BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2010, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 43-47

Dynamics of abundance of larid birds (Charadriiformes: Laridae) in the northern Tatar Strait

© 2010 I. M. Tiunov¹, A. Yu. Blokhin²

¹Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690022;
²Ecological Company of Sakhalin, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 693007

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Field observations on colonies of sea-gulls (Laridae) were carried out annually on islands of the northern Tatar Strait during 2001-2008. A general tendency towards a reduction in the number of nesting birds was observed on all islands surveyed. An anxiety factor and direct destruction of bird eggs and fledglings caused the whole or the greater part of colony to migrate to "quieter" sites on islands or the continental coast. The replacement of Larus crassirostris by L. schistisagus was observed in sites where the two species nest in neighborhood. Nesting specimens of L. schistisagus were found on islands of Lake Bolshoe Kizi, suggesting that the birds are in search of alternative nesting places, which are less accessible to humans and predators.

Key words: seabirds, colonial nesting birds, Laridae, Tatar Strait, Chikhachev Bay.