Exclusion of ground predators improves Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus chick survival

Abstract

Many farmland‐breeding wader species have declined across Europe, probably due to reductions in reproductive output caused by high nest losses as a result of agriculture or predation, or low chick survival between hatching and fledging. Most studies have focused on nest failures, and the factors affecting post‐hatching survival of chicks are poorly known. In an experimental approach, we fenced parts of the arable foraging areas of Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus families to quantify chick survival simultaneously in the presence and absence of ground predators. Lapwing chicks were radiotagged to estimate survival probabilities by daily locations, applying multistate capture–recapture models. During the night, chick survival was considerably lower outside fenced plots than within. During the day, chick survival was higher than at night and did not differ between protected and unprotected plots. This suggests that nocturnal ground predators such as Red Foxes Vulpes vulpes were responsible for a significant proportion of chick mortality. Cumulative survival probability from hatching to fledging was 0.24 in chicks within fenced plots, but virtually zero in chicks outside fenced plots. In farmland, temporary electric fences can be effective in minimizing the impact of ground predators and offer a promising short‐term method to increase fledging success of precocial birds.

Soil pH and organic matter content add explanatory power to Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus distribution models and suggest soil amendment as a conservation measure on upland farmland

“…, Rickenbach et al . ), successful reversal of national population declines of wader populations on agricultural land remains elusive (Kleijn et al . , Baker et al .…”

Bridging the research implementation gap – Identifying cost-effective protection measures for Montagu’s harrier nests in Spanish farmlands

“…Predation may thus explain the lower productivity observed at nests under this protection measure compared to removal or relocation and delay harvest, where the chicks are instead in a less conspicuous environment and thus less detectable by predators. Nest predation is recognized as perhaps the major cause of nestling mortality (Martin, 1995), particularly for ground-nesting species (Rickenbach et al 2011;Schekkerman et al 2009) and is often dependent on nest concealment (see e.g. (Gillis et al 2012).…”

Post‐fledging survival of altricial birds: ecological determinants and adaptation

“…Parents provide limited post‐hatching care, e.g., guiding young to food resources and protecting them from predators (e.g., Dreitz , Rickenbach et al. ). The period of chick growth and coherence of families may nevertheless be remarkably long and the precocial reproductive strategy is generally described as “slow”, with relatively slow chick growth rates and low parental investment per chick.…”