TY - JOUR
T1 - Global population and conservation status of the Great Black-backed Gull
Larus marinus
AU - Langlois Lopez, Samuel
AU - Bond, Alexander L.
AU - O'Hanlon, Nina J.
AU - Wilson, Jared M.
AU - Vitz, Andrew
AU - Mostello, Carolyn S.
AU - Hamilton, Frederick
AU - Rail, Jean François
AU - Welch, Linda
AU - Boettcher, Ruth
AU - Wilhelm, Sabina I.
AU - Anker-Nilssen, Tycho
AU - Daunt, Francis
AU - Masden, Elizabeth
N1 - Funding Information:
We are very grateful for all workers and volunteers who were involved in the data collection and estimation of population counts. We also thank C. M. Johnson and B. E. Washburn for providing population count data. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This studentship has been funded under the NERC Scottish Universities Partnership for environmental Research (SUPER) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) (Grant reference number NE/S007342/1 and website https://superdtp.st[1]andrews.ac.uk/ ). Additional funding has been provided by the University of the Highlands and Islands, and the Scottish Government.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2022.
PY - 2022/8/5
Y1 - 2022/8/5
N2 - The Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus is a generalist species that inhabits temperate and arctic coasts of the north Atlantic Ocean. In recent years, there has been growing concern about population declines at local and regional scales; however, there has been no attempt to robustly assess Great Black-backed Gull population trends across its global range. We obtained the most recent population counts across the species' range and analysed population trends at a global, continental, and national scale over the most recent three-generation period (1985-2021) following IUCN Red List criteria. We found that, globally, the species has declined by 43%-48% over this period (1.2-1.3% per annum, respectively), from an estimated 291,000 breeding pairs to 152,000-165,000 breeding pairs under two different scenarios. North American populations declined more steeply than European ones (68% and 28%, respectively). We recommend that Great Black-backed Gull should be uplisted from 'Least Concern' to 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species under criterion A2 (an estimated reduction in population size >30% over three generations).
AB - The Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus is a generalist species that inhabits temperate and arctic coasts of the north Atlantic Ocean. In recent years, there has been growing concern about population declines at local and regional scales; however, there has been no attempt to robustly assess Great Black-backed Gull population trends across its global range. We obtained the most recent population counts across the species' range and analysed population trends at a global, continental, and national scale over the most recent three-generation period (1985-2021) following IUCN Red List criteria. We found that, globally, the species has declined by 43%-48% over this period (1.2-1.3% per annum, respectively), from an estimated 291,000 breeding pairs to 152,000-165,000 breeding pairs under two different scenarios. North American populations declined more steeply than European ones (68% and 28%, respectively). We recommend that Great Black-backed Gull should be uplisted from 'Least Concern' to 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species under criterion A2 (an estimated reduction in population size >30% over three generations).
KW - Larus gulls
KW - Gull populations
KW - Population assessment
KW - Population ecology
KW - Bird conservation
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U2 - 10.1017/S0959270922000181
DO - 10.1017/S0959270922000181
M3 - Article
SN - 0959-2709
VL - 33
SP - 1
EP - 11
JO - Bird Conservation International
JF - Bird Conservation International
M1 - e23
ER -
