Neotropic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) are common seabirds along the Peruvian coast. They frequently perch on trees, poles and port structures in urban areas, producing guano that builds up ...in areas of high levels of human activity. Hundreds of Neotropic Cormorants rest on lighting poles and telephone cables along a 12.7 km highway in the coastal strip of the city of Lima, Peru. We hypothesized that the distribution of the cormorants along this highway is clustered and could be associated with physical features of both the coast and the adjacent marine area. Fortnightly or monthly surveys were performed from July 2018 to March 2020 in the Circuito de Playas de la Costa Verde highway. At each survey, cormorants were counted per lighting pole and adjacent telephone cables (collectively, "pole-cable") at four count hours (0600 h, 1000 h, 1400 h and 1800 h). Our results revealed that daily bird numbers varied from 46 to 457 individuals and that only 17% of the total number of pole-cables (N = 651) was occupied once by at least one individual. The number of cormorants also varied between count hours within the same day (higher numbers at 1000 h and 1400 h). Birds were clustered into a maximum of five hotspots along the highway. According to a model selection criterion, higher numbers of cormorants on pole-cables were associated mainly to a closer distance from these structures to the shoreline and to the surf zone, suggesting that Neotropic Cormorants may select such pole-cables as optimal sites for sighting and receiving cues of prey availability. Based on the results, the use of nonlethal deterrents and the relocation of these birds to other perching structures on nearby groynes could be the most suitable management proposal for the problems caused by their feces.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The guanay cormorant (Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum) and red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi) are known for their prolific nest-building behavior, utilizing a diverse array of materials, ...including anthropogenic debris, thereby serving as valuable indicators of ocean plastic pollution. To elucidate inter-specific variations in nest plastic occurrence between these two cormorant species, we conducted a comprehensive examination of nests at 12 colonies along the Peruvian coast in 2018–2019. Our findings revealed a significantly higher occurrence of plastic in red-legged cormorant nests (mean 50 ± 27 %, N = 100 nests in 7 colonies) compared to guanay cormorant nests (mean 10 ± 20 %, 3497 nests in 8 colonies). Furthermore, the prevalence of plastic waste varied across colonies within both species. Off-white/clear plastic bags were the predominant color and type of debris found in both cormorant nests. This study is a baseline of plastic marine pollution occurrence along the Peruvian coast.
•Plastic debris was found in 10 % and in 50 % of guanay and red-legged cormorant nests, respectively.•The maximum occurrence of plastic debris in the nests varied from 59 % in guanay to 86 % in red-legged cormorants.•The most common type of plastic found in the nests were bags, primarily in off/white/clear, black, and blue/purple colors.•Plastics accounted for a small fraction of the total material weight in guanay cormorant nests (0.04 % - 2.66 %).
The ‘guano of the islands’ in Perú is the excrement of cormorants, boobies and pelicans (guano birds), accumulated in large deposits on islands and headlands. This guano is harvested and marketed by ...the governmental agency AGRORURAL to meet the demands of local organic agriculture. As part of its management and commercialization plans, AGRORURAL estimates the total quantity of guano built-up on the seabird colonies using a volumetric method. The objective of this research was to propose an alternative geostatistical method that uses the volumetric data collection as baseline but incorporates the slope of the terrain and makes estimations of the total amount and distribution of guano using an interpolation grid model in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The data of the slope of the terrain, depth of guano layer, guano density and proportion guano/rock of georeferenced sampling points (taken with a hand-held GPS) on the island/headland surface were used to interpolate the quantity of guano over the entire surface using a raster kriging model so that each cell contained an estimated quantity of guano. For this study, six guano bird colonies were visited between June 2014 and February 2018. Based on the geostatistical method, the total quantity of guano estimated varied between 10921 t on Isla Mazorca and 26142 t on Isla Guañape Sur. The GIS grid maps showed that the quantity of guano deposits was not uniformly distributed over the island/headland surface. When the guano total quantity estimates based on the geostatistical method were validated with the amount of guano harvested, the estimation error was less than 18%. This error may decrease with the use of a submetric GPS, ground-penetrating radars and augers. An accurate method of guano volume quantification is crucial for budget, logistic and marketing planning of the guano islands and headlands of Perú.
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