Hi folks,

Alas, I've reached the point where I can't just drop the rest of my life =
and run off to do bird projects in strange and exciting foreign lands. =
I don't know if others are interested in such opportunities, but if so, =
here's one that looks like lots of fun.... =20

Jon. ("Old and In the Way") Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 17:47:50 +0200 (SAST)
From: Stuart Bearhop <sbearhop at udcf.gla.ac.uk>
Subject: [SEABIRD:376] PhD Opportunities

I thought some of the subscribers may be interested in this advert for =
two
PhD studentships that Bob Furness ( University of Glasgow ) is offering =
for
the forthcoming academic year.

Stuart

>>PhD STUDENTSHIP ADVERTISEMENT:
>>
>>
>>Manipulation of eider behaviour to reduce losses of mussels from =
mussel farms
>>
>>Two PhD studentships=20
>>
>>One on eider foraging behaviour
>>One on responses of eiders to deterrent stimuli
>>
>>Applied Ornithology Unit, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences,
>Glasgow University
>>
>>Under the supervision of Dr R.W. Furness
>>
>>Available from October 1996
>>
>>Studentships provide maintenance at the same level as current NERC =
research
>studentships, fees and fieldwork expenses, including travel and
>accommodation in the field.
>>
>>The two students appointed will work closely together, and with a
>technician, Dr Furness and the staff of Invereoch Shellfish Ltd. This
>project is funded by NERC, through the LINK aquaculture programme, with
>matching funding from industry (Invereoch Shellfish Ltd.).
>>
>>Mussel farms are of substantial economic importance within the =
aquaculture
>industry in Scotland, but suffer serious losses of product to natural
>predators so that their potential contribution to the economy is
>significantly constrained. In particular, eider ducks Somateria =
mollissima
>dive down to ropes and strip off mussels. Eiders are abundant in =
coastal
>areas of the UK suitable for mussel farming and are well known to be
>attracted to mussel cultivation since the thin-shelled cultivated =
mussels
>provide a high density of readily digested food that can be obtained =
for low
>expenditure of energy (Furness in press, Galbraith 1987, Thom 1986). =
Eider
>numbers in Britain have increased very considerably since the 1850s, =
and the
>species is still increasing in numbers and breeding range (Gibbons et =
al.
>1993; Holloway 1996). Eiders are serious problems and no satisfactory
>solutions have yet been found to prevent losses of mussels to these =
predators.=20
>> The Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department
>recognises the fact that no suitable means of deterring eiders from
>attacking mussel farms has been found, and has for this reason issued
>licenses to permit shooting of eiders at mussel farms as a last resort =
to
>attempt to reduce losses below economically damaging levels. Such =
licenses
>may only be granted if damage to aquaculture is serious and if no =
preventive
>measure is available, but have been considered necessary for control of
>depredations by a variety of piscivorous birds in recent years =
(Marquiss &
>Carss 1994). Nevertheless, experience of the industrial partner in this
>application is that having a license to shoot eiders has not solved the
>problem of ducks stripping mussels. Despite shooting regularly during =
winter
>1995-96 and killing the full quota of birds permitted under the SOAEFD
>license, considerable damage to mussel stock was done by the ducks. =
There is
>clearly an urgent need to find a means of deterring eiders from =
attacking
>mussel lines (Furness in press) to allow financial viability of mussel
>farming and also if possible to remove the need to kill very large =
numbers
>of these protected birds, which are an attractive feature of Scottish =
sea
>lochs for residents and tourists. Recent research in various parts of =
the
>world suggests that solutions to this problem might be available, but =
these
>need to be tested in an industrial setting and their efficacy assessed =
by
>comparison with the present, largely unsatisfactory, best practice of
>shooting ducks.
>> A recent review of methods to deter or scare cormorants to reduce =
damage
>to fisheries in the UK and on the continent of Europe was commissioned =
by
>MAFF (Boudewijn & Dirksen 1996). That study concluded that most scaring
>devices were unsuccessful because birds rapidly habituated to =
continuous
>stimuli. Scaring was only successful if it involved a variety of =
stimuli,
>with irregular changes in presentation and combinations of use. =
Furthermore,
>birds can obtain all their daily food needs in a short space of time =
and so
>scaring must be continued every day and from dawn to dusk. This same
>situation will apply in the case of eiders, which can ingest large
>quantities of mussels in one feeding bout and roost for the remainder =
of the
>day (Cramp & Simmons 1977). Boudewijn & Dirksen (1996) suggested that =
the
>use of wires or predator exclusion nets may deter or prevent cormorants =
from
>entering fish ponds, but cited many cases where these methods failed. =
There
>have been unsuccessful attempts to keep eiders off mussels by predator
>exclusion nets (Dunthorn 1971). In the context of eiders at mussel =
cultures
>the use of predator exclusion nets seems impossible; risk of =
entanglement
>of seals and seabirds as well as ducks would seem to be unacceptable =
and the
>size of net required to encage a mussel farm would be a serious
>technological and economic challenge and biofouling of nets would =
affect
>mussel cultivation. However, birds are known to be deterred from diving
>through water containing monofilament nylon lines as these are almost
>invisible in water and present unexpected obstacles to underwater =
swimming
>(Boudewijn & Dirksen 1996) and this may provide one strand of an =
integrated
>approach to deterring eiders from feeding at a farm. Boudewijn & =
Dirksen
>(1996) concluded that shooting to scare cormorants was ineffective and =
that
>shooting to kill was successful in deterring birds from attacking fish =
ponds
>only in a minority of cases. In particular, removing birds from an
>established feeding site was more difficult than preventing them from
>starting to visit a site. However, they cited a French study that =
concluded
>that the use of a laser gun was extremely effective in dispersing birds =
from
>sensitive areas where damage was occurring. According to the primary
>literature on this topic (the manufacturer's literature since no =
independent
>scientific assessment appears to have been published as yet), the =
Desman
>Laser Rifle model FL R 005 is a laser gun designed for the startling of
>birds, capable of dispersing birds of many species and effective over a
>radius of 2.5 km. The birds are 'startled by the strong contrast =
between the
>ambient light and the red laser beam' but are 'in no way damaged'. =
Desman
>S.A.R.L. cite the gun as being effective in scaring away various tested
>birds including ducks. Given the possible use of such a device from =
shore
>(avoiding the need to chase eiders by inflatable boat) this impressive =
claim
>invites testing in a controlled study in an industrial setting to =
determine
>whether it can be effective in preventing eiders from gathering and =
feeding
>on farmed mussels.=20
>> Several other recent reviews of the efficacy of techniques to prevent
>damage to fisheries by piscivorous birds have recently been published. =
In
>the United States, double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax auritus =
cause
>severe problems to catfish culture in the southern states. Mott & Boyd
>(1995) reviewed techniques used to control cormorant depredations and
>concluded 'although a number of techniques and procedures exist to =
reduce
>the extent of cormorant depredation at aquaculture facilities, none, by
>themselves or in combination with others, have been found sufficiently
>effective to resolve the conflict', but also that 'pyrotechnics, human
>effigies, gas cannons, and live ammunition have been used with varying
>degrees of success... important points include the timing of their
>application... dispersing from roosts has been shown to be effective in
>reducing numbers in the foraging area of the roost'. Use of an =
inflatable
>'scary man' which irregularly inflates by compressed air with =
associated
>bangs and flashes, was found to be one of the more effective stimuli to =
keep
>birds away from fish ponds. Dare (1996) points out the need to consider =
the
>balance between disturbance causing birds to move away from a sensitive =
site
>and causing birds an increased food requirement as a result of =
increased
>activity and so potentially increasing their impact on the aquaculture
>facility (see also Gremillet et al. (1995)).
>> Research has shown that bird vision is especially sensitive in the UV
>spectrum, and certain chemicals used to deter birds appear to be
>particularly bright in UV. Although the use of UV wavelengths of light =
have
>not been explored in detail as a means of deterring birds, preliminary
>studies of deterrent chemical effects by MAFF Chief Scientist =
Laboratory
>staff at Worplesdon suggest that birds will keep away from peanut =
feeders in
>which nuts have been painted with deterrent chemical (C. Feare pers. =
comm.);
>the implication is that they avoid the UV stimulus and not just an =
aversive
>taste. This suggests that the use of UV lights or UV reflective plastic
>strips to deter eiders from approaching mussel lines may also merit
examination.
>> Recent use of a model killer whale to protect salmon in cages from =
attack
>by seals suggests that it may be worth trying such a model to deter =
eiders.
>>
>>
>>Objectives
>>
>>1. To determine feeding behaviour and diurnal patterns of eiders =
exploiting
>natural foods and exploiting mussel farms, including if possible,
>observation of their feeding underwater at a mussel farm.
>>2. To measure the quantities of mussels removed from lines in relation =
to
>mussel size, density, strength of byssal attachment, environmental
>conditions and eider behaviour.
>>3. To test, individually, the short term efficacy in deterring eiders =
from
>feeding on farmed mussels, of the most promising scaring techniques: =
an
>inflating 'scary man'; monofilament nylon lines underwater; a laser =
rifle;
>UV lights and UV reflective strips; pyrotechnics, human activity, =
shooting,
>quantified in terms of masses of mussels lost from lines and in terms =
of
>eider distribution and behaviour.
>>4. To assess the optimal combination of stimuli and frequency,
>pattern/randomness of presentation to achieve a long-term deterrent =
effect
>to prevent eiders from damaging mussel stock.
>>
>>References
>>
>>Boudewijn, T.J. & Dirksen, S. 1996. Literature review of methods to =
deter
>or scare cormorants. Bureau Waardenburg bv, Ministry of Transport and
>Public Works, =09
>> Directorate Ijsselmeergebeit.
>>Cramp, S. & Simmons, K.E.L. (eds.) 1977. The Birds of the Western
>Palearctic, Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
>>Dare, P.J. 1996. The problem of fish-eating birds (Cormorants and =
sawbill
>ducks) at inland fisheries in England and Wales: A review of the
>literature. Report to MAFF, DFR Contract C945A084.
>>Dunthorn, A.A. 1971. The predation of cultivated mussels by eiders. =
Bird
>Study 18, 107-112.
>>Furness, R.W. in press. Interactions between seabirds and aquaculture =
in
>sea lochs. Aquaculture.=20
>>Galbraith, C.A. 1987. Eider predation at mussel farms. PhD thesis,
>University of Aberdeen.=20
>>Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R. 1993. The New Atlas of =
Breeding
>Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991. T. & A.D. Poyser, London.
>>Gremillet, D., Schmidt, D. & Culik, B. 1995. Energy requirements of
>breeding great cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis. Mar. Ecol. =
Prog.
>Ser. 121, 1-9.
>>Holloway, S. 1996. The Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain =
and
>Ireland 1875-1900. T. & A.D. Poyser, London.
>

>
>
R.W. Furness
Graham Kerr Building
University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 8QQ
Phone 0141 330 8038
Fax 0141 330 5971
e-mail r.furness at bio.gla.ac.uk
Home page http://www.gla.ac.uk/Acad/IBLS/DEEB/rwf/rwf.htm