Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Edge effect on bird nest predation in the fragmented caldén (Prosopis caldenia) forest of central Argentina: an experimental analysis

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Clearing of caldén (Prosopis caldenia) forests for agriculture and cattle raising in east-central La Pampa Province, central Argentina, has created a highly fragmented landscape, a condition that has resulted in adverse effects on birds in other forests, mainly through increased predation rates near forest edges. We evaluated bird nest predation rates using artificial nests, assessing the effects of forest fragment size, distance to the edge and nest height. We measured survival rate of 570 artificial nests located in trees, in bushes and on the ground, at different distances from the edge, in six forest fragments ranging in size from 2.1 to 117.6 ha, during two consecutive breeding seasons. Nest predation rates were significantly related with the number of days of exposition of the nest, nest height and distance to the edge, whereas fragment size and year of the experiment were not associated with predation rates. Ground nests were less likely to be predated than those located in bushes and trees. Predation rates decreased with the distance to the edge, showing a pattern consistent with the existence of an edge effect.

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
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrén H (1992) Corvid density and nest predation in relation to forest fragmentation: a landscape perspective. Ecology 73:794–804

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrén H, Angelstam P (1988) Elevated predation rate as an edge effects in habitat islands: experimental evidence. Ecology 69:544–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brand LA, George TL (2000) Predation risks for nesting birds in fragmented coast redwood forest. J Wildl Manag 64:42–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brittingham MC, Temple SA (1983) Have cowbirds cause forest songbirds to decline? Bioscience 33:31–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke DM, Elliott K, Moore L, Dunford W, Nol E, Phillips J, Holmes S, Freemark KE (2004) Patterns of nest predation on artificial and natural nests in forests. Conserv Biol 18:381–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera AL (1976) Regiones fitogeográficas argentinas. Enciclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería. Editorial ACME, Buenos Aires

    Google Scholar 

  • Crooks KR, Soulé ME (1999) Mesopredator release and avifauna extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature 400:563–566

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cueto VR, Mezquida ET (2001) Un equipo electromecánico económico para identificar depredadores de huevos en nidos artificiales. Hornero 16:71–75

    Google Scholar 

  • de la Peña MR (1987) Nidos y huevos de aves argentinas. Author’s edition

  • DeLong AK, Crawford JA, DeLong DC (1995) Relationships between vegetational structure and predation of artificial sage grouse nest. J Wildl Manag 59:88–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Rienzo JA, Casanoves F, Balzarini MG, González L, Tablada M, Robledo CW (2011) InfoStat versión 2011. Grupo InfoStat. FCA, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba

    Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson LM, Edenius L, Areskoug V, Meritt DA (2001) Nest-predation at the edge: an experimental study contrasting two types of edge in the dry Chaco, Paraguay. Ecography 24:742–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada A, Rivera A, Coates-Estrada R (2002) Predation of artificial nests in a fragmented landscape in the tropical region of Los Tuxtlas, México. Biol Conserv 106:199–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faaborg J (2004) Truly artificial nest studies. Conserv Biol 18:369–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenske-Crawford TJ, Niemi GJ (1997) Predation of artificial ground nests at two types of edges in a forest-dominated landscape. Condor 99:14–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming KK, Giuliano WM (2001) Reduced predation of artificial nest in border-edge cuts on woodlots. J Wildl Manag 65:351–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gates JE, Gysel LW (1978) Avian nest dispersion and fledging success in field-forest ecotones. Ecology 59:871–883

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Githiru M, Lens L, Cresswell W (2005) Nest predation in a fragmented Afrotropical forest: evidence from natural and artificial nests. Biol Conserv 123:189–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannon SJ, Cotterill SE (1998) Nest predation in Aspen woodlots in an agricultural area in Alberta: the enemy from within. Auk 115:16–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibañez-Álamo JD, Magrath RD, Oteyza JC, Chalfoun AD, Haff TM, Schmidt KA, Thomson RL, Martin TE (2015) Nest predation research: recent findings and future perspectives. J Ornithol 156:247–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyser AJ (2002) Nest predation in fragmented forests: landscape matrix by distance from the edge interactions. Wilson Bull 114:186–191

    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 Ornithol 70:257–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Lahti DC (2001) The “edge effect on predation” hypothesis after twenty years. Biol Conserv 99:365–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leimgruber P, McShea WJ, Rappole JH (1994) Predation on artificial nests in large forest blocks. J Wildl Manag 58:254–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lepczyk CA, Merting AG, Liu J (2003) Landowners and cat predation across rural-to-urban landscape. Biol Conserv 115:191–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis KP (2004) How important is the statistical approach for analyzing categorical data? A critique using artificial nests. Oikos 104:305–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenmayer DB, Franklin JF (2002) Conserving forest biodiversity: a comprehensive multiscaled approach. Island Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Linder ET, Bollinger EK (1995) Depredation of artificial Ovenbird nests in a forest patch. Wilson Bull 107:169–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Marini MA, Robinson SK, Heske EJ (1995) Edge effects on nest predation in the Shawnee National Forest, Southern Illinois. Biol Conserv 74:203–213

    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 

  • Mezquida ET, Marone L (2002) Microhabitat structure and avian nest predation risk in an open Argentinean woodland: an experimental study. Acta Oecol 23:313–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore RP, Robinson WD (2004) Artificial bird nests, external validity, and bias in ecological field studies. Ecology 85:1562–1567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Narosky T, Salvador S (1998) Nidificación de las aves argentinas: Tyrannidae. Asociación Ornitológica del Plata, Buenos Aires

    Google Scholar 

  • Nour N, Matthysen E, Dhondt AA (1993) Artificial nest predation and habitat fragmentation: different trends in bird and mammal predators. Ecography 16:111–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pangau-Adam MZ, Waltert M, Mühlenberg M (2006) Nest predations risk on ground and shrub nests in forest margin areas of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodivers Conserv 15:4143–4158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paton PW (1994) The effect of edge on avian nest success: How strong is the evidence? Conserv Biol 8:17–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piper SD, Catterall CP (2004) Effects of edge type and nest height on predation of artificial nest within subtropical Australian eucalypt forest. For Ecol Manag 203:361–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn GP, Keough MJ (2002) Experimental design and data analysis for biologists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Reitsma L (1992) Is nest predation density dependent? A test using artificial nests. Can J Zool 70:2498–24500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson SK (1992) Population dynamics of breeding Neotropical migrants in a fragmented Illinois landscape. In: Hagan JM, Johnson DH (eds) Ecology and conservation of Neotropical migrant landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 408–418

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson SK, Wilcove DS (1994) Forest fragmentation in the temperate zone and its effects on migratory songbirds. Bird Conserv Int 4:233–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos T, Tellería JL (1992) Edge effects on nest predation in Mediterranean fragmented forest. Biol Conserv 60:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saracco JF, Collazo JA (1999) Predation on artificial nest along three edge type in a North Carolina bottomland hardwood forest. Wilson Bull 111:541–549

    Google Scholar 

  • Saunders DA, Hobbs RJ, Margules CR (1991) Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Conserv Biol 5:18–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt KA (2003) Nest predation and population declines in Illinois songbirds: a case for mesopredator effects. Conserv Biol 17:1141–1150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Söderström B, Pärt T, Rydén J (1998) Different nest predator faunas and nest predation risk on ground and shrub nests at forest ecotones: an experiment and review. Oecologia 117:108–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sosa RA (2008) Efectos de la fragmentación del bosque de caldén sobre las comunidades de aves en el centro-este de La Pampa (PhD dissertation). Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires

    Google Scholar 

  • Suarez AV, Pfenning KS, Robinson SK (1997) Nesting success of a disturbance–dependent songbird on different kinds of edges. Conserv Biol 11:928–935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tellería JL, Díaz M (1995) Avian nest predation in a large natural gap of the Amazonian rainforest. J Field Ornithol 66:343–351

    Google Scholar 

  • Vetter D, Rücker G, Storch I (2013) A meta-analysis of tropical forest edge effects on bird nest predation risk: edge effects in avian nest predation. Biol Conserv 159:382–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villard MA, Pärt T (2004) Don’t put all your eggs in real nests: a sequel to Faaborg. Conserv Biol 18:371–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel RM (1985) Taxonomy and distribution of armadillos, Dasypodidae. In: Montgomery G (ed) The evolution and ecology of armadillos, sloths, and vermilinguas. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 23–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilcove DS (1985) Nest predation in forest tracts and the decline of migratory songbirds. Ecology 66:1211–1214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcove DS, McLellan CH, Dobson AP (1986) Habitat fragmentation in temperate zone. In: Soulé M (ed) Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer, Sunderland, pp 237–256

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yahner RH, Cypher BL (1987) Effects of nest location on depredation of artificial arboreal nests. J Wildl Manag 51:178–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yahner RH, Scott DP (1988) Effects of forest fragmentation on depredation of artificial nests. J Wildl Manag 52:158–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zanette L (2002) What do artificial nests tells 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 

  • Zuria I, Gates JE, Castellanos I (2007) Artificial nest predation in hedgerows and scrub forest in a human-dominated landscape of central Mexico. Acta Oecol 31:158–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Violeta Poggio, Daniela Caldentey and Marcos Reyes for their valuable help during fieldwork and Lyn C. Branch for language correction. The Torroba’s family made this work possible by giving permission to carry out fieldwork in their ranch. We thank handling editor and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which helped us to improve the manuscript. This study was supported by a grant (PI 020/RRNN) from the Departamento de Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, and Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research, National Academy of Sciences. All research was conducted in accordance with Argentinean laws and guidelines.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Investigaciones en Ecología de Comunidades Áridas y Semiáridas (EComAS), Departamento de Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Uruguay 151, L6300CLB, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina

    Ramón Alberto Sosa

  2. Depto. Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Ares, and IEGEBA (UBA-CONICET), Piso 4, Pabellón 2, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Javier Lopez de Casenave

Authors
  1. Ramón Alberto Sosa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Javier Lopez de Casenave
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ramón Alberto Sosa.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sosa, R.A., Lopez de Casenave, J. Edge effect on bird nest predation in the fragmented caldén (Prosopis caldenia) forest of central Argentina: an experimental analysis. Ecol Res 32, 129–134 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1421-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1421-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation