Article Title
Seasonal changes in the number of Relict Gull (Larus relictus) at Ebinur Lake, Western China
Abstract
The Relict Gull (Larus relictus) is recognized as a vulnerable species, with a worldwide population of about 6,000 individuals. Always inhabiting the extreme arid regions of Central Asia, their migratory routes and winter grounds are unclear. This research focused on distribution sites, habitat, behavior, population size and sea-sonal changes of Relict Gull. Line transects and point counts in every month were used to investigate the gulls around the Ebinur Lake. The result showed Relict Gull was summer visitor to Xinjiang, Western China. Popu-lation curve with a single peak was obtained. This gull appeared in early April and was 63 individuals (1% of the global population). The number remained stable from May to July in 2009. The discovery of fledglings indicates that Relict Gull may breed here. They left Ebinur Lake in August. Relict Gull in Ebinur Lake should belong to the Central Asian subpopulation, which was the most westerly record in China.
Keywords
Relict Gull (Larus relictus); population; seasonal change; Ebinur Lake; Central Asia
First Page
151
Last Page
155
Recommended Citation
MA, Ming; CHEN, Ying; BAYAHEN, Kedeerhan; and HU, BaoWen
(2010)
"Seasonal changes in the number of Relict Gull (Larus relictus) at Ebinur Lake, Western China,"
Journal of Arid Land: Vol. 2:
Iss.
2, Article 10.
DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1227.2010.00151
Available at:
https://egijournals.researchcommons.org/journal-of-arid-land/vol2/iss2/10