title: Seabirds and chronic oil pollution: self-cleaning properties of gulls, Laridae, as revealed from colour-ring sightings.
abstract: Mystery oil spills off the Dutch coast affected colonial, adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls prior to and within the breeding season. From colour-ringed individuals, it was demonstrated that most oiled birds survived and were clean within a few weeks and often bred successfully. Further evidence of self-cleaning properties of Larus-gulls is provided from a long-term colour-ringing project (1984-2009). In total 46 birds were reported 'oiled', two died, but the majority cleaned itself and survived for up to 20 years after being oiled. From colour-ring data and 30 years of beached bird surveys (1980-2010) it is demonstrated that the effects of chronic oil pollution is larger in winter than in summer; a reflection of seasonal differences in exposure and environmental conditions. The self-cleaning properties of gulls are such that long-term survival is not necessarily jeopardized and even in a breeding season, not all is lost in case of a spill.
authors.affiliation: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands. kees.camphuysen@nioz.nl
authors.forename: Kees C J
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Camphuysen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D046091:Charadriiformes / Q000502:physiology*; D055884:Chemical Hazard Release; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005241:Feathers; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D019370:Observation; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical