Evaluating Aversion to Eye-Like Stimuli as a Foraging Deterrent in Urban European Herring Gulls

Human-wildlife conflict is on the rise due to urbanisation, and the development of non-invasive deterrents can help to mitigate negative interactions. European herring gulls Larus argentatus are increasingly moving into urban areas, bringing them into conflict with humans. Many animals exhibit aversive behaviour to eyes and directed gaze, and we tested whether gulls foraging in urban areas were deterred by and/or habituated to artificial eye-like stimuli (known as eyespots) in the short term. We also tested whether aversion to eye-like stimuli may be due to shape or contrast by testing aversion to high contrast circles and squares. We found that some gulls were slower to approach and less likely to peck a takeaway food box with eye-like stimuli compared to a box without eyes. When we presented individual gulls with boxes either with or without eye-like stimuli over three trials, the response to eyes appeared to be individual-specific. Approximately half of the birds tested consistently avoided boxes with eyes and never approached, indicating a lack of short-term habituation. The other half approached and pecked at them just as quickly as they did boxes without eyes, suggesting that eyes are unlikely to deter all gulls. There was no difference in approach time or peck likelihood when gulls were presented with circular or square high contrast stimuli, indicating that contrast may be important in eliciting aversion. Overall, our results suggest that high contrast stimuli can deter gulls, although responses appear to be highly individually specific. High contrast and/or eye-like stimuli may therefore offer a potential tool to help mitigate negative interactions between humans and opportunistic wildlife such as urban herring gulls.