The endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker {Picoides borealis) is a cavity-limited cooperative breeder tbat excavates cavities in living pines and maintains a resin barrier that repels rat snakes {Elaphe obsoleta and E. guttata), its principal predators. Heterospecific occupants of Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavities (cavity kleptoparasites) exacerbate the limitation of cavities. However, heterospecifics do not maintain the resin barrier, which deteriorates without upkeep. Thus, we predicted that heterospecific occupants of Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavities should suffer rates of nest prédation higher than the Red-cockaded Woodpecker's. We compared the daily nest-survival rates of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker and two heterospecific occupants of its cavities, the Redbellied Woodpecker {Melanerpes carolinu.s) and Great Crested Flycatcher {Myiarchus crinitus), in two forests in northern Florida. Results from both forests supported the differential-predation hypothesis. Although during incubation the three species' daily nest-survival rates were similar, the primary cause of failure was hatching failure for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers but prédation for the two heterospecific occupants. During the nestling stage, daily nest success was significantly higher for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers than for Red-bellied Woodpeckers or Great Crested Flycatchers and similar for the latter two species (i.e., Red-cockaded Woodpecker » Red-bellied Woodpecker > Great Crested Flycatcher); predators destroyed 3-6% of Red-cockaded Woodpecker nests and 21-37% of kleptoparasite nests. We hypothesize that rat snakes have an indirect positive effect on the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (increased cavity availability) by preying differentially on heterospecific occupants of its cavities.Resumen. La especie en peligro Pieoides boreaiis es un ave que se reproduce en forma cooperativa y que anida únicamente en cavidades que excava en pinos vivos y donde mantiene una barrera resinosa que repele a las culebras Elaphe obsoleta y E. guttata, sus principales depredadores. Los ocupantes heteroespecificos de las cavidades de P. borealis (cleptoparásitos de cavidad) exacerban la limitación de cavidades. Sin embargo, los ocupantes heteroespecificos no mantienen la barrera resinosa, la cual se deteriora sin mantenimiento. Por ende, predijimos que los ocupantes heteroespecificos de las cavidades de P. borealis deberían sufrir tasas de depredación de nidos mayores que las de los nidos de P. borealis. Comparamos las tasas diarias de supervivencia de los nidos de P. borealis y de dos ocupantes heteroespecificos de sus cavidades, Melanerpes carolinus y Myiarchus crinitus, en dos bosques en el norte de Florida. Los resultados provenientes de ambos bosques apoyan la hipótesis de depredación diferencial. Aunque durante la incubación las tasas diarias de supervivencia de los nidos dc las tres especies fueron similares, la principal causa de fracaso fue la falta de eclosión en P. borealis y la depredación para los dos ocupantes heteroespecificos. Durante el estadio de pichón, el éxito d...
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