Post-fledging space use and survival in hand-reared versus wild juvenile herring gulls

Abstract Parental care can shape post-fledging behaviour through provisioning, guidance and social information, yet its absence may alter how young birds establish space use and habitat preferences. We tested the consequences of absent parental care by comparing, hand-reared juvenile herring gulls released without parents with wild, parent-reared conspecifics, focusing on the first two months after fledging. Wild juveniles frequently revisited their natal nest during the first month, whereas hand-reared birds rarely returned to the release site; revisits declined in both groups by the second month but remained more common in wild birds. Wild juveniles used smaller ranges that subsequently expanded, while hand-reared birds began with larger ranges that later contracted, leading to convergence. Contrary to expectation, wild juveniles occurred in areas with higher human population density than hand-reared birds. Habitat use also differed between groups and changed over time. Early on, wild juveniles concentrated activity in anthropogenic and marine habitats, whereas hand-reared birds used rural green habitats more. Later, both groups shifted away from marine areas towards rural green habitats, reducing but not eliminating between-group differences. Short-term survival, did not differ between hand-reared and wild juveniles, indicating that parental care primarily reshaped early space use and habitat choice rather than immediate survival.