Larus dominicanus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	LARIDAE

Scientific Name:

Larus dominicanus

Species Authority:

Lichtenstein, 1823

Common Name/s:

English	–	Kelp Gull, Southern Black-backed Gull
French	–	Goéland dominicain

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Kelp Gull breeds on coasts and islands through much of the southern hemisphere. It is found on a number of subantarctic islands, on the Antarctic peninsula, on the southern coast of Australia and all of New Zealand, on the southern cost of Africa and Madagascar, and on the coast of South America as far north as Ecuador and southern Brazil¹.
Countries:	Native: Angola; Antarctica; Argentina; Australia; Barbados; Bouvet Island; Brazil; Chile; Ecuador; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); French Southern Territories (the); Gabon; Heard Island and McDonald Islands; Madagascar; Mexico; Mozambique; Namibia; New Zealand; Peru; Senegal; South Africa; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Uruguay Vagrant: Mauritania; Panama; Saint Helena; Seychelles; Trinidad and Tobago
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Total regarded as a minimum by Wetlands International (2006).

Population:

Total regarded as a minimum by Wetlands International (2006).

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour Although this species is largely sedentary some southern populations migrate north after the breeding season¹. The species breeds between late-September and January^{1, 2} in colonies of up to several hundred pairs (occasionally nesting solitarily)¹ and remains gregarious outside of the breeding season². Habitat It inhabits sheltered coastal^{1, 3} harbours, bays, inlets, estuaries, beaches and rocky shores³, usually foraging within 10 km of the shore but also following fishing boats beyond the continental shelf^{1, 3}. It may forage and roost in near-coastal inland habitats including lagoons^{2, 3}, lakes, swampy basins, rivers, streams³, reservoirs¹, pastures^{1, 3}, cultivated land, tussock grassland, scrubland and cleared areas in pine plantations³. It often also forages around abattoirs, fish- or seafood-factories and at sewage outfalls¹. The species will form breeding colonies in a number of locations including headlands^{1, 3}, sea cliffs^{1, 3, 2}, rocky outcrops, stacks^{3, 2}, offshore islands^{1, 3, 2}, low sandy, pebbly or rocky beaches, spits or islands^{1, 3} in estuaries and lagoons², on reefs, peninsulas, mudflats, sandbanks³ and occasionally on the roofs of coastal buildings or in salt and sewage works². Locally (e.g. in New Zealand) it may also breed inland on flat rocky mountaintops near permanent water³. Diet Its diet consists of molluscs (e.g. mussels, cuttlefish Sepia spp. and terrestrial snails), echinoderms^{1, 2}, sponges², arthropods (e.g. swarming termites, crabs, isopods, amphipods)^{1, 2}, macrozooplankton², fish, worms, reptiles¹ (e.g. snakes)², amphibians¹ (e.g. frogs)², small mammals^{1, 2}, birds¹ and berries². The species also scavenges refuse, sewage and carrion^{1, 2}. Breeding site The nest is a bulky structure of dried plants or seaweed¹ placed on bare rock, sand or mud substrates^{1, 3} in well-vegetated sites¹ (with grasses, sedge, rushes and other herbaceous plants)³ at the base of bushes, trees, rocks¹, walls² or other vertical structures¹. Breeding habitats include headlands^{1, 3}, sea cliffs^{1, 3, 2}, rocky outcrops, stacks^{3, 2}, offshore islands^{1, 3, 2}, reefs, peninsulas, mudflats, sandbanks³, the roofs of coastal buildings, salt and sewage works, guano platforms, shipwrecks² and above the high water mark on low sandy, pebbly or rocky beaches^{1, 3}, spits or islands³ in estuaries and lagoons². Locally (e.g. in New Zealand) it may also breed inland on flat rocky mountaintops near permanent water³. Management information Attaching high-visibility plastic cones to trawler warp cables can significantly reduce the mortality and bycatch of this species due to trawler fisheries⁷.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour Although this species is largely sedentary some southern populations migrate north after the breeding season¹. The species breeds between late-September and January^{1, 2} in colonies of up to several hundred pairs (occasionally nesting solitarily)¹ and remains gregarious outside of the breeding season². Habitat It inhabits sheltered coastal^{1, 3} harbours, bays, inlets, estuaries, beaches and rocky shores³, usually foraging within 10 km of the shore but also following fishing boats beyond the continental shelf^{1, 3}. It may forage and roost in near-coastal inland habitats including lagoons^{2, 3}, lakes, swampy basins, rivers, streams³, reservoirs¹, pastures^{1, 3}, cultivated land, tussock grassland, scrubland and cleared areas in pine plantations³. It often also forages around abattoirs, fish- or seafood-factories and at sewage outfalls¹. The species will form breeding colonies in a number of locations including headlands^{1, 3}, sea cliffs^{1, 3, 2}, rocky outcrops, stacks^{3, 2}, offshore islands^{1, 3, 2}, low sandy, pebbly or rocky beaches, spits or islands^{1, 3} in estuaries and lagoons², on reefs, peninsulas, mudflats, sandbanks³ and occasionally on the roofs of coastal buildings or in salt and sewage works². Locally (e.g. in New Zealand) it may also breed inland on flat rocky mountaintops near permanent water³. Diet Its diet consists of molluscs (e.g. mussels, cuttlefish Sepia spp. and terrestrial snails), echinoderms^{1, 2}, sponges², arthropods (e.g. swarming termites, crabs, isopods, amphipods)^{1, 2}, macrozooplankton², fish, worms, reptiles¹ (e.g. snakes)², amphibians¹ (e.g. frogs)², small mammals^{1, 2}, birds¹ and berries². The species also scavenges refuse, sewage and carrion^{1, 2}. Breeding site The nest is a bulky structure of dried plants or seaweed¹ placed on bare rock, sand or mud substrates^{1, 3} in well-vegetated sites¹ (with grasses, sedge, rushes and other herbaceous plants)³ at the base of bushes, trees, rocks¹, walls² or other vertical structures¹. Breeding habitats include headlands^{1, 3}, sea cliffs^{1, 3, 2}, rocky outcrops, stacks^{3, 2}, offshore islands^{1, 3, 2}, reefs, peninsulas, mudflats, sandbanks³, the roofs of coastal buildings, salt and sewage works, guano platforms, shipwrecks² and above the high water mark on low sandy, pebbly or rocky beaches^{1, 3}, spits or islands³ in estuaries and lagoons². Locally (e.g. in New Zealand) it may also breed inland on flat rocky mountaintops near permanent water³. Management information Attaching high-visibility plastic cones to trawler warp cables can significantly reduce the mortality and bycatch of this species due to trawler fisheries⁷.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The species is potentially threatened by future marine oil spills⁶, and is susceptible to avian cholera^{2, 5} and avian botulism^{2, 4} so may be threatened by future outbreaks of these diseases. The species also suffers mortality from interactions with trawler warp cables (Argentina)⁷.

Major Threat(s):

The species is potentially threatened by future marine oil spills⁶, and is susceptible to avian cholera^{2, 5} and avian botulism^{2, 4} so may be threatened by future outbreaks of these diseases. The species also suffers mortality from interactions with trawler warp cables (Argentina)⁷.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Larus dominicanus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 10 February 2012.
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