Abstract
Lower vulnerability to predation should increase the capacity of prey populations to maintain positive population growth rate in regions characterized by high predation pressure. Some arctic-nesting shorebirds nest almost exclusively in areas where predation pressure is regularly released. The few species that can breed within the entire distribution range of the Arctic Fox, the main nest predator in the arctic tundra, are supposedly less sensitive to predation. However, empirical data supporting this hypothesis are scarce and mechanisms driving interspecific variation in vulnerability to nest predation are poorly documented. We monitored nest success of two arctic-nesting shorebirds with contrasting breeding distribution and nesting habitat. We found that (i) when co-existing at the same breeding site, the widely distributed Ringed Plovers nesting along stony shores showed a higher nest survival rate than the Golden Plovers nesting in mesic tundra, and (ii) such differences in nest survival were at least partly driven by the nesting habitat type per se, with lower predation risk in stony shores than in adjacent mesic tundra. We suggest that the use of safer nesting habitat by some shorebird species can contribute to maintaining viable breeding populations over a broader distribution range.
Highlights
Lower vulnerability to predation should increase the capacity of prey populations to maintain positive population growth rate in regions characterized by high predation pressure
We tested the hypothesis that differences in vulnerability to nest predators is partly driven by the nesting habitat used by plovers, with Ringed Plovers nesting in safer habitat than Golden Plovers
A lower predation risk in the main nesting habitat used by the Common Ringed Plover would indicate that such species are more likely to maintain a positive population growth rate in regions characterized by high predation pressure
Summary
Lower vulnerability to predation should increase the capacity of prey populations to maintain positive population growth rate in regions characterized by high predation pressure. For shorebird species that are most sensitive to predation, viable populations would occur only in areas where the predation pressure imposed by the Arctic Fox is lower or regularly released, restricting their nesting distribution[13,14] Evidence supporting this hypothesis comes from species distribution patterns (mismatch and co-occurrence of species) and not from demographic parameters, which are essential to fully identify the main drivers of species distribution[1]. Tundra-nesting Ringed Plovers and Golden Plovers are both long-distance migrants with circumpolar distribution and their breeding ranges are not restricted by major ecological barriers They are both biparentally incubating plovers[16] and they exhibit similar distraction displays and anti-predator behaviours at their nest[19] but use distinct nesting habitat. A lower predation risk in the main nesting habitat used by the Common Ringed Plover would indicate that such species are more likely to maintain a positive population growth rate in regions characterized by high predation pressure
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