Nest predation on birds that nest in rock cavities in a tropical limestone forest of southern China
| Autor: | Demeng Jiang, Eben Goodale, Aiwu Jiang, Yuanguang Wen |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Artificial nest experiment Endangered species Rainforest 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences 010605 ornithology Predation Nest lcsh:QH540-549.5 Nest box Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation Stachyris Ecology biology Nonggang babbler Streaked Wren Babbler Life history traits biology.organism_classification Karst forest Cavity-nesting birds Nonggang Babbler lcsh:Ecology Napothera brevicaudata |
| Zdroj: | Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 10, Iss C, Pp 154-158 (2017) |
| ISSN: | 2351-9894 |
| Popis: | High nest predation is often found in tropical birds, though data from tropical limestone regions are lacking. In a limestone karst rainforest of south China, two species of babblers breed in rock cavities in different seasonal periods: the endangered Nonggang Babbler ( Stachyris nonggangensis ) breeds in May, like most birds, and the common Streaked Wren Babbler ( Napothera brevicaudata ) breeds in March. We tested the hypothesis that nest predation varied by nesting period using an artificial nest experiment. We used natural rock cavities that varied in their distance to the forest edge, checked nests at different intervals and measured characteristics of cavity location. We found nest predation to be much higher in May (65 of 99 nests) than March (14 of 83); predation tended to be higher when nests were visited only once, but no other factor significantly influenced the result. The higher predation rate during warmer weather, and the fact that eggs disappeared mostly at once, yet predators were not detected on infrared nest cameras, suggests that snakes could be important predators; further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. We conclude that the aberrant nesting period of the Streaked Wren Babbler may be a strategy to escape nest predation. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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