Does urbanization affect behavioral responses to novel objects in marine birds? The Olrog’s Gull as a case of study

Abstract

Animals have to face different challenges related to the rapid expansion of urbanization in their environments, so being behaviorally flexible will allow them to thrive in these scenarios. Here we aimed to examine the response of a south American threatened species, the Olrog’s Gull (Larus atlanticus), to novel stimuli in urban and non-urban habitats, analyzing the social context of the feeding group. Fieldwork was conducted at the Mar Chiquita Reserve and Mar del Plata city in Argentina. We compared the response of individuals in presence and absence of a novel objects in urban and non-urban habitats. The habitat type affected the proportion of individuals that approached and consumed from the feeding area, being higher in urban areas. The probability of immature individuals entering first to the area was also higher in urban areas, while the probability of adult individuals approaching first only increased with the increasing adult presence at the feeding station. Consumption latency and neophobia level did not differ between habitat types. However, general consumption latency was higher in novel situation respect to familiar situation, suggesting an aversion of birds to novelty. This response decreased over the experimental days, probably involving a learning process, and with the increase of individuals around the feeding station. The study of this threatened species that has recently colonized urban ecosystems provides us a comprehensive understanding of this species’ ability to exhibit behavioral flexibility in their natural environment.