ORIGINAL ARTICLE Diet of Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) chicks along the Spanish Western Mediterranean coast: the relevance of refuse dumps

Abstract In recent decades, the Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) has become a problematic species in many Mediterranean countries, mainly because it interferes with human interests. However, this gull also has a nega-tive impact on several other bird species, many of which are classified as endangered. Two different European Union Action Plans are currently under development with the aim of decreasing the availability of food derived from human activities, such as garbage and fishery discards, which are considered to be the main causes of the super-populations of this gull. Here, we describe the diet of Yellow-legged Gull chicks, with particular emphasis on establishing the dependence of each population on refuse dumps, in order to forecast changes in gull population dynamics in response to the management decisions bein