Greater Sage-grouse Nest Predators in the Virginia Mountains of northwestern Nevada

Lockyer, Zachary B.; Coates, Peter S.; Casazza, Michael L.; Espinosa, Shawn P.; Delehanty, David J.

doi:10.3996/122012-jfwm-110

Cited by 19 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Gopher snakes may be wrongly generalizing from nests and eggs of smaller birds (stimulus generalization; Hanson ), as they are likely able to consume the eggs of smaller duck species (e.g., cinnamon teal) and ground‐nesting game‐birds and passerines that nest sympatrically with mallard and gadwall at our study site. Lockyer et al () observed similar behavior among gopher snakes attempting to depredate greater sage‐grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) nests in northern Nevada, USA. Alternatively, gopher snakes may be visiting nests for the opportunity to consume ducklings; we observed gopher snakes depredating ducklings at 2 nests shortly after hatch (see also Lockyer et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Lockyer et al () observed similar behavior among gopher snakes attempting to depredate greater sage‐grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) nests in northern Nevada, USA. Alternatively, gopher snakes may be visiting nests for the opportunity to consume ducklings; we observed gopher snakes depredating ducklings at 2 nests shortly after hatch (see also Lockyer et al ). Snakes may have indirect, non‐lethal effects on nest success by influencing the behavior of female ducks (Luttbeg and Kerby , Cresswell , Murray et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Duck nest depredation, predator behavior, and female response using video

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Depredation plays an important role in determining duck nest success and predator and female duck behavior during nest depredation can influence nest fate. We examined depredation of mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and gadwall (A. strepera) nests in Suisun Marsh, California, USA, in 2015–2016 with continuous infrared video monitoring to identify nest predators and characterize predator and female duck behavior during depredation events. We recorded predators at 44% of 147 nests monitored. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) were the most frequent predator observed at nests (40% of nests visited and 53% of depredated eggs) followed by striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis; 27% and 27%), coyotes (Canis latrans; 4% and 9%), common ravens (Corvus corax; 4% and 9%), gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer catenifer; 19% and 0%), and western yellow‐bellied racers (Coluber constrictor mormon; 1% and 0%). The number of eggs depredated per depredation bout varied among predators (raccoons: 7.3 eggs; skunks: 2.5; coyotes: 7.4; ravens: 7.7; and snakes: 0.0). Mammal depredation occurred between 1600 and 0400, whereas snakes and ravens were observed at nests during the day (snakes: 1000–2100; ravens: 1700). Females flushed from nests immediately before predator arrival (x¯ = 29.0 ± 16.6 [SD] sec), and this timing did not vary among predators. However, the length of nest depredation bouts varied among predators. Nest visits by gopher snakes were longer (18.6 ± 19.4 min) than depredation bouts by other predators (12.3 ± 10.7 min), but snakes did not successfully consume any eggs. Females took more time to return to nests when nests were depredated by raccoons (239 ± 137 min), whereas females returned more quickly when nests were visited by skunks (81 ± 163 min) or gopher snakes (15 ± 128 min). Partial clutch depredation occurred at 15% of depredated nests, but only 23% of partially depredated nests successfully hatched ≥1 egg. Our results indicate that predator type and behavior can influence female behavior and nest fate, and that management actions that reduce the effectiveness of raccoons and skunks encountering waterfowl nests may benefit these nesting populations. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Duck nest depredation, predator behavior, and female response using video

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The nest was active, with three young common raven chicks present; however, we were unable to find any additional greater sage-grouse eggs or fragments around the rocky outcrop. This could be attributed to our late-season visit, as common raven predation of greater sage-grouse nests occur most frequently during the early incubation period Lockyer et al 2013). …”

Section: Methods and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Continuous video monitoring of greater sagegrouse nests has unambiguously identified common ravens as a primary egg predator responsible for 46.7 to 59.0% of nest predations in some areas of Nevada Lockyer et al 2013). However, information is lacking regarding the quantity of greater sage-grouse eggs an individual common raven consumes during the greater sage-grouse nesting period, and the extent to which common ravens actively hunt greater sage-grouse nests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations of Territorial Breeding Common Ravens Caching Eggs of Greater Sage-Grouse

Howe

Coates

2015

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous investigations using continuous video monitoring of greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus nests have unambiguously identified common ravens Corvus corax as an important egg predator within the western United States. The quantity of greater sage-grouse eggs an individual common raven consumes during the nesting period and the extent to which common ravens actively hunt greater sage-grouse nests are largely unknown. However, some evidence suggests that territorial breeding common ravens, rather than nonbreeding transients, are most likely responsible for nest depredations. We describe greater sage-grouse egg depredation observations obtained opportunistically from three common raven nests located in Idaho and Nevada where depredated greater sage-grouse eggs were found at or in the immediate vicinity of the nest site, including the caching of eggs in nearby rock crevices. We opportunistically monitored these nests by counting and removing depredated eggs and shell fragments from the nest sites during each visit to determine the extent to which the common raven pairs preyed on greater sage-grouse eggs. To our knowledge, our observations represent the first evidence that breeding, territorial pairs of common ravens cache greater sage-grouse eggs and are capable of depredating multiple greater sage-grouse nests.

show abstract

“…For example, ravens prey on the eggs and young of endangered desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii; Boarman, 1993), California condor (Gymnogyps californianus; Snyder and Snyder, 1989), California least tern (Sterna antillarum browni; Avery et al, 1995), Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus; Burrell and Colwell, 2012), and Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus; Peery et al, 2004). Raven abundance is positively correlated with depredation of eggs and nestlings of birds (Andr en, 1992;Luginbuhl et al, 2001), including greater sagegrouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse; Coates and Delehanty, 2010;Lockyer et al, 2013). Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that sage-grouse incubation behavior is influenced by presence of ravens and sage-grouse avoid avian predators when selecting nesting and brood rearing locations (Dinkins et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Common raven occurrence in relation to energy transmission line corridors transiting human-altered sagebrush steppe

Coates

Howe

Casazza

et al. 2014

Journal of Arid Environments

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tEnergy-related infrastructure and other human enterprises within sagebrush steppe of the American West often results in changes that promote common raven (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven) populations. Ravens, a generalist predator capable of behavioral innovation, present a threat to many species of conservation concern. We evaluate the effects of detailed features of an altered landscape on the probability of raven occurrence using extensive raven survey (n ¼ 1045) and mapping data from southern Idaho, USA. We found nonlinear relationships between raven occurrence and distances to transmission lines, roads, and facilities. Most importantly, raven occurrence was greater with presence of transmission lines up to 2.2 km from the corridor. We further explain variation in raven occurrence along anthropogenic features based on the amount of non-native vegetation and cover type edge, such that ravens select fragmented sagebrush stands with patchy, exotic vegetative introgression. Raven occurrence also increased with greater length of edge formed by the contact of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp.) with non-native vegetation cover types. In consideration of increasing alteration of sagebrush steppe, these findings will be useful for planning energy transmission corridor placement and other management activities where conservation of sagebrush obligate species is a priority.Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).

show abstract

Greater Sage-grouse Nest Predators in the Virginia Mountains of northwestern Nevada

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Duck nest depredation, predator behavior, and female response using video

Duck nest depredation, predator behavior, and female response using video

Observations of Territorial Breeding Common Ravens Caching Eggs of Greater Sage-Grouse

Common raven occurrence in relation to energy transmission line corridors transiting human-altered sagebrush steppe

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About