<b>Staying for food by urban birds: </b><b>insights from neural network analysis into adaptive strategies</b>

The black-headed gull, belonging to the order Lariformes, family Laridae, is a bird species found worldwide. It breeds in the Palearctic region and migrates south to winter in India, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines (MacKinnon 2022). It is widely distributed in all provinces and regions of China and is one of the most common birds in inland and coastal areas (Zheng 2023). The environmental adaptations of black-headed gulls play a crucial role in their widespread geographic distribution, whereas their specific distribution areas are determined by human activities and food availability (Liang et al. 2019). Many black-headed gulls heavily rely on human food sources and are slowly developing alternative foraging techniques distinct from their natural behaviors. Most individuals forage in streets and squares, and actively approach human feeders (Feng and Liang 2020).In November 2023, we collected FID data on black-headed gulls in Kunming, Yunnan, southwest China (24°23′–26°22′ N, 102°10′–103°40′ E). Three gull-watching scenic areas within the city were selected as large regional sample sites: Haigeng Dam, Daguan Park, and Huanhu Road (Figure 1). Haigeng Dam and Daguan Park are located in the city and Huanhu Road is located in the countryside. In these areas, two types of spots were selected: tourist hotspots (for popular photo spot), which are frequently visited by urban residents and international tourists, and where shops selling food specifically for feeding the black-headed gulls are available; and non-tourist hotspots (not for popular photo spot) are located within the same scenic area but away from crowds and with few feeders or sightseers.In this study, field surveys of the flight initiation distance (FID) of black-headed gulls (<i>Chroicocephalus ridibundus</i>) were performed at three scenic spots in Kunming City, Yunnan, southwest China. Our results showed that, within the same area, FID of black-headed gulls was significantly shorter in areas with increased human activity. In areas with prolonged human contact, black-headed gulls showed higher adaptability and shorter FID. The FID data were further analyzed by a multilayer perceptron regression model (MLPRegressor) with a neural network approach to delineate FID thresholds for black-headed gulls in different human disturbance areas. The analysis revealed that black-headed gulls exhibit a high degree of behavioral flexibility in urban areas, with food availability playing a key role in increasing the birds’ tolerance to humans. These findings highlight the significant impact of human behaviors, such as feeding, on wildlife behavior patterns. This further suggests that food availability is a crucial mechanism for the high adaptability of black-headed gulls to urban environments. Understanding this mechanism is essential for understanding the coexistence of humans and wildlife. The establishment of FID models for black-headed gulls will provide new perspectives and tools for animal behavior research.

红嘴鸥（black-headed gull）隶属于鸻形目（Lariformes）、鸥科（Laridae），是一种广布全球的鸟类。其繁殖地位于古北界（Palearctic region），越冬时会向南迁徙至印度、东南亚及菲律宾（MacKinnon 2022）。该物种在中国各省区均有广泛分布，是内陆与沿海区域最常见的鸟类之一（Zheng 2023）。红嘴鸥的环境适应能力是其地理分布广泛的核心驱动因素，而其具体分布区域则受人类活动与食物可获得性共同调控（Liang et al. 2019）。诸多红嘴鸥高度依赖人类提供的食物来源，并逐渐演化出区别于天然觅食行为的替代性觅食策略。多数个体在街道与广场觅食，并主动接近人类投喂者（Feng and Liang 2020）。

2023年11月，我们在中国西南云南省昆明市（北纬24°23′–26°22′，东经102°10′–103°40′）开展了红嘴鸥的惊飞距离（flight initiation distance, FID）数据采集工作。选取市内3处鸥类观赏景区作为大区域样点：海埂大坝、大观公园及环湖路（图1）。其中，海埂大坝与大观公园位于城区，环湖路则地处郊野。在上述区域内，我们设置了两类样点：一是旅游热点区域（热门摄影打卡点），该区域常有城区居民与国际游客到访，且设有专门售卖红嘴鸥投喂食品的商铺；二是非旅游热点区域（非热门摄影打卡点），该区域位于同一景区内，但远离人群聚集区，投喂者与观光者均较为稀少。

本研究针对中国西南云南省昆明市3处景区内的红嘴鸥（*Chroicocephalus ridibundus*）开展了惊飞距离的野外调查。结果显示，在同一区域内，人类活动强度更高的区域中，红嘴鸥的惊飞距离显著更短。在长期与人类接触的区域中，红嘴鸥展现出更高的适应能力，惊飞距离更短。我们进一步采用多层感知器回归模型（multilayer perceptron regression model, MLPRegressor）结合神经网络方法对惊飞距离数据进行分析，以明确不同人类干扰区域下红嘴鸥的惊飞距离阈值。分析结果表明，红嘴鸥在城市环境中具备高度的行为灵活性，食物可获得性是提升鸟类对人类耐受度的关键因素。本研究结果凸显了投喂等人类行为对野生动物行为模式的显著影响，进一步表明食物可获得性是红嘴鸥适应城市环境的核心机制。阐明这一机制对于理解人类与野生动物的共存关系至关重要。红嘴鸥惊飞距离模型的构建将为动物行为研究提供全新的视角与研究工具。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集包含2023年在中国昆明三个景区收集的黑头鸥飞行起始距离（FID）数据，用于研究其在城市环境中对人类的适应行为。研究发现，在人类活动频繁的区域，黑头鸥的FID显著更短，表明食物可得性是提高鸟类对人类容忍度的关键因素。数据集通过神经网络多层感知机回归模型分析，揭示了黑头鸥的行为灵活性及其与城市环境的适应机制。