Silver gull carcasses host unique carrion insect communities on a nearshore island

Johnston, NP; Dawson, BM; Barton, PS; Hoye, BJ

Silver gull carcasses host unique carrion insect communities on a nearshore island

Johnston, NP Dawson, BM Barton, PS Hoye, BJ

Permalink

Publisher:: Wiley
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Austral Entomology, 2025, 64, (3)
Issue Date:: 2025-08-01

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download Published versionAdobe PDF (1.36 MB)

View on publisher's site

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Johnston, NP
dc.contributor.author	Dawson, BM
dc.contributor.author	Barton, PS
dc.contributor.author	Hoye, BJ
dc.date.accessioned	2025-10-15T04:06:40Z
dc.date.available	2025-10-15T04:06:40Z
dc.date.issued	2025-08-01
dc.identifier.citation	Austral Entomology, 2025, 64, (3)
dc.identifier.issn	2052-174X
dc.identifier.issn	2052-1758
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190458
dc.description.abstract	Island ecosystems offer unique opportunities to study the dynamics of species that rely on ephemeral resources such as carrion. This study investigated the necrophagous insect communities associated with carrion of silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) on a small nearshore island off the east coast of Australia, to assess how necrophagous insect communities on islands compare with the mainland community, and the degree to which these communities varied over time. Over three breeding seasons, we analysed what insect species were colonising gull carcasses and, using baited traps, compared total adult community composition and richness of carrion-associated insect species on the island with the adjacent mainland. Our findings reveal that an island separated by less than 500 m from the mainland can harbour distinct carrion-breeding fly assemblages. These assemblages vary between years but are notably dominated by a potential seabird-carrion specialist fly—the littoral species Calliphora maritima. These results underscore the importance of seabird carrion as a critical resource for necrophagous insects on islands and contribute to our understanding of how island environments influence insect community dynamics and specialisation.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Wiley
dc.relation.ispartof	Austral Entomology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/aen.70023
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.title	Silver gull carcasses host unique carrion insect communities on a nearshore island
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	64
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-10-15T04:06:38Z
pubs.issue	3
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	64
utslib.citation.issue	3

Abstract:

Island ecosystems offer unique opportunities to study the dynamics of species that rely on ephemeral resources such as carrion. This study investigated the necrophagous insect communities associated with carrion of silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) on a small nearshore island off the east coast of Australia, to assess how necrophagous insect communities on islands compare with the mainland community, and the degree to which these communities varied over time. Over three breeding seasons, we analysed what insect species were colonising gull carcasses and, using baited traps, compared total adult community composition and richness of carrion-associated insect species on the island with the adjacent mainland. Our findings reveal that an island separated by less than 500 m from the mainland can harbour distinct carrion-breeding fly assemblages. These assemblages vary between years but are notably dominated by a potential seabird-carrion specialist fly—the littoral species Calliphora maritima. These results underscore the importance of seabird carrion as a critical resource for necrophagous insects on islands and contribute to our understanding of how island environments influence insect community dynamics and specialisation.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190458