Assessment of Grey Heron predation on fish communities: the case of the largest European colony

The fish predation rate by Grey Heron Ardea cinerea was studied during two breeding seasons (1987–88) in the largest European colony at the Lake of Grand-Lieu (Loire-Atlantique, France). The herons' diet was compared to the available fish population of its main feeding area, the marsh of Bourgneuf (16000 ha) which is composed of former salt pans and meadows drained by a dense network of shallow ditches. This study is the first attempt to assess the predation exerted by an ardeid colony on a fish community over such an extensive natural environment. It also provides the first data about the abundance and the structure of fish communities in shallow coastal dyked marshes. For this purpose, two different sampling methods were used according to the water's salinity. In fresh waters, electrofishing was used as the removal method, and density estimates were calculated with Carle & Strub estimator (1978). Fish were caught in randomly selected stations (sections of ditches enclosed by two 5 mm mesh nets). In brackish waters, pools and ditches were drained. The distribution of the herons at the feeding areas was determined by direct observations, by counting flights from the colony, and by radio-tracking. The diet was investigated by observing adult herons on the foraging areas, and by analyzing the prey regurgitations of the young at the nests. The global food consumption was assessed from Marion (1988), according to the birds' activity determined during 5 years of radio-tracking. Altogether, at least 39 species of fish were available in the herons' feeding area (during the reference period, 87–88) and the mean fish biomass was 270 kg per ha of open water, or 30 kg per ha of marsh (open water = 11.2% of the marsh area). The fish community was dominated by eel Anguilla anguilla (145 kg ha^–1, 50,8% of the total biomass), and catfish Ictalurus melas (40 kg ha^–1, 14%). Except for small and inaccessible species (living in the deepest parts of the marsh), heron diet was very similar to fish species composition of the community occurring in the marsh. The catfish was the species captured most frequently by the heron (45% of the mass), the eel was second with 28% of the mass. The catfish was probably over represented in the diet considering that they are caught in catfish-dumps created by professional fishermen at Grand-Lieu lake, in order to reduce the density of this undesirable species. Inversely, small species such as Gasterosteus aculeatus were not found in the diet whereas they are very numerous in the marsh. On average herons of Grand-Lieu colony catch 1.92 kg of fish per ha of marsh (6% of the fish standing crops in the marsh) during the breeding season, the main predation period.