Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Suliformes > Sulidae > Morus > Morus bassanus
 

Morus bassanus (Northern Gannet)

Synonyms: Pelecanus bassanus; Sula bassana; Sula bassanus
Language: French; Spanish

Wikipedia Abstract

The Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.
View Wikipedia Record: Morus bassanus

Attributes

Adult Weight [2]  6.61 lbs (3.00 kg)
Birth Weight [3]  80 grams
Female Maturity [3]  2 years
Male Maturity [3]  3 years
Clutch Size [3]  1
Clutches / Year [3]  1
Diet [1]  Carnivore
Incubation [3]  43 days
Maximum Longevity [3]  37 years
Migration [1]  Interoceanic
Speed [4]  62.12 MPH (27.77 m/s)
Water Biome [1]  Coastal

Ecoregions

Name Countries Ecozone Biome Species Report Map Climate Land
Use
Celtic broadleaf forests Ireland, United Kingdom Palearctic Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests  
North Atlantic moist mixed forests Ireland, United Kingdom Palearctic Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests
Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands Norway, Sweden, Finland Palearctic Tundra

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Map Climate Land Use
Acadia National Park II 35996 Maine, United States
Assateague Island National Seashore II 8621 Maryland, United States
Banc d'Arguin National Park II 2949017 Mauritania
Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast 160731 England/Scotland, United Kingdom  
Biscayne National Park II 11085 Florida, United States
Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge IV 4842 Georgia, United States
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge VI 19192 Maryland, United States
Borkum-Riffgrund 154559 Germany      
Canaveral National Seashore II 9090 Florida, United States
Cape Breton Highlands National Park II 234333 Nova Scotia, Canada  
Cape Cod National Seashore II 21724 Massachusetts, United States
Cape Hatteras National Seashore II 21476 North Carolina, United States
Cape Lookout National Seashore II 18379 North Carolina, United States
Carolinian-South Atlantic Biosphere Reserve 310228 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, United States      
Cumberland Island National Seashore II 20629 Georgia, United States
Dee Estuary/ Aber Dyfrdwy 39057 England/Wales, United Kingdom
Doggerbank 419820 Germany      
Fair Isle 1387 Scotland, United Kingdom  
Firth of Tay & Eden Estuary 38085 Scotland, United Kingdom
Fitzgerald River National Park II 732417 Western Australia, Australia
Flamborough Head 15597 England, United Kingdom  
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary IV 2387149 Florida, United States
Forillon National Park II 61010 Quebec, Canada  
Fort Matanzas National Monument III 269 Florida, United States
Fort Pulaski National Monument V 4213 Georgia, United States
Gateway National Recreation Area V 1807 New Jersey, United States
Glannau Ynys Gybi/ Holy Island Coast 1147 Wales, United Kingdom  
Gros Morne National Park II 476632 Newfoundland, Canada
Humber Estuary 90582 England, United Kingdom
Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct National Park II 4970 Nova Scotia, Canada
Kouchibouguac National Park II 59161 New Brunswick, Canada
Little St. Simons Island   Georgia, United States
Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve II 20461 Quebec, Canada
Minsmere to Walberswick Heaths and Marshes 3127 England, United Kingdom
Montaña Roja 405 Spain    
Moray Firth 373987 Scotland, United Kingdom  
Morecambe Bay 151985 England, United Kingdom
Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve 470167 Ontario, Canada  
North Antrim Coast 777 Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
North Norfolk Coast 7926 England, United Kingdom  
North York Moors 108930 England, United Kingdom
North-east Greenland National Park II 237590314 Greenland
Padre Island National Seashore II 42068 Texas, United States
Pembrokeshire Marine/ Sir Benfro Forol 341177 Wales, United Kingdom  
Prince Edward Island National Park II   Prince Edward Island, Canada  
Rondeau Provincial Park II 5035 Ontario, Canada
Sefton Coast 11278 England, United Kingdom
Solway Firth 107829 England/Scotland, United Kingdom
South Atlantic Coastal Plain Biosphere Reserve 20317 South Carolina, United States  
South Pennine Moors 160577 England, United Kingdom  
SPA Östliche Deutsche Bucht 774707 Germany      
St David`s / Ty Ddewi 2312 Wales, United Kingdom  
St Kilda 62932 Scotland, United Kingdom    
St. Kilda National Nature Reserve   Scotland, United Kingdom    
Strangford Lough 38051 Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Sylter Außenriff 1313190 Germany      
Terra Nova National Park IV 125894 Newfoundland, Canada
The Lizard 8048 England, United Kingdom    
The Wash and North Norfolk Coast 266284 England, United Kingdom
Treshnish Isles 4850 Scotland, United Kingdom
Tweed Estuary 385 England, United Kingdom  
Virginia Coast Biosphere Reserve 33386 Virginia, United States  

Important Bird Areas

BirdLife Species Factsheet: View Factsheet
Name Location  IBA Criteria   Website   Map   Climate   Land Use 
Ailsa Craig United Kingdom A4ii, A4iii, B1i, B1ii, B2, B3, C3, C4
Archipel des Sept-Iles France A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3, C3, C4, C6  
Île Brion Canada A4i, A4ii  
Baccalieu Island Canada A4ii, A4iii  
Bonaventure Island Canada A4i, A4ii, A4iii
Bull and Cow Rocks Ireland A4ii, B1ii, B2, B3, C2, C6
Cap d'Espoir Canada A4i, A4iii
Cape St. Mary's Canada A4ii, A4iii
Eldey Iceland A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2
Firth of Forth Islands United Kingdom A4i, A4ii, A4iii, B1i, B1ii, B2, B3, C2, C3, C4, C
Funk Island Canada A4ii, A4iii    
Gjesværstappan Norway A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3  
Grassholm United Kingdom A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, C3, C4  
Hermaness, Saxa Vord and Valla Field United Kingdom A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3, C3, C4  
Les Etacs, Alderney United Kingdom A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3    
Les rochers aux Oiseaux Canada A4ii, A4iii  
Makkaurhalvøya (Syltefjordstauran) Norway A4i, A4iii, B1i, B1ii, B2  
Marais de la baie de L'Isle-Verte Canada A4i, A4iii
Marais de Pointe-au-Père Canada A4i, A4iii
Mykines and Mykineshólmur Faroe Islands (to Denmark) A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3    
North Rona and Sula Sgeir United Kingdom A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3, C3, C4, C6    
Noss United Kingdom A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3, C3, C4
Ortac, Alderney United Kingdom B2    
Runde Norway A4i, A4ii, A4iii, B1i, B1ii, B2, B3  
Saltee Islands Ireland B2, B3, C7
Shigawake-Newport Canada A4i
Skagerrak-Southwest Norwegian trench Denmark A4i, A4ii, A4iii, B1i, B1ii, C3, C4  
Skogvoll (including Skarvklakken) Norway A1, B1i, B2  
Skrúdur Iceland B2
St Kilda United Kingdom A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3, C2, C3, C4, C6    
Sule Skerry and Sule Stack United Kingdom A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3, C2, C3, C4, C6    
The Skelligs: Great Skellig and Little Skellig Ireland A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, C2, C3, C4, C6    
Vestmannaeyjar Iceland A4i, A4ii, A4iii, B1i, B1ii, B2

Prey / Diet

Ammodytes marinus (sand eel)[5]
Clupea harengus (Yawling)[5]
Mallotus villosus (Capelin)[6]
Scomber scombrus (Split)[5]
Sprattus sprattus (Whitebait)[5]

Prey / Diet Overlap

Competing SpeciesCommon Prey Count
Alca torda (Razorbill)2
Amblyraja radiata (Starry ray)2
Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke Whale)5
Balaenoptera borealis (Sei Whale)1
Balaenoptera physalus (Fin Whale)1
Brachyramphus marmoratus (Marbled Murrelet)2
Cepphus grylle (Black Guillemot)1
Cerorhinca monocerata (Rhinoceros Auklet)1
Coryphaena hippurus (Mahi-mahi)1
Cystophora cristata (Hooded Seal)2
Delphinapterus leucas (Beluga)1
Delphinus delphis (Short-beaked Saddleback Dolphin)2
Erignathus barbatus (Bearded Seal)1
Fratercula arctica (Atlantic Puffin)2
Fratercula cirrhata (Tufted Puffin)2
Fratercula corniculata (Horned Puffin)1
Fulmarus glacialis (Northern Fulmar)2
Gadus morhua (rock cod)1
Gadus ogac (White sea nonmigratory cod)1
Globicephala melas (Long-finned Pilot Whale)2
Halichoerus grypus (Gray Seal)1
Hippoglossoides platessoides (American dab)1
Histriophoca fasciata (Ribbon Seal)1
Lagenorhynchus acutus (Atlantic White-sided Dolphin)1
Lagenorhynchus albirostris (White-beaked Dolphin)2
Lamna nasus (Porbeagle shark)2
Larus argentatus (Herring Gull)1
Larus canus (Mew Gull)1
Larus glaucescens (Glaucous-winged Gull)1
Larus marinus (Great Black-backed Gull)1
Lophius piscatorius (Monkfish)1
Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback Whale)1
Melanogrammus aeglefinus (Smokie)1
Merluccius bilinearis (Whiting)1
Orcinus orca (Killer Whale)1
Pagophilus groenlandicus (Harp Seal)2
Phalacrocorax aristotelis (Shag)1
Phalacrocorax auritus (Double-crested Cormorant)1
Phalacrocorax carbo (Great Cormorant)1
Phoca largha (Spotted Seal)1
Phoca vitulina (Harbor Seal)1
Phocoena phocoena (Harbor Porpoise)3
Pollachius virens (Sillock)1
Prionace glauca (Tribon blou)2
Pusa hispida (Ringed Seal)1
Raja clavata (Roker)1
Rissa tridactyla (Black-legged Kittiwake)2
Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon)2
Sphyrna zygaena (Smooth hammerhead shark)1
Squalus acanthias (Common spiny)2
Stercorarius parasiticus (Parasitic Jaeger)1
Thunnus thynnus (horse mackerel)3
Uria aalge (Common Murre)4
Uria lomvia (Thick-billed Murre)2

Predators

Larus argentatus (Herring Gull)[7]

Consumers

Parasitized by 
Bursacetabulus morus <Unverified Name>[8]
Bursatintinnabulus bassanus <Unverified Name>[8]
Ceratophyllus borealis[9]
Galactosomum cochleariforme <Unverified Name>[8]

Institutions (Zoos, etc.)

    Maps
Institution Infraspecies / Breed 
Artis Zoo
Burger's Zoo
Wilhelma Zoo
Zoo am Meer Bremerhaven GmbH

Range Map

Link to Map
North America;

External References

Photos

Citations

Species recognized by Banks R.C., 22-Sep-2011, ITIS Global: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System in Catalog of Life 2011
Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org ♦ 2Nelson, JB (1978). The Sulidae: Gannets and boobies. Oxford, Oxford University Press ♦ 3de Magalhaes, J. P., and Costa, J. (2009) A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22(8):1770-1774 ♦ 4Alerstam T, Rosén M, Bäckman J, Ericson PGP, Hellgren O (2007) Flight Speeds among Bird Species: Allometric and Phylogenetic Effects. PLoS Biol 5(8): e197. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050197 ♦ 5Annual variation in diets, feeding locations and foraging behaviour of gannets in the North Sea: flexibility, consistency and constraint, K. C. Hamer, E. M. Humphreys, S. Garthe, J. Hennicke, G. Peters, D. Grémillet, R. A. Phillips, M. P. Harris, S. Wanless, Mar Ecol Prog Ser 338: 295–305, 2007 ♦ 6Flight destinations and foraging behaviour of northern gannets (Sula bassana) preying on a small forage fish in a low-Arctic ecosystem, Stefan Garthea, William A. Montevecchi, Gail K. Davoren, Deep-Sea Research II 54 (2007) 311–320 ♦ 7Diets of adult and chick Herring Gulls Larus argentatus argenteus on Ailsa Craig, south-west Scotland., M. Nogales, B. Zonfrillo and P. Monaghan, SEABIRD 17: 56-63 ♦ 8Gibson, D. I., Bray, R. A., & Harris, E. A. (Compilers) (2005). Host-Parasite Database of the Natural History Museum, London ♦ 9International Flea Database
Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 gis.wwfus.org/wildfinder
Protected Areas provided by Biological Inventories of the World's Protected Areas in cooperation between the Information Center for the Environment at the University of California, Davis and numerous collaborators. ♦ GBIF Global Biodiversity Information Facility ♦ Natura 2000, UK data: © Crown copyright and database right [2010] All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100017955
Important Bird Areas provided by BirdLife International (2010) Important Bird Areas. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 29/12/2010
Images provided by Google Image Search
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Range map provided by Ridgely, R. S., T. F. Allnutt, T. Brooks, D. K. McNicol, D. W. Mehlman, B. E. Young, and J. R. Zook. 2007. Digital Distribution Maps of the Birds of the Western Hemisphere, version 3.0. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
Data provided by NatureServe in collaboration with Robert Ridgely, James Zook, The Nature Conservancy - Migratory Bird Program, Conservation International - CABS, World Wildlife Fund - US, and Environment Canada - WILDSPACE.
Weather provided by NOAA METAR Data Access
Institution information provided by International Species Information System - May 2011