Observational analysis reveals the influence of hydrological features on red-billed gull breeding colonies, indicating plankton availability is key.
The main food of breeding red-billed gulls Larus novaehollandiae scopulinus in New Zealand appears to be the planktonic euphausiid Nyctiphanes australis. The distribution of the breeding colonies is discussed in relation to offshore hydrological features which could result in plankton enrichment near the colonies.
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James A. Mills (1969) studied this question.
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