Effects of Removal of Red Squirrels, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, and Eastern Chipmunks, Tamias striatus, on Nest Predation in a Northern Hardwood Forest: An Artificial Nest Experiment

An importance of eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) as avian nest predators was examined by monitoring predation on quail-egg-baited artificial nests on six experimental plots, from which the two predators were removed, paired with six control plots. Nest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oikos 1990-04, Vol.57 (3), p.375-380
Main Authors: Reitsma, Leonard R., Holmes, Richard T., Sherry, Thomas W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal nesting
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Aves
Aviculture
Biological and medical sciences
Bird nesting
Eggs
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects. Techniques
Methods and techniques (sampling, tagging, trapping, modelling...)
Mice
Predation
Predators
Shrubs
Squirrels
Tamias striatus
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Warblers
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Summary:An importance of eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) as avian nest predators was examined by monitoring predation on quail-egg-baited artificial nests on six experimental plots, from which the two predators were removed, paired with six control plots. Nests were placed 50 m apart at densities of 16 per 2.25 ha. The number of nests depredated on each plot differed significantly for each treatment, but did not differ significantly between removal and control plots. We attribute the latter finding to the combined effects of compensatory mortality due to a larger-than-expected variety of nest predators and to patchy nest predation resulting from variable predator distribution. Photographs of seven species of nest predators were obtained from cameras with trip devices placed in the field indicating that several taxa, in addition to red squirrels and chipmunks, may be important nest predators. The use of artificial nests for field experiments, the impact of a diverse set of predators, and the spatially variable pattern of nest predation are discussed.
ISSN:0030-1299
1600-0706
DOI:10.2307/3565967