Heightened nest loss in tropical forest fragments despite higher predator load in core forest

Fernandez, Christopher; Álvarez, María D.; Cove, Michael V.

doi:10.1007/s42965-019-00032-1

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…However, little is known about the identity of Neotropical nest predators (Menezes & Marini, 2017;Robinson et al, 2005;Stratford & Robinson, 2005;Visco & Sherry, 2015) or how predation rates may vary across habitats. Fernandez et al (2019) determined that nests in forest fragments in Costa Rica have higher predation rates than those in primary forest, despite a higher predator load in primary forest, which is a trend consistent with results of studies in temperate forests (Robinson et al, 1995;Thompson, 2007;Thompson et al, 2002). However, results from other studies in Central America and Africa show that predation rates decrease in fragments after isolation (Spanhove et al, 2009;Visco & Sherry, 2015).…”

Section: Changes In Breeding Activity or Young Birds Associated With ...supporting

confidence: 78%

“…Fragmented forests support diminished animal breeding communities, with fewer breeding species and successful breeding attempts relative to continuous primary forest (Burke & Nol, 2000; Lynch & Whigham, 1984; Roth & Johnson, 1993; Rutt et al., 2021). Several mechanisms may be responsible for the decline of certain species after fragment isolation: inadequate numbers of breeding adults to replace the population within the fragment, resulting in a sink population (Chazdon et al., 2009; Şekercioğlu et al., 2019); remaining adults prioritize survival and maintenance over breeding (Ghalambor & Martin, 2001; Kazo et al., 2022; Russell et al., 2004; Williams et al., 2010); and decreased juvenile survival rate due to increased predation (Crooks & Soulé, 1999; Schmidt, 2003) on juveniles and nests (Fernandez et al., 2019; Robinson et al., 1995; Thompson, 2007; Thompson et al., 2002). Teasing apart these causal factors could prove critical to understanding why species decline after fragment isolation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in Panamanian tropical forests, cavity and enclosed nesting species experience less nest predation than open‐cup nesters (Brawn et al., 2011). Nest predation rates may change in fragmented habitats (Fernandez et al., 2019; Robinson et al., 1995; Spanhove et al., 2009; Thompson, 2007; Thompson et al., 2002; Visco & Sherry, 2015; Young et al., 2008), which could alter the probability of nest failure for species with certain nesting strategies because nest predation is the primary source of nest loss in birds (Ricklefs, 1969; Martin, 1992). Disturbed forests, such as forest fragments, might have a limited supply of available nesting material, suitable nesting sites, or resources for parents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of forest fragmentation on avian breeding activity

Coddington

Cooper

Luther

2023

Conservation Biology

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Biodiversity declines and ecosystem decay follow forest fragmentation; initially, abundant species may become rare or be extirpated. Underlying mechanisms behind delayed extirpation of certain species following forest fragmentation are unknown. Species declines may be attributed to an inadequate number of breeding adults required to replace the population or decreased juvenile survival rate due to reduced recruitment or increased nest predation pressures. We used 10 years of avian banding data, 5 years before and 4 years after fragment isolation, from the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, carried out near Manaus, Brazil, to investigate the breeding activity hypothesis that there is less breeding activity and fewer young after relative to before fragment isolation. We compared the capture rates of active breeding and young birds in 3 forest types (primary forest, fragment before isolation, and fragment after isolation) and the proportion of active breeding and young birds with all birds in each unique fragment type before and after isolation. We grouped all bird species by diet (insectivore or frugivore) and nesting strategy (open cup, cavity, or enclosed) to allow further comparisons among forest types. We found support for the breeding activity hypothesis in insectivorous and frugivorous birds (effect sizes 0.45 and 0.53, respectively) and in birds with open‐cup and enclosed nesting strategies (effect sizes 0.56 and 0.44, respectively) such that on average there were more breeding birds in fragments before isolation relative to after isolation. A larger proportion of birds in the community were actively breeding before fragment isolation (72%) than after fragment isolation (11%). Unexpectedly, there was no significant decrease in the number of young birds after fragment isolation, although sample sizes for young were small (n = 43). This may have been due to sustained immigration of young birds to fragments after isolation. Together, our results provide some of the strongest evidence to date that avian breeding activity decreases in response to fragment isolation, which could be a fundamental mechanism contributing to ecosystem decay.

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