Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay

• Main Author: Moore, Neil
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: ScholarWorks at University of Montana 2016
• Subjects: Canada; predation; duck; nesting; Other Animal Sciences; Arctic; Hudson; Hudson Bay; Common Eider; Somateria mollissima; Ursus maritimus; Vulpes lagopus
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/116; https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/utpp/article/1123/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf

During the summer of 2014, I monitored a common eider duck (Somateria mollissima) colony nesting in La Perouse Bay, which is located on the southwestern shores of Hudson Bay, Canada. The colony consisted of 169 nests and predators ate every egg before a single duckling hatched. Employing visual observation and motion-activated game cameras, I monitored when and how nests failed. Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) preyed upon 65% of the nests, making them the main predator for the eider ducks. Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) were the second most common predator, while herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) preyed upon fewer. Each predator species attacked nests across the colony rather than specializing in a specific area or density of nests. These patterns of predation and how they change across years can help scientists predict the future vulnerabilities of eider duck colonies in Hudson Bay. The goals of this study were to build on a 43-year long dataset of common eider nest success at La Perouse Bay as well as add detail as to what predators preyed upon nests and where.