Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Artificial nest predation rates vary among habitats in the Australian monsoon tropics

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Rates of nest predation have frequently been shown to differ between fragmented and unfragmented habitats, but have rarely been compared among natural habitats in the same geographic region. In this study, artificial nests of two types (open cup and domed) were placed in four habitats (mangroves, monsoon rainforests, eucalypt woodlands and paperbark swamps) over 12 months in three localities near Darwin in the Australian monsoon tropics to determine the effects of habitat, season and nest type on the rate of nest predation. A quail egg and a similarly coloured plasticine egg were placed in each nest. Habitat had a strong effect on nest predation rates, with nests in mangroves experiencing predation rates more than four times higher than those in eucalypt woodlands and paperbark swamps. Despite the strong rainfall seasonality of the region, there was no consistent seasonal variation in nest predation rates. Nest type also had little influence on predation rates, except in paperbark swamps where open cup nests suffered a higher predation rate than domed nests. The study indicates that generalised nest predation rates for tropical regions, even for small areas (e.g. <17 km radius), might overlook substantial variation between habitats. Such variation confounds purported differences in nest predation rates between tropical and temperate regions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Angelstam P (1986) Predation on ground-nesting birds’ nests in relation to predator densities and habitat edge. Oikos 47:365–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayne EM, Hobson KA, Fargey P (1997) Predation on artificial nests in relation to forest type: contrasting the use of quail and plasticine eggs. Ecography 20:233–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry L (2002) Predation rates of artificial nests in the edge and interior of a southern Victorian forest. Wildl Res 29:341–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry L, Lill A (2003) Do predation rates on artificial nests accurately predict predation rates on natural nests. The effects of nest type, egg type and nest site characteristics. Emu 103:207–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosque C, Bosque MT (1995) Nest predation as a selective factor in the evolution of developmental rates in altricial birds. Am Nat 145:234–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown GP, Shine R, Madsen T (2002) Responses of three sympatric snake species to tropical seasonality in northern Australia. J Trop Ecol 18:549–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Christian KA, Corbett LK, Green B, Weavers BW (1995) Seasonal activity and energetics of two species of varanid lizards in tropical Australia. Oecologia 103:349–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collias NE, Collias EC (1984) Nest building and bird behaviour. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards A, Hauser P, Anderson M, McCartney J, Armstrong M, Thackway R, Allan G, Hempel C, Russell-Smith J (2001) A tale of two parks: contemporary fire regimes of Litchfield and Nitmiluk National Parks, monsoonal northern Australia. Int J Wild Fire 10:79–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford HA, Tremont S (2000) Life history characteristics of two Australian honeyeaters (Meliphagidae). Aust J Zool 48:21–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frith CB, Frith DW, Jansen A (1997) The nesting biology of the Chowchilla Orthonyx spaldingii (Orthonychidae). Emu 97:18–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulton GR, Ford HA (2001) The Pied Currawong’s role in avian nest predation: a predator removal experiment. Pac Conserv Biol 7:154–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulton GR, Ford HA (2003) Quail eggs, modelling clay eggs, imprints and small mammals in an Australian woodland. Emu 103:255–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner JL (1998) Experimental evidence for edge-related predation in a fragmented agricultural landscape. Aust J Ecol 23:311–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George TL (1987) Greater land bird densities on island vs mainland: relation to nest predation level. Ecology 68:1393–1400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs JP (1991) Avian nest predation in tropical wet forest: an experimental study. Oikos 60:155–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haskell DG (1995) Forest fragmentation and nest predation: are experiments with Japanese Quail eggs misleading? Auk 112:767–770

    Google Scholar 

  • Hausmann F, Catterall CP, Piper SD (2004) Effects of edge habitat and nest site characteristics on depredation of artificial nests in fragmented Australian tropical rainforest. Biodivers Conserv 14:2331–2345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillborn R, Mangel M (1997) The ecological detective confronting models with data. Princeton University Press, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Janzen DH (1978) Predation intensity on eggs on the ground in two Costa Rican forests. Am Mid Nat 100:467–470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King DI, DeGraaf RM, Griffin CR, Maier TJ (1999) Do predation rates on artificial nests accurately reflect predation rates on natural bird nests? J Field Orn 70:257–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Grant JD (1994) Photographic identification of ground-nest predators in Australian tropical rainforests. Wildl Res 21:241–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Garesche J, Payne W (1993) Avian nest predation in modified and natural habitats in tropical Queensland: an experimental study. Wildl Res 20:711–723

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larivière S (1999) Reasons why predators cannot be inferred from nest remains. Condor 101:718–721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey JK (1999) Models for repeated measurements, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Loiselle BA, Hoppes WG (1983) Nest predation in insular and mainland lowland rain forest in Panama. Condor 85:93–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Major RE, Christie FJ, Gowing G, Ivison TJ (1999) Elevated rates of predation on artificial nests in linear strips of habitat. J Field Orn 70:351–364

    Google Scholar 

  • Major RE, Gowing G, Kendal CE (1996) Nest predation in Australian urban environments and the role of the pied currawong, Strepera graculina. Aust J Ecol 21:399–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Major RE, Kendal CE (1996) The contribution of artificial nest experiments to understanding avian reproductive success: a review of methods and conclusions. Ibis 138:298–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Major RE, Pyke GH, Christy MT, Gowling G, Hill RS (1994) Can nest predation explain the timing of the breeding season and the pattern of nest dispersion of New Holland Honeyeaters? Oikos 69:364–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marini MA, Melo C (1998) Predators of quail eggs, and the evidence of the remains: implications for nest predation studies. Condor 100:395–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin TE (1987) Artificial nest experiments: effects of nest appearance and type of predator. Condor 89:925–928

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin TE (1993) Nest predation and nest sites: new perspectives on old patterns. Bioscience 43:523–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin TE (2002) A new view of avian life-history evolution tested on an incubation paradox. Proc R Soc Lond B 269:309–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin TE, Li P (1992) Life history traits of open- vs cavity-nesting birds. Ecology 73:579–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin TE, Scott J, Menge C (2000) Nest predation increases with parental activity: separating nest site and parental activity effects. Proc R Soc Lond B 267:2287–2293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mayfield HF (1975) Suggestions for calculating nest success. Wilson Bull 87:456–466

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulyani Y (2004) Reproductive ecology of tropical mangrove-dwelling warblers: the roles of nest predation, brood parasitism and food limitation. Ph.D. thesis, Charles Darwin University, Darwin

  • Noske RA (1998) Breeding biology, demography and success of the Rufous-banded Honeyeater Conopophila albogularis in Darwin, a monsoonal tropical city. Wildl Res 25:339–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noske RA (1999) Notes on the breeding biology of the tropical mangrove-dwelling Yellow White-eye Zosterops luteus. Aust Bird Watcher 18:3–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Noske RA (2001) The breeding biology of the Mangrove Gerygone Gerygone laevigaster in the Darwin region, with notes on brood parasitism by the Little Bronze-cuckoo Chrysococcyx minutillis. Emu 101:129–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noske RA, Franklin DC (1999) Breeding seasons of land birds in the Australian monsoon tropics: diverse responses to a highly seasonal environment. Aust Biol 12:72–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Oniki Y (1979) Is nesting success of birds low in the tropics? Biotrop 11:60–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortega CP, Ortega JC, Rapp C, Backensto SA (1998) Validating the use of artificial nests in predation experiments. J Wildl Manage 62:925–932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pärt T, Wretenberg J (2002) Do artificial nests reveal relative nest predation risk for real nests? J Avian Biol 33:39–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro JC, Bates DM (2000) Mixed-effects models in S and S-PLUS. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Rangen SA, Clark RG, Hobson KA (2000) Visual and olfactory attributes of artificial nests. Auk 117:136–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs RE (1969) The nesting cycle of songbirds in tropical and temperate regions. Living Bird 8:165–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson D (1990) The nesting ecology of sympatric Scarlet Robin Petroica multicolor and Flame Robin P. phoenicea in open eucalyptus forest. Emu 90:40–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson WD, Robinson TR, Robinson SK, Brawn JD (2000) Nesting success of understory forest birds in central Panama. J Avian Biol 31:151–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roper JJ (1992) Nest predation experiments with quail eggs: too much to swallow? Oikos 65:528–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roper JJ (2003) Nest-sites influence nest predation differently at natural and experimental nests. Orn Neotrop 14:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Savidge JA, Seibert TF (1988) An infrared trigger and camera to identify predators at artificial nests. J Wildl Manage 52:291–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semenuik V (1985) Mangrove environments of Port Darwin, Northern Territory: the physical framework and habitats. J R Soc West Aust 67:81–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Shine R (1991) Australian snakes: a natural history. Reed Books, Balgowlah, NSW, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Skutch AF (1966) A breeding bird census and nesting success in Central America. Ibis 108:1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slagsvold T (1982) Clutch size variation in tropical birds: the nest predation hypothesis. Oecologia 54:159–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Söderström B (1999) Artificial nest predation rates in tropical and temperate forests: a review of the effects of edge and nest site. Ecography 22:455–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stutchbury BJM, Morton ES (2001) Behavioural ecology of tropical birds. Academic, San Diego, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor JA, Tulloch D (1985) Rainfall in the wet-dry tropics: extreme events at Darwin and similarities between years during period, 1870–1983 inclusive. Aust J Ecol 10:281–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor LNH, Ford HA (1998) Predation of artificial nests in a fragmented landscape on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales. Wildl Res 25:587–594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weidinger K (2002) Interactive effects of concealment, parental behaviour and predators on the survival of open passerine nests. J Anim Ecol 71:424–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whelan CJ, Dilger ML, Robson D, Hallyn N, Dilger S (1994) Effects of olfactory cues on artificial-nest experiments. Auk 111:945–952

    Google Scholar 

  • Wightman GM (1989) Mangroves of the Northern Territory. Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Willebrand T, Marcström V (1988) On the danger of using dummy nests to study predation. Auk 105:378–379

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson BA, Bowman DMJS (1987) Fire, storm, flood and drought: the vegetation ecology of Howard’s Peninsula, Northern Territory, Australia. Aust J Ecol 12:165–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson BA, Brocklehurst PS, Clark MJ, Dickinson KJM (1990) Vegetation survey of the Northern Territory, Australia. Technical report No. 49. Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson GR, Brittingham MC, Goodrich LJ (1998) How well do artificial nests estimate success of real nests? Condor 100:357–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woinarski JCZ, Tidemann SC, Kerin S (1988) Birds in a tropical mosaic: the distribution of bird species in relation to vegetation patterns. Aust Wildl Res 15:171–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yahner RH, Morrell TE, Rachael JS (1989) Effects of edge contrast on depredation of artificial avian nests. J Wildl Manage 53:1135–1138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zanette L (2002) What do artificial nests tell us about nest predation? Biol Conserv 103:323–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zanette L, Jenkins B (2000) Nesting success and nest predators in forest fragments: a study using real and artificial nests. Auk 117:445–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann UM (1996) Ecology of the monsoon-rainforest endemic Rainbow Pitta Pitta iris. Ph.D. thesis, Northern Territory University, Darwin

  • Zimmermann UM, Noske RA (2003) Breeding biology of the rainbow pitta Pitta iris, a species endemic to Australian monsoon-tropical rainforests. Emu 103:245–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The fieldwork for this study was conducted by SF as part of her B.Sc. Honours at Charles Darwin University (formerly Northern Territory University). We thank Peter Whitehead, Key Centre of Tropical Wildlife Management, for financial support. SF thanks Robert and Yvonne Fischer, Julie Marriott, Peter Phillpott, Rosalinda Isorena, Mike Bellamy, Philip McMahon, Bineeta Sharma and all Library staff at CDU for their support over the 2 years of the project. The Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory gave permission to work in the Territory Wildlife Park, Howard Springs and Holmes Jungle, and we thanks the staff in these Parks, especially Brian Delaney and Jasmine Jan. We extend our sincere thanks to Pacific Dunlop, Australia, for their donation of 300 tennis balls. Quail eggs were supplied by The Game Farm, NSW. Finally we thank Hugh Ford and an anonymous referee for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science and Primary Industries, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, 0909, Australia

    Richard A. Noske & Sarah Fischer

  2. Key Centre for Tropical Wildlife Management, School of Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, 0909, Australia

    Barry W. Brook

  3. Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Barry W. Brook

Authors
  1. Richard A. Noske
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sarah Fischer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Barry W. Brook
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard A. Noske.

About this article

Cite this article

Noske, R.A., Fischer, S. & Brook, B.W. Artificial nest predation rates vary among habitats in the Australian monsoon tropics. Ecol Res 23, 519–527 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-007-0403-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-007-0403-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation