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Data from: Diet and plastic ingestion of a remote, inland colony of glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) in Arctic Canada
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Researchers examined regurgitated pellets from a glaucous gull colony on a remote island in Arctic Canada. The gulls mostly ate lemmings rather than typical marine prey, with small amounts of mollusk shells, fish bones, eggshells, and plastic debris also found in the pellets.
Glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) are diet generalists that usually nest in coastal colonies with other species of seabirds, often preying upon their neighbours’ eggs and young. Near a landfill on Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, a colony of glaucous gulls inhabits a small island within Tern Lake where they are the only seabird species nesting. Given that most information of glaucous gull diet comes from birds nesting among other seabirds, this study aimed to determine whether their diet differs from other more typical nearby populations. In addition, we assessed whether these gulls were likely foraging at the nearby landfill. We collected 107 regurgitated glaucous gull pellets from this colony in 2024 and 2025, dissected them, and identified prey items to the lowest possible taxonomic level, as well as any ingested anthropogenic debris. Here we present detailed information on the contents of each pellet. We found that these gulls were feeding predominantly on northern collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) in both years, which seems unusual for the species which usually feeds higher up in the food web on marine prey and young of other seabird species, based on existing literature. Other prey items found in this inland colony included mollusk shells, fish vertebrae, bird eggshells, and low amounts of anthropogenic debris including plastic.
More Papers Like This
Diet and plastic ingestion of a remote, inland colony of glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) in Arctic Canada
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers studied pellets from an inland glaucous gull colony in Arctic Canada near a landfill. The gulls mostly ate lemmings rather than marine prey, with smaller amounts of shells, fish bones, eggshells, and plastic debris found in about 9% of pellets.
Anthropogenic Diets and Spatial Behaviour Predict Plastic Ingestion in Urban Herring Gulls: Insights from Pellet Analysis and Gps Tracking.
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Researchers tracked seagulls in eastern Canada and found that birds who fed more often on human food waste and moved around less predictably ate more plastic, mostly from packaging materials like polystyrene (foam) and PET (common in bottles). This matters because these gulls act as an early-warning signal for how much plastic trash is entering our coastal food chains, the same waterways and wildlife that connect back to the seafood and environment humans share.
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Researchers analyzed pellets and prey remains from two species of Antarctic skuas to understand their feeding habits. This type of dietary study in polar seabirds can reveal whether marine predators are inadvertently ingesting microplastics along with their prey.
Diet of non-breeding leach’s storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous) in the sub-polar frontal zone of the North Atlantic
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Researchers characterized the diet of non-breeding Leach's storm-petrels in the North Atlantic using stomach content analysis and stable isotope techniques. While the primary focus was on natural prey items, the study also documented the presence of ingested plastic debris in the birds' stomachs. The findings contribute to understanding how pelagic seabirds interact with marine plastic pollution during their non-breeding periods at sea.
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Researchers analyzed stomachs from 145 northern fulmars (seabirds) hunted off east Greenland and found plastic in 86% of birds, with an average of 13.5 particles per stomach — well above international policy targets. The study also found that younger birds and females contained more plastic, likely due to differences in how much time they spend at sea where plastic accumulates.
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