Food intake, feeding behaviour and stock losses of cormorants, Phalacrocorax carbo, and grey herons, Ardea cinerea, at a fish farm in Arcachon Bay (Southwest France) during breeding and non-breeding season
2002
Lekuona, J.M.
The feeding ecology of cormorants and grey herons were investigated at a fish farm in Arcachon Bay (southwest France) during both breeding and non-breeding season. Cormorants were mainly recorded during winter and grey herons during both breeding and wintering seasons. Adult cormorants and herons were more successful at feeding than first-years and although younger birds spent more time feeding and their biomass intake rates remained lower than those of adult birds. Cormorants and herons took the same biomass intake per feeding session at the fish farm during the non-breeding season, about 200 g. The impact of the two ichthyophagous birds (cormorant and grey heron) was estimated as 53 % (average predation of cormorant per year) and 10.8 % (mean predation of heron per year) of the annual yield of the fish farm. This imposed a significant economic loss due to low productivity of the farm.
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