The impact of gulls on puffin reproductive performance: an experimental test of two management strategies

Gulls frequently predate eggs and young and kleptoparasitise other seabirds during the breeding season. This has lead to the implementation of gull control programmes at many colonies. However, few studies have been carried out to assess the effectiveness of different management options. We investigated the impact of (1) maintaining gull-free areas and (2) delaying gull breeding, on the foraging economics and breeding success of puffins. Puffins breeding in gull-free habitat provisioned their chicks at a higher rate and had a lower risk of kleptoparasitism than puffins breeding in gull-occupied habitat. However, there was no significant difference between gull-free and gull-occupied habitat in puffin chick growth or survival. Delaying gull breeding by approximately 3 weeks had no impact on mean kleptoparasitism risk or the rate at which adult puffins provisioned their chicks. In line with these results, we found that delaying gull breeding had no impact on puffin chick growth or survival. Our results suggest that, under current conditions, gulls do not have an immediate negative impact on puffin reproductive performance. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.