Moorhouse (2025)

Greenland

Scott Moorhouse (High Arctic Gull Research Group) is continuing his studies of Iceland Gulls (Larus glaucoides). This includes completing additional work on the feeding ecology and behavior of breeding gulls of the glaucoides subspecies compared to other sympatric breeding species in southwestern Greenland, including Glaucous Gulls (L. hyperboreus), Great Black-backed Gulls (L. marinus), Lesser Black-backed Gulls (L. fuscus), and other gulls. Detailed field studies will be completed in July–August 2025. This work includes the collection of detailed data on habitat use, feeding behavior, and food use in representative study areas located in all the major habitat types used by these species in the Nuuk fjord area. Data are also being collected on colony locations and characteristics, plumage and other morphological characteristics, age class distribution, and other parameters. An additional aspect of this work is to compare the feeding ecology and behavior of glaucoides in this area, with the same aspects of breeding kumlieni and sympatric gull species on southwestern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. This study is a continuation of my previous work on Iceland Gulls (Moorhouse, S.S. 2021. The feeding ecology and behavior of breeding Iceland Gulls Larus glaucoides kumlieni and comparisons with sympatric large Larus gulls on southwestern Baffin Island, Canada. Marine Ornithology 49:83–90; and Moorhouse, S.S. 2024. The distribution, abundance, and habitat use of wintering Iceland Gulls Larus glaucoides thayeri in Northern California and comparisons with other Larus gulls. Marine Ornithology 52:209–223).