Small Between-Year Variations in Nest Predation Rates are Not Related With Between-Year Differences in Predator Identity

Nest predation is one of the most important causes of nest failure in breeding birds and can vary extensively between sites and years. Different mechanisms governing predation rates may dominate in different years and this annual variation should therefore be evaluated directly. Here we document yea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Écoscience (Sainte-Foy) 2018-04, Vol.25 (2), p.199-208
Main Authors: Hoset, Katrine S., Husby, Magne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal control
Annual variations
Artificial nests
boreal forest
Ecosystems
Eggs
Forests
forêt boréale
Grasslands
natural nests
nids artificiels
nids naturels
Phenology
prairie salée
Predation
predator
prédateur
salt meadow
Studies
Success
Taiga
Vegetation
Wildfowl
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Summary:Nest predation is one of the most important causes of nest failure in breeding birds and can vary extensively between sites and years. Different mechanisms governing predation rates may dominate in different years and this annual variation should therefore be evaluated directly. Here we document year-to-year variation in nest predation rates in two ecosystems (forest and salt meadows) within the mid-boreal forest zone to evaluate whether annual variation in nest predation rates are linked with annual variation in predator identity or the ratio between predator types. Year-to-year variation in predation rates was low in all experiments (non-significant differences in experiments 1 and 2), with a significant decrease only from 2005 (0.90%) to 2008 (0.70%), 2009 (0.65%) and 2010 (0.72%) in experiment 3. In addition, random intercept estimates indicated that two sites from experiment 1 showed higher predation rates in year 2 than in year 1. None of these differences were related with differences in apparent predator community structure or predator identity. This suggests that low between-year variation in nest predation rates may be common in areas where the predator communities are stable, and the existing variation cannot be explained by variation in predator identity alone.
ISSN:1195-6860
2376-7626
DOI:10.1080/11956860.2018.1427309