The balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors
Predation of indigenous birds by ship rats (Rattus rattus, [Muridae]) is an international conservation crisis and has been implicated in the decline of many endemic species. Effective management of threatened ecosystems relies on accurate assessments of invasive species impacts on native wildlife. T...
Published in: | Avian Conservation and Ecology |
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Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2018
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01284-130211 https://doaj.org/article/213e8a5539094b05ad4c96aa9326a19f |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:213e8a5539094b05ad4c96aa9326a19f 2023-05-15T18:05:41+02:00 The balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors Nyree Fea Stephen Hartley 2018-12-01 https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01284-130211 https://doaj.org/article/213e8a5539094b05ad4c96aa9326a19f en eng Resilience Alliance 1712-6568 doi:10.5751/ACE-01284-130211 https://doaj.org/article/213e8a5539094b05ad4c96aa9326a19f undefined Avian Conservation and Ecology, Vol 13, Iss 2, p 11 (2018) density impact function fantail introduced mammals predation Rattus envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2018 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01284-130211 2023-01-22T19:30:59Z Predation of indigenous birds by ship rats (Rattus rattus, [Muridae]) is an international conservation crisis and has been implicated in the decline of many endemic species. Effective management of threatened ecosystems relies on accurate assessments of invasive species impacts on native wildlife. To quantify the link between ship rat abundance and survival of small, endemic birds we investigated the prevalence of rat predation on nesting New Zealand Fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa placabilis, [Rhipiduridae]), and its importance relative to other risk factors such as nest microsite. We surveyed 106 nests across forested reserves in Wellington City, New Zealand. Local abundance of ship rats was indexed using chew-cards placed around the nest and with tracking tunnels throughout reserves. We modeled the effects of ship rat abundance, weather, observer impact, and attributes of the nest for their influence on nest survival. Fantails were more likely to abandon nests located higher in trees and those built earlier in the breeding season. More nests failed when rat abundance was higher. Where ship rat abundance reached a 25% chew-card index (CCI), the probability of the nest surviving dropped below 50%, and for CCI above 45% only 20% of nests were predicted to survive. However, Fantails also exhibited a resilient strategy that improved survival because nests located on thinner branches were less likely to suffer predation. Our research suggests that nesting strategies of Fantails involve trade-offs and strategies that might protect them against one threat, might expose them to others. Fantails are a common endemic species and cope with moderate levels of nest predation, however conservation of small endemic birds with less resilient breeding strategies is likely to require management of ship rat populations to low levels. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Unknown New Zealand Avian Conservation and Ecology 13 2 |
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English |
topic |
density impact function fantail introduced mammals predation Rattus envir |
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density impact function fantail introduced mammals predation Rattus envir Nyree Fea Stephen Hartley The balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors |
topic_facet |
density impact function fantail introduced mammals predation Rattus envir |
description |
Predation of indigenous birds by ship rats (Rattus rattus, [Muridae]) is an international conservation crisis and has been implicated in the decline of many endemic species. Effective management of threatened ecosystems relies on accurate assessments of invasive species impacts on native wildlife. To quantify the link between ship rat abundance and survival of small, endemic birds we investigated the prevalence of rat predation on nesting New Zealand Fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa placabilis, [Rhipiduridae]), and its importance relative to other risk factors such as nest microsite. We surveyed 106 nests across forested reserves in Wellington City, New Zealand. Local abundance of ship rats was indexed using chew-cards placed around the nest and with tracking tunnels throughout reserves. We modeled the effects of ship rat abundance, weather, observer impact, and attributes of the nest for their influence on nest survival. Fantails were more likely to abandon nests located higher in trees and those built earlier in the breeding season. More nests failed when rat abundance was higher. Where ship rat abundance reached a 25% chew-card index (CCI), the probability of the nest surviving dropped below 50%, and for CCI above 45% only 20% of nests were predicted to survive. However, Fantails also exhibited a resilient strategy that improved survival because nests located on thinner branches were less likely to suffer predation. Our research suggests that nesting strategies of Fantails involve trade-offs and strategies that might protect them against one threat, might expose them to others. Fantails are a common endemic species and cope with moderate levels of nest predation, however conservation of small endemic birds with less resilient breeding strategies is likely to require management of ship rat populations to low levels. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nyree Fea Stephen Hartley |
author_facet |
Nyree Fea Stephen Hartley |
author_sort |
Nyree Fea |
title |
The balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors |
title_short |
The balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors |
title_full |
The balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors |
title_fullStr |
The balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors |
title_full_unstemmed |
The balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors |
title_sort |
balancing act of nest survival: survival of a small endemic bird in the face of ship rat predation and other risk factors |
publisher |
Resilience Alliance |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01284-130211 https://doaj.org/article/213e8a5539094b05ad4c96aa9326a19f |
geographic |
New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
New Zealand |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Avian Conservation and Ecology, Vol 13, Iss 2, p 11 (2018) |
op_relation |
1712-6568 doi:10.5751/ACE-01284-130211 https://doaj.org/article/213e8a5539094b05ad4c96aa9326a19f |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01284-130211 |
container_title |
Avian Conservation and Ecology |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
2 |
_version_ |
1766177185715978240 |