Visible marking of wader nests to avoid damage by farmers does not increase nest predation

Zámečník, Václav; Kubelka, Vojtěch; Šálek, Miroslav

doi:10.1017/s0959270916000617

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Nests were either marked with a short stick or not marked at all. Although sticks are sometimes thought to provide cues to predators, our experience is that the sticks we place do not affect nest survival; this aligns with other studies demonstrating there is no effect on marked lapwing and godwit nests (Salewski & Schmidt, 2020; Zámečník et al., 2018). To determine the lay date of nests found in the laying phase, we assumed that godwits lay one egg per day (Cramp & Simmons, 1983).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 86%

Do ditch‐side electric fences improve the breeding productivity of ground‐nesting waders?

Verhoeven

Loonstra

Pringle

et al. 2022

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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1. Insufficient reproduction as a consequence of predation on eggs and chicks is a major determinant of population decline in ground-nesting birds, including waders. For many populations, there is an urgent need to maintain breeding populations at key sites, and conservation practitioners need to find viable management solutions to reduce predation.2. One tool available to the practitioner is fences that exclude key predators from areas containing breeding birds. Temporary electric fencing is an increasingly popular predator exclusion intervention, but such fences have costs associated with purchase and the time needed to erect and maintain them. Their effectiveness and optimal application are also frequently questioned.3. We evaluate the use of temporary ditch-side four-strand electric fences in lowland grasslands in two countries, The Netherlands and England, in areas containing high densities of breeding waders.4. In both countries and in all years, godwit and lapwing nest survival was significantly higher within areas enclosed by ditch-side electric fences. Brood survival, assessed for godwits in The Netherlands, was also higher within fenced areas in all years. This demonstrates that using temporary electric fences to enclose ground-nesting birds can be an effective tool for improving breeding productivity. In our study, closely managed electric fences were effective at excluding red foxesVulpes vulpes, but not avian and other mammalian predators. The positive effect that electric fencing had on nest and brood survival therefore likely results from a reduction in the total number of visits by mammalian predators, and especially visits by foxes.6. Although it requires a substantial time investment throughout the period of use, our temporary electric fence design provides flexibility compared to other fence designs when it comes to enclosing different areas within a season and betweenThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 86%

Do ditch‐side electric fences improve the breeding productivity of ground‐nesting waders?

Verhoeven

Loonstra

Pringle

et al. 2022

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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“…Additionally, other markers such as sticks at nests of Black-tailed Godwits and Northern Lapwing did not increase predation (Beintema and Müskens 1987, Zámecnik et al . 2018; see also Hannon et al 1993). In contrast, a higher predation rate of clutches equipped with cameras compared to clutches without cameras was found in the White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis (Cantar and Montgomerie 1985).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Nest cameras do not affect nest survival in a meadow-nesting shorebird

Salewski¹,

Schmidt²

2020

Bird Conservation International

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Summary Identifying the fate of birds’ nests and the causes of breeding failure is often crucial for the development of conservation strategies for threatened species. However, collecting these data by repeatedly visiting nests might itself contribute to nest failure or bias. To solve this dilemma, automatic cameras have increasingly been used as a time-efficient means for nest monitoring. Here, we consider whether the use of cameras itself may influence hatching success of nests of the Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa at two long-term study sites in northern Germany. Annually between 2013 and 2019, cameras were used to monitor godwit nests. In 2014 and 2019, nests were randomly equipped with cameras or not, and nest survival checked independently of the cameras. Nest-survival models indicated that survival probabilities varied between years, sites and with time of the season, but were unaffected by the presence of cameras. Even though predation is the main cause of hatching failure in our study system, we conclude that predators did not learn to associate cameras with food either when the cameras were initially installed or after they had been used for several years. Cameras were thus an effective and non-deleterious tool to collect data for conservation in this case. As other bird species may react differently to cameras at their nests, and as other sets of predators may differ in their ability to associate cameras with food, the effect of cameras on breeding success should be carefully monitored when they are used in a new study system.

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“…Nest protection requires careful consideration of potential trade-offs and should also be combined with habitat improvement for chicks to avoid creating an ecological trap (Kentie et al, 2013). Leaving unmown patches around or using markers at individual nests may reduce agricultural nest loss, but increase vulnerability to predation (Kragten, Nagel, & De Snoo, 2008;Kentie et al, 2015; but see Zámečník, Kubelka, & Šálek, 2018). While effective at increasing nest survival (Pauliny, Larsson, & Blomqvist, 2008;Smith, Pullin, Stewart, & Sutherland, 2011), nest cages are unlikely to benefit chick survival and may potentially increase predation risk of incubating adults or result in nest abandonment (Isaksson, Wallander, & Larsson, 2007).…”

Section: Nest Protection and Predator Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation measures for European grassland‐breeding waders

Franks

Roodbergen

Teunissen

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Farmland birds are among the most threatened bird species in Europe, largely as a result of agricultural intensification which has driven widespread biodiversity losses. Breeding waders associated with grassland and arable habitats are particularly vulnerable and a frequent focus of agri‐environment schemes (AES) designed to halt and reverse population declines. We review existing literature, providing a quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of policy and management interventions used throughout Europe to improve population and demographic metrics of grassland‐breeding waders. Targeted AES and site protection measures were more likely to be effective than less targeted AES and were ten times more likely to be effective than would be expected by chance, particularly for population trend and productivity metrics. Positive effects of AES and site protection did not appear synergistic. Management interventions which had the greatest chance of increasing population growth or productivity included modification of mowing regimes, increasing wet conditions, and the use of nest protection. Success rates varied according to the species and metric being evaluated. None of the policy or management interventions we evaluated were associated with a significant risk of negative impacts on breeding waders. Our findings support the use of agri‐environment schemes, site protection, and management measures for grassland‐breeding wader conservation in Europe. Due to publication bias, our findings are most applicable to intensively managed agricultural landscapes. More studies are needed to identify measures that increase chick survival. Despite broadly effective conservation measures already in use, grassland‐breeding waders in Europe continue to decline. More research is needed to improve the likelihood and magnitude of positive outcomes, coupled with wider implementation of effective measures to substantially increase favorable land management for these species.

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Visible marking of wader nests to avoid damage by farmers does not increase nest predation

Cited by 16 publications

References 20 publications

Do ditch‐side electric fences improve the breeding productivity of ground‐nesting waders?

Do ditch‐side electric fences improve the breeding productivity of ground‐nesting waders?

Nest cameras do not affect nest survival in a meadow-nesting shorebird

Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation measures for European grassland‐breeding waders

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