Nest Predators of North American Birds: Continental Patterns and Implications

DeGregorio, Brett A.; Chiavacci, Scott J.; Benson, Thomas J.; Sperry, Jinelle H.

doi:10.1093/biosci/biw071

Cited by 69 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Cox, Pruett, et al, ; Prinz, Taank, Voegeli, & Walters, ). Depending on the diversity of the nest predator community (DeGregorio et al., ), intensive nest monitoring may need to occur over several years to collect the sample sizes needed to reliably model how individual predator species are related to land cover types at multiple landscape scales, similar to our approach. Once these relationships are assessed, practitioners could employ structured decision making to pinpoint optimal strategies for reducing predation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, because some predators are also prey for other predators (e.g. small mammals depredated by snakes; Weatherhead, Blouin‐Demers, & Cavey, ), reducing dominant species may cause sub‐dominant predators to proliferate (sensu DeGregorio et al., ). In addition, the ecology of nesting species should be considered, as different species may interact with predators and habitat conditions in currently unrecognised ways.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cox, Thompson, et al, ; Lyons et al., ; Reidy & Thompson, ; Rodewald & Kearns, ), presumably under the assumption that the focal scale is the most influential to predation. Although such an approach may reveal some patterns, variability is likely to be left unexplained because nest predator communities often comprise species varying in size, diet, behaviour and habitat use (DeGregorio, Chiavacci, Benson, Sperry, & Weatherhead, ), leading to differences in how each predator interacts with and perceives its surrounding landscape. For example, the generally positive relationship between body size and home range size (Swihart, Slade, & Bergstrom, ) suggests that small and large predators are likely influenced differently by landscape composition at a particular scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linking landscape composition to predator‐specific nest predation requires examining multiple landscape scales

Chiavacci

Benson

Ward

2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Landscape composition around bird nests can strongly influence nest predation, a major cause of reproductive failure for many species. Understanding this relationship may improve the effectiveness of management actions aimed at reducing predation. Despite attempts to link landscape composition to nest predation, consistent patterns have proven elusive, likely because studies often examine only one landscape scale, thereby overlooking scale‐specific interactions between predators and landscape features. To demonstrate the value of incorporating scale‐dependence when connecting nest predation to landscape composition, we identified predators and analysed predator‐specific patterns among land cover types at four scales (200 m, 500 m, 1 km, 2.5 km). We video monitored 468 nests of 22 shrub‐nesting bird species, documented 212 predation events, and modelled relationships between landscape composition and predation by seven common predators. The direction and strength of predator‐specific relationships varied among land cover types and scales. No single scale best predicted predation by all predators, though effects appeared to be stronger at larger scales. Two ecologically similar predators (fox snakes [Pantherophis vulpinus] and black ratsnakes [P. obsoletus]) showed contrasting relationships with different land cover types and one commonly cited predator (raccoon [Procyon lotor]) showed positive and negative links to developed cover across scales. Synthesis and applications. Our results illustrate that elucidating the complex relationships between different nest predator species and the landscape composition surrounding nests requires the incorporation of scale‐dependence. Although such an undertaking may involve intensive nest monitoring to identify predators, it can provide managers with a more complete understanding of the linkages between predation and the landscape surrounding nests. With this knowledge, managers could employ structured decision making in an adaptive management framework to identify optimal strategies that address nest predation and allow them to confront potentially unexpected changes in predation patterns following management actions. Ultimately, by acknowledging that predator species differ in their relationships with landscape composition among different landscape scales, and incorporating this fact into future research, we can improve our ability to focus management on the habitats and scales most likely to impact predators of interest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linking landscape composition to predator‐specific nest predation requires examining multiple landscape scales

Chiavacci

Benson

Ward

2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…First, we assumed that an important part of nest mortality is caused by visually oriented predators, which seems to be true (Weidinger 2010, DeGregorio et al 2016. Instead, they point to a role for sexual selection, mutual mate choice, and migration strategy in shaping the extraordinary variation in dichromatism exhibited by passerine birds.…”

Section: Exposed Patchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Broad‐scale variation in sexual dichromatism in songbirds is not explained by sex differences in exposure to predators during incubation

Matysioková

Remeš

Cockburn

2017

Journal of Avian Biology

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The evolution of sexual dichromatism provoked one of the greatest disagreements between Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. According to Darwin the main driving force is sexual selection, whereby choosy females prefer showy males, leading to the evolution of conspicuous male plumage. On the other hand, Wallace suggested that dichromatism may arise because nest predation favors more cryptic females. To test the role of natural selection in the evolution of dichromatism we combined quantitative data on differences in parental share in nest attentiveness (representing the strength of natural selection on males vs females) with spectrophotometric measurements of dichromatism in 412 species of songbirds from 69 families. We expected to find stronger dichromatism in open‐nesting species with more divergent parental roles and in body parts exposed during incubation. Dichromatism was not related to the differences in parental share during incubation, but it was most pronounced in lekking species, migrants, and small species. Our results thus suggest that Wallace's hypothesis is not able to explain broad‐scale variation in the dichromatism of songbirds, but point to a role for sexual selection, mutual mate choice, and migration strategy in shaping the extraordinary variation in dichromatism exhibited by songbirds.

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“…Overall, gains in the probability of nest success for birds nesting in boxes with predator guards ranged from −0.2% (western bluebird) to 15.7% (Carolina wren). The average 6.7% difference is biologically meaningful in light of recent evidence that, for birds that nest in open cups, the perceptible difference between “high” and “low” probability of nest predation at the continental scale was 3.4% (DeGregorio et al ). Some local‐scale studies, however, have documented more significant gains in nest success attributed to predator guards, including a 31% increase in nesting success in one study of black‐bellied whistling‐ducks ( Dendrocygna autumnalis ) in Texas, USA (Bolen ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Predator guards on nest boxes improve nesting success of birds

Bailey

Bonter

2017

Wildl. Soc. Bull.

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Humans have long provided nest boxes in a widespread and popular effort to augment nesting sites for cavity‐nesting birds. Nest boxes, however, may provide easy access for predators and thereby create ecological traps for nesting birds. Predator exclusion techniques are often deployed at nest boxes to reduce nest predation, but few studies have tested their performance. For the first time, we test the effectiveness of predator guards in promoting the nesting success of multiple species of birds at a large spatial scale (United States and Canada). We used nest fate data from 24,114 nest records submitted from 2014 to 2016 to NestWatch, a citizen‐science program focused on quantifying nesting success, to determine whether installing predator guards on nest boxes is an effective management technique. Across all species, top models predicting daily nest survival rates suggest a positive influence of predator guards, with a nearly 7% increase in nest success for attempts in boxes with guards versus attempts in boxes without guards. At the species level, nest survival was greater for individuals nesting in boxes with guards in 7 of 9 species, with no effect in the remaining 2 species. Although all types of guards were correlated with improved nesting success, birds nesting in boxes with cone‐type baffles, stovepipe baffles, or entrance hole extenders were most likely to result in successful nesting. Further, birds nesting in boxes with multiple predator guards were more successful, on average, than birds nesting in boxes with only a single guard. Our results can help managers of cavity‐nesting birds incorporate science‐based evidence into decision‐making and allocate resources more effectively. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

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Nest Predators of North American Birds: Continental Patterns and Implications

Cited by 69 publications

References 57 publications

Linking landscape composition to predator‐specific nest predation requires examining multiple landscape scales

Linking landscape composition to predator‐specific nest predation requires examining multiple landscape scales

Broad‐scale variation in sexual dichromatism in songbirds is not explained by sex differences in exposure to predators during incubation

Predator guards on nest boxes improve nesting success of birds

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