Herring Gull Monitoring Project
History
Crossroads Mission:
Dr. Ray Faber
First, a little history regarding this project. In 1958, S. Charles Kendeigh, a physiological ecologist at the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois noted that songbirds were dying a day or two after spraying of city trees with DDT to kill elm bark beetles that were transmitting the Dutch Elm Disease virus. He published a note to tha
First, a little history regarding this project. In 1958, S. Charles Kendeigh, a physiological ecologist at the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois noted that songbirds were dying a day or two after spraying of city trees with DDT to kill elm bark beetles that were transmitting the Dutch Elm Disease virus. He published a note to that effect which was read by Joseph J. Hickey, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. I was privileged to take courses from Dr. Kendeigh and later worked in his lab.
Joe Hickey was one of Aldo Leopold's graduate students. Joe was extremely well-connected and communicated with many, many people. He encountered Harold Wilson from Ephraim, Wisconsin who had banded herring gulls on islands in upper Green Bay since 1922. Harold mentioned that he had encountered "windrows" of dead gulls on the islands in the early 60's (I am not sure of the exact timing). Joe was suspicious of DDT's effects on birds and assigned a graduate student (JA Keith) to study herring gulls on the Sister Islands and analyze their eggs for DDT. Keith found enormously high levels in the eggs as well as poor reproduction. Apparently, the high DDT levels originated from usage on fruit trees in Door County.
In 1965, Joe called an international meeting of scientists to share data on the disappearance of peregrine falcons around the world. In that meeting it was suggested that the major reason for the disappearance was breakage of eggs in the nest. Hickey assigned another graduate student (DW Anderson) to collect herring gull eggs from 4 different colonies spread across the county, analyze the DDE content (a breakdown product of DDT), and compare it with the thickness of the eggshells. The paper resulting showed a very strong relationship with the thinnest eggshells occurring in eggs with the highest DDE levels. That paper was considered by many to be the "smoking gun" showing DDT to be a great threat to birds (later feeding studies confirmed that conclusion). Joe Hickey then took it upon himself to challenge the registration of DDT in Wisconsin for agriculture. He put his reputation on the line to get rid of DDT. The case became a courtroom drama with the pesticide industry strongly defending the compound and environmental scientists and lawyers attacking it. The result was a ban on the compound's use in Wisconsin in 1970 (and a nationwide ban in 1972). I like to point out that there were 413 nests of bald eagles in the United States in 1963 and today there are over 18,000. On my birthday in the year 2000, I watched as 3 juvenile peregrine falcons flew in front of the nest cliff at Latsch State Park in Minnesota for the first time in over 50 years. I lit a cigar, looked up, and said "Thank you, Joe." The peregrine falcon was among the first species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and was the first to be removed from the list.
There is more to the story. In 1969, Hickey took on another graduate student - named Faber. I collected eggs from fish-eating birds from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Louisiana and found significant eggshell thinning in 9 of 13 species examined (compared with pre-1947 museum specimens' eggshell thickness) in my M.S. thesis. We also found significant levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in most of the eggs analyzed (especially those from Door County). Then we learned that there had been a significant die-off of Atlantic puffins in England. Joe managed to get a grant to study puffins in Iceland for my Ph.D. thesis. I was to begin work there in April 1973 when a volcano destroyed the study area in January! And so, I needed a Ph.D. study - quickly! And that led me to Harold Wilson and the Sister Islands in Door County. We quickly found enormously high levels of PCBs (one egg had 840 parts per million!) as well as serious problems with reproduction in these birds. Since then, I have continued to monitor contaminants in the eggs in cooperation with Environment Canada as well as monitoring reproduction. Today's levels of PCBs are FAR lower than in the 1970's, but there are other contaminants to be concerned about.
Results from my studies of herring gulls in Door County were reported to the White House and I was told that they made an impact on decision-makers. This resulted in a decision to ban PCBs under a new law passed in 1976 and put into effect in 1979. Thus, Harold Wilson's efforts have had an important influence on the recovery of many species, especially those of fish-eating birds such as herring gulls.
One significant gap in the story is that few of the field observations have been digitized to facilitate scientific analysis. I propose to digitize data from my field notebooks and other sources to facilitate this analysis in 2022 and to continue field study of the herring gulls of Door County for at least one more field season, including collection of eggs for analysis, marking of 50 nests for evaluation of hatching success, monitoring hatching success, and banding of 250 herring gull young, if possible, with assistance from volunteers.
Data to be digitized
Some of the data to be digitized includes the following:
Egg lengths and breadths
Eggshell thickness indices
Percentage of eggs with cracks
Dates of egg collections as a measure of phenological changes
Hatching success
Numbers of inviable eggs
Aggression as measured by the number of times per hour the researcher has been hit at hatching time.
Numbers of nests on the Sister Islands at hatching time
fledging success as determined by Lincoln Index estimates of the number of young on Big Sister Island from banding operations
Numbers of young found with deformities
Numbers of young banded
The project will commence on 1 January 2022 and terminate 31 December 2022.
Dr. Ray Faber
Crossroads Mission:
Dr. Ray Faber
Professor of Biology Emeritus
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
https://doorcountypulse.com/celebrating-the-seagull/
Professor of Biology Emeritus
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
https://doorcountypulse.com/celebrating-the-seagull/
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/NABB_40-3_92-93.pdf
Crossroads Mission:
Crossroads Mission:
Crossroads Mission:
Crossroads at Big Creek is a preserve which offers education, conducts research and provides outdoor experiences to inspire environmental stewardship in learners of all ages.