Abstract
We review the recent history of the Mute Swan in Great Britain and discuss the factors known to be affecting the population. Following a rise in the national population during the 1950s, numbers decreased sharply during the 1960s, and changed relatively little between 1970/71 and 1984/85. However, there has been considerable regional variation in the fortunes of Mute Swan populations during this period, with dramatic declines in some areas. Although several factors were thought to be contributing to such declines,poisoning from the ingestion of lead fishing weights was shown to be the largest single cause of death amongst swans in a number of areas. Voluntary measures to address this problem were initiated in 1982 and culminated in the banning by law of use of lead weights in 1987.
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Kirby, J., Delany, S., Quinn, J. (1994). Mute Swans in Great Britain: a review, current status and long-term trends. In: Kerekes, J.J. (eds) Aquatic Birds in the Trophic Web of Lakes. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 96. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1128-7_43
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1128-7_43
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