The effects of nesting gulls on the vegetation and soil of islands in the Great Lakes

Abstract

The effects of nesting colonies of the Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis Ord.) on vegetation and soil nutrients were monitored over a 4-year period on Barrier Island and other islands in Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, in the Great Lakes region of Canada. Nesting had a profound effect on the vegetation and species composition. Two distinct communities of annual alien species dominated the nesting sites, one flowering in May and June and the other from late August to October. Native species were rare in the nesting sites, in contrast to adjacent areas, where perennial native grasses were dominant. Factors favouring the replacement of indigenous vegetation by annual aliens include physical disturbance by gulls during nesting and deposition of guano, which caused dramatic increases in the levels of soil nutrients. Plant succession in nesting sites that had been abandoned for 3 and 4 years was characterized by a rapid decline in the abundance of annual aliens and their replacement by perennials. After the 2nd year native perennial grasses were dominant. Nutrient levels in the soil rapidly returned to near normal, except for phosphorus, which persisted at high levels. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus Pontoppidan) nests were also studied. Their density was much lower, and hence their effects were less pronounced. However, they supported a similar annual alien flora. Herring Gulls frequently nested on unvegetated cobble or gravel shores where the humus from the nests permitted the establishment of a permanent vegetation.