Abstract
Saunders’ gulls (Laurs saundersi) which are listed as globally vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List are distributed in East Asia and breed mainly in China and Korea. Their population is estimated to be between 7,100 to 9,600. Songdo reclaimed lands in the western coast of South Korea are the main breeding sites for these species. However, most of these breeding sites have been seriously disturbed in the last several years because of new urban development constructions. This study was conducted to provide baseline data on the breeding ecology of Saunders’ gulls. Since 1998, the breeding population has rapidly increased in South Korea, with the number of nests rising from 85 nests in 2000 to 185 nests in 2005. Egg volume is more variable than breadth or length. Clutch size, hatching and breeding success were 2.9±0.81 (n＝182, mean±sd.), 48.07% (75 hatched egg/156 eggs) and 29.08% (155 fledglings/533 eggs), respectively. Factors affecting breeding failure were predation, rainfall, starvation and supernormal clutches. These results are provided along with other cited literature to argue for conservation of Saunders’ gulls.
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