Genetic Structure Among Breeding Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) from the Great Lakes and Eastern Canada

Herring gulls (Larus argentatus) have been used as sentinel species for exposure to toxic chemicals since the 1960s. Reference populations in these studies have never been characterized to determine whether genetic differences might explain some of the effects seen in gulls at contaminated locations. Previously it was shown that there were higher rates of germline minisatellite DNA mutation rates in herring gulls colonizing sites located near …