); H. F. Cheung; F. N. Y. Lock, C. K. W. Ma, Y. T. Yu. ■ TAIWAN Wild Bird Federation of Taiwan (BirdLife Partner); L. Liu Severinghaus; Chang Chin-lung, Chiang Ming-liang, Fang Woei-horng, Ho Yi-hsian, Hwang Kwang-yin, Lin Wei-yuan, Lin Wen-horn, Lo Hung-ren, Sha Chian-chung, Yau Cheng-teh. ■ INDIA Bombay Natural History Society (BirdLife Partner Designate) and Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History; L. Vijayan and V. S. Vijayan; S. Balachandran, R. Bhargava, P. C. Bhattacharjee, S. Bhupathy, A. Chaudhury, P. Gole, S. A. Hussain, R. Kaul, U. Lachungpa, R. Naroji, S. Pandey, A. Pittie, V. Prakash, A. Rahmani, P. Saikia, R. Sankaran, P. Singh, R. Sugathan, Zafar-ul Islam ■ INDONESIA BirdLife International Indonesia Country Programme; Ria Saryanthi; D. Agista, S. van Balen, Y. Cahyadin, R. F. A. Grimmett, F. R. Lambert, M. Poulsen, Rudyanto, I. Setiawan, C. Trainor ■ JAPAN Wild Bird Society of Japan (BirdLife Partner); Y. Fujimaki; Y. Kanai, H.
    [Show full text]
  • A Multi-Gene Phylogeny of Aquiline Eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) Reveals Extensive Paraphyly at the Genus Level
    Available online at www.sciencedirect.com MOLECULAR SCIENCE•NCE /W\/Q^DIRI DIRECT® PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION ELSEVIER Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35 (2005) 147-164 www.elsevier.com/locate/ympev A multi-gene phylogeny of aquiline eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) reveals extensive paraphyly at the genus level Andreas J. Helbig'^*, Annett Kocum'^, Ingrid Seibold^, Michael J. Braun^ '^ Institute of Zoology, University of Greifswald, Vogelwarte Hiddensee, D-18565 Kloster, Germany Department of Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 4210 Silver Hill Rd., Suitland, MD 20746, USA Received 19 March 2004; revised 21 September 2004 Available online 24 December 2004 Abstract The phylogeny of the tribe Aquilini (eagles with fully feathered tarsi) was investigated using 4.2 kb of DNA sequence of one mito- chondrial (cyt b) and three nuclear loci (RAG-1 coding region, LDH intron 3, and adenylate-kinase intron 5). Phylogenetic signal was highly congruent and complementary between mtDNA and nuclear genes. In addition to single-nucleotide variation, shared deletions in nuclear introns supported one basal and two peripheral clades within the Aquilini. Monophyly of the Aquilini relative to other birds of prey was confirmed. However, all polytypic genera within the tribe, Spizaetus, Aquila, Hieraaetus, turned out to be non-monophyletic. Old World Spizaetus and Stephanoaetus together appear to be the sister group of the rest of the Aquilini. Spiza- stur melanoleucus and Oroaetus isidori axe nested among the New World Spizaetus species and should be merged with that genus. The Old World 'Spizaetus' species should be assigned to the genus Nisaetus (Hodgson, 1836). The sister species of the two spotted eagles (Aquila clanga and Aquila pomarina) is the African Long-crested Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis).
    [Show full text]
  • Nesting Populations of California and Ring-Billed Gulls in California
    WESTERN BIR Volume 31, Number 3, 2000 NESTING POPULATIONS OF CLwO AND RING-BI--F-r GULLS IN CALIFORNIA: RECENT SURVEYS AND HISTORICAL STATUS W. DAVID SHUFORD, Point Reyes Bird Observatory(PRBO), 4990 Shoreline Highway, StinsonBeach, California94970 THOMAS P. RYAN, San FranciscoBay Bird Observatory(SFBBO), P.O. Box 247, 1290 Hope Street,Alviso, California 95002 ABSTRACT: Statewidesurveys from 1994 to 1997 revealed33,125 to 39,678 breedingpairs of CaliforniaGulls and at least9611 to 12,660 pairsof Ring-billed Gullsin California.Gulls nested at 12 inland sitesand in San FranciscoBay. The Mono Lake colonywas by far the largestof the CaliforniaGull, holding 70% to 80% of the statepopulation, followed by SanFrancisco Bay with 11% to 14%. ButteValley WildlifeArea, Clear Lake NationalWildlife Refuge, and Honey Lake WildlifeArea were the only othersites that heldover 1000 pairsof CaliforniaGulls. In mostyears, Butte Valley, Clear Lake, Big Sage Reservoir,and Honey Lake togetherheld over 98% of the state'sbreeding Ring-billed Gulls; Goose Lake held9% in 1997. Muchof the historicalrecord of gullcolonies consists of estimatestoo roughfor assessmentof populationtrends. Nevertheless, California Gulls, at least,have increased substantially in recentdecades, driven largely by trendsat Mono Lake and San FranciscoBay (first colonizedin 1980). Irregularoccupancy of some locationsreflects the changing suitabilityof nestingsites with fluctuatingwater levels.In 1994, low water at six sites allowedcoyotes access to nestingcolonies, and resultingpredation appeared to reducenesting success greatly at threesites. Nesting islands secure from predators and humandisturbance are nestinggulls' greatest need. Conover(1983) compileddata suggestingthat breedingpopulations of Ring-billed(Larus delawarensis)and California(Larus californicus)gulls haveincreased greafiy in the Westin recentdecades. Detailed assessments of populationstatus and trends of these speciesin individualwestern states, however,have been publishedonly for Washington(Conover et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Taimyr Gulls: Evidence for Pacific Winter Range, with Notes on Morphology and Breeding
    Variation and difference in song between Western Bonelli’s Warbler and Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler and abundance. London. Jonsson, L 1992. Birds of Europe with North Africa and Hazevoet, C J & van der Schot, W E M 1986. Oostelijke the Middle East. London. Bergfluiters in Nederland in voorjaar van 1983. Dutch Occhiato, D 2007. Western and Eastern Bonelli’s War- Birding 8: 48-52. blers in the field. Birding World 20: 303-308. Helb, H-W, Bergmann, H-H & Martens, J 1982. Acoustic Reiser, O 1905. Materialien zu einer Ornis Balcanica 3. differences between populations of western and east- Wien. ern Bonelli’s Warblers (Phylloscopus bonelli, Sylvii- Sample, G 2003. Collins field guide to warbler songs dae). Experientia 38: 356-357. and calls of Britain and Europe. London. Helbig, A J, Seibold, I, Martens, J & Wink, M 1995. Sangster, G, Hazevoet, C J, van den Berg, A B, Roselaar, Genetic differentiation and phylogenetic relation- C S & Sluys, R, 1999. Dutch avifaunal list: species ships of Bonelli’s Warbler Phylloscopus bonelli and concepts, taxonomic instability, and taxonomic Green Warbler P nitidus. J Avian Biol 26: 139-153. changes in 1977-98. Ardea 87: 139-165. Kirwan, G M, Boyla, K A, Castell, P, Demirci, B, Ozen, Svensson, L, Grant, P J, Mullarney, K & Zetterström, D M, Welch, H & Marlow, T 2008. The birds of Turkey. 1999, 2009. Collins bird guide. First, second edition. London. London. Dick Groenendijk, Elzenstraat 14, 4043 PB Opheusden, Netherlands ([email protected]) Teus J C Luijendijk, Laan der zeven linden 50, 2645 GS Delfgauw, Netherlands ([email protected]) Taimyr Gulls: evidence for Pacific winter range, with notes on morphology and breeding Klaas van Dijk, Sergei Kharitonov, Holmer Vonk & Bart Ebbinge he Taimyr peninsula in the northern part of the Caspian Sea area, along the Arabian Sea to Tcentral Siberia, Russia, hosts a significant western India, and partly also along coasts in east- breeding population of gulls Larus that belong to ern Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • The Herring Gull Complex (Larus Argentatus - Fuscus - Cachinnans) As a Model Group for Recent Holarctic Vertebrate Radiations
    The Herring Gull Complex (Larus argentatus - fuscus - cachinnans) as a Model Group for Recent Holarctic Vertebrate Radiations Dorit Liebers-Helbig, Viviane Sternkopf, Andreas J. Helbig{, and Peter de Knijff Abstract Under what circumstances speciation in sexually reproducing animals can occur without geographical disjunction is still controversial. According to the ring species model, a reproductive barrier may arise through “isolation-by-distance” when peripheral populations of a species meet after expanding around some uninhabitable barrier. The classical example for this kind of speciation is the herring gull (Larus argentatus) complex with a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere. An analysis of mitochondrial DNA variation among 21 gull taxa indicated that members of this complex differentiated largely in allopatry following multiple vicariance and long-distance colonization events, not primarily through “isolation-by-distance”. In a recent approach, we applied nuclear intron sequences and AFLP markers to be compared with the mitochondrial phylogeography. These markers served to reconstruct the overall phylogeny of the genus Larus and to test for the apparent biphyletic origin of two species (argentatus, hyperboreus) as well as the unex- pected position of L. marinus within this complex. All three taxa are members of the herring gull radiation but experienced, to a different degree, extensive mitochon- drial introgression through hybridization. The discrepancies between the mitochon- drial gene tree and the taxon phylogeny based on nuclear markers are illustrated. 1 Introduction Ernst Mayr (1942), based on earlier ideas of Stegmann (1934) and Geyr (1938), proposed that reproductive isolation may evolve in a single species through D. Liebers-Helbig (*) and V. Sternkopf Deutsches Meeresmuseum, Katharinenberg 14-20, 18439 Stralsund, Germany e-mail: [email protected] P.
    [Show full text]
  • Lhasa and the Tibetan Plateau Cumulative
    Lhasa and the Tibetan Plateau Cumulative Bird List Column A: Total number of tours (out of 6) that the species was recorded Column B: Total number of days that the species was recorded on the 2016 tour Column C: Maximum daily count for that particular species on the 2016 tour Column D: H = Heard Only; (H) = Heard more than seen Globally threatened species as defined by BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-Rom Cambridge, U.K. BirdLife International are identified as follows: EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near- threatened. A B C D 6 Greylag Goose 2 15 Anser anser 6 Bar-headed Goose 4 300 Anser indicus 3 Whooper Swan 1 2 Cygnus cygnus 1 Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna 6 Ruddy Shelduck 8 700 Tadorna ferruginea 3 Gadwall 2 3 Anas strepera 1 Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope 5 Mallard 2 8 Anas platyrhynchos 2 Eastern Spot-billed Duck Anas zonorhyncha 1 Indian or Eastern Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhynchos or A. zonorhyncha 1 Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata 1 Northern Pintail Anas acuta 1 Garganey 2 15 Anas querquedula 4 Eurasian Teal 2 50 Anas crecca 6 Red-crested Pochard 3 2000 Netta rufina 6 Common Pochard 2 200 Aythya ferina 3 Ferruginous Duck NT 1 8 Aythya nyroca 6 Tufted Duck 2 200 Aythya fuligula 5 Common Goldeneye 2 11 Bucephala clangula 4 Common Merganser 3 51 Mergus merganser 5 Chinese Grouse NT 2 1 Tetrastes sewerzowi 4 Verreaux's Monal-Partridge 1 1 H Tetraophasis obscurus 5 Tibetan Snowcock 1 5 H Tetraogallus tibetanus 4 Przevalski's Partridge 1 1 Alectoris magna 1 Daurian Partridge Perdix dauurica 6 Tibetan Partridge 2 11 Perdix hodgsoniae ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WINGS ● 1643 N.
    [Show full text]
  • Laughing Gulls Breed Primarily Along the Pacific Coast of Mexico and the Atlantic and Caribbean Coasts from S
    LAUGHING GULL Leucophaeus atricilla non-breeding visitor, regular winterer L.a. megalopterus Laughing Gulls breed primarily along the Pacific coast of Mexico and the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts from s. Canada to Venezuela, and they winter S to Peru and the Amazon delta (AOU 1998, Howell and Dunn 2007). It and Franklin's Gull were placed along with other gulls in the genus Larus until split by the AOU (2008). Vagrant Laughing Gulls have been reported in Europe (Cramp and Simmons 1983) and widely in the Pacific, from Clipperton I to Wake Atoll (Rauzon et al. 2008), Johnston Atoll (records of at least 14 individuals, 1964-2003), Palmyra, Baker, Kiribati, Pheonix, Marshall, Pitcairn, Gambier, and Samoan Is, as well as Australia/New Zealand (King 1967; Clapp and Sibley 1967; Sibley and McFarlane 1968; Pratt et al. 1987, 2010; Garrett 1987; Wragg 1994; Higgins and Davies 1996; Vanderwerf et al. 2004; Hayes et al. 2015; E 50:13 [identified as Franklin's Gull], 58:50). Another interesting record is of one photographed attending an observer rowing solo between San Francisco and Australia at 6.5° N, 155° W, about 1400 km S of Hawai'i I, 1-2 Nov 2007. They have been recorded almost annually as winter visitors to the Hawaiian Islands since the mid-1970s, numbers increasing from the NW to the SE, as would be expected of this N American species. The great majority of records involve first-year birds, and, despite the many records in the S Pacific, there is no evidence for a transient population through the Hawaiian Islands, or of individuals returning for consecutive winters after departing in spring.
    [Show full text]
  • Nocturnal Copulation in Glaucous-Winged Gulls Larus Glaucescens
    Hayes & Hayward: Nocturnal copulation in Glaucous-winged Gulls 55 NOCTURNAL COPULATION IN GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS LARUS GLAUCESCENS FLOYD E. HAYES1 & JAMES L. HAYWARD2 1Department of Biology, Pacific Union College, Angwin, California 94508, USA ([email protected]) 2Department of Biology, Andrews University, 4280 Administration Drive, Berrien Springs, Michigan 49104-0410, USA Received 30 August 2019, accepted 21 November 2019 ABSTRACT HAYES, F.E. & HAYWARD, J.L. 2020. Nocturnal copulation in Glaucous-winged Gulls Larus glaucescens. Marine Ornithology 48: 55–59. Gulls (Laridae) are primarily diurnal, although many species forage opportunistically at night, and several species copulate at night. We used trail cameras to study time-of-day variation in the rate of copulation by Glaucous-winged Gulls Larus glaucescens in a breeding colony (1500+ pairs) at Protection Island, Washington, USA, from 31 May to 07 June 2018. Copulations (n = 353) occurred at a significantly higher rate during the day (0.82/camera-h) than at night (0.51/camera-h), with 76.3% of copulations during the day and 23.7% at night (daylight comprised 66.1% and darkness comprised 33.9% of the study period). The copulation rate peaked shortly before and after dawn, with a second peak before sunset. Copulation rate was lowest during the middle of the day and middle of the night. Glaucous-winged Gulls sleep intermittently during both day and night and have sufficient energy to sustain sporadic copulations during the night, which appears to be a normal part of their reproductive behavior. The most likely advantage of this pattern is an increased opportunity for fertilization with a mate.
    [Show full text]
  • First Confirmed Record of Belcher's Gull Larus Belcheri for Colombia with Notes on the Status of Other Gull Species
    First confirmed record of Belcher's Gull Larus belcheri for Colombia with notes on the status of other gull species Primer registro confirmado de la Gaviota Peruana Larus belcheri para Colombia con notas sobre el estado de otras especies de gaviotas Trevor Ellery1 & José Ferney Salgado2 1 Independent. Email: [email protected] 2 Corporación para el Fomento del Aviturismo en Colombia. Abstract We present photographic records of a Belcher's Gull Larus belcheri from the Colombian Caribbean region. These are the first confirmed records of this species in the country. Keywords: new record, range extension, gull, identification. Resumen Presentamos registros fotograficos de un individuo de la Gaviota Peruana Larus belcheri en la region del Caribe de Colombia. Estos son los primeros registros confirmados para el país. Palabras clave: Nuevo registro, extensión de distribución, gaviota, identificación. Introduction the Pacific Ocean coasts of southern South America, and Belcher's Gull or Band-tailed Gull Larus belcheri has long Olrog's Gull L. atlanticus of southern Brazil, Uruguay and been considered a possible or probable species for Argentina (Howell & Dunn 2007, Remsen et al. 2018). Colombia, with observations nearby from Panama (Hilty & Brown 1986). It was first listed for Colombia by Salaman A good rule of thumb for gulls in Colombia is that if it's not et al. (2001) without any justification or notes, perhaps on a Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla, then it's interesting. the presumption that the species could never logically have A second good rule of thumb for Colombian gulls is that if reached the Panamanian observation locality from its it's not a Laughing Gull, you are probably watching it at Los southern breeding grounds without passing through the Camarones or Santuario de Fauna y Flora Los Flamencos, country.
    [Show full text]