鲱鸥，鸥鸥对缅因州东部海湾龙虾捕捞的行为响应

龙虾捕捞是缅因州东北部社区的标志性元素。捕龙虾器通常以鲱鱼诱饵，而拉动陷阱时则将诱饵丢弃。一些捕虾人立即将诱饵扔向舷外，而另一些则将诱饵用桶装起来以备后用。先前的研究表明，缅因州喂给幼鸥的食物中有很大一部分是龙虾饵料。在2008年夏天，我观察到缅因州西部的离岸岛屿大鸭岛附近龙虾捕捞对于海鸥的影响。在6周的过程中，我能够观察到30艘船附近的海鸥行为，并反复观察船只停靠及海鸥活动的特定岛屿。我还分析了在捆扎过程中被年轻海鸥反刍的20个食物果肉样本。同时，我也记录了渔船捕捞行为，包括快速过境，慢行，停止，转弯，拖曳陷阱，陷阱，扔龙虾和诱饵的。观察表明，龙虾船附近的海鸥数量明显增加，这是由于船上的海鸥发出的视觉提示以及对龙虾捕捞的正面响应导致的。在积极投饵的船上观察到海鸥的峰值数量（最大值= 57）。不仅如此，在晴天和大雾天收集的样本中都发现了诱饵，这表明海鸥也可能使用听觉提示来定位渔船。

Behavioral responses of Herring Gulls, Larus argentatus, to lobster fishing in the eastern Gulf of Maine

Lobster fishing is an iconic element of communities in Downeast Maine. Lobster traps are typically baited with herring, Clupea harengus, which is discarded when traps are pulled. Some lobstermen toss bait immediately overboard, while others bucket the bait for later disposal. Prior studies show that a significant portion of food fed to young gulls in Maine consists of lobster bait discards. During the summer of 2008, I observed gulls responding to lobster boats fishing in the vicinity of Great Duck Island, an off-shore island in the western Gulf of Maine. Over the course of 6 weeks I was able to observe gull behavior around 30 boats, with repeat observations of vessels concentrating their activity in the immediate vicinity of the island. I also analyzed 20 samples of food boli regurgitated by young gulls during banding procedures. Flock sizes around boats were recorded for fishing vessel behaviors that included rapid transit, slow, stop, turn, hauling trap, trap up, toss lobster and bait over. Gull numbers in the vicinity of lobster boats increased in apparent response to visual cues from gulls already over boats and also to lobster boat activity. Peak numbers of gulls (Max = 57) were observed over boats that were actively tossing bait. Some gulls persisted in following boats that were not throwing bait, although flock size never exceeded 12. Eight out of 20 sample food boli contained lobster bait. Bait was found in samples collected on both clear and extremely foggy days, suggesting that gulls may also use aural cues to locate fishing vessels.

https://www.coa.edu/islands/research-projects/