Nest usurpation by non‐native birds and the role of people in nest box management

Abstract

Invasive species are a threat to global biodiversity, yet the impacts of invasive birds on the native birds with which they compete are understudied. Humans have a long history of providing and managing nest boxes to support native birds; however, their management of non-native birds has received limited research attention. We surveyed people who maintain nest boxes in North America to examine the extent of interference competition for nest sites between native and non-native birds and the human behaviors intended to reduce nest site competition. Our specific objectives were to examine observations of nest usurpation of native birds by non-native birds across the United States and Canada, to ascertain whether and how people who maintain nest boxes control non-native bird species in favor of native species, and to quantify various factors correlated with the likelihood of engaging in management activities. We found that nearly one-third of the 871 respondents had observed a non-native species usurp a nest box occupied by a native species. Among respondents who reported nest usurpations, species-specific nest usurpation rates varied (range = 3-35%). We found that witnessing a nest usurpation is the most important predictor of whether or not someone will engage in management activities. Management activity was also associated with the extent to which respondents believed nonnative birds to be a problem at the continental scale. Our study shows that people's observations of threats from introduced species are correlated with the environmental management actions people take, and that these actions can mitigate the threats, and potentially support the survival of native birds.

Impacts of purple martin landlord stewardship activities on nest box occupancy

“…Contrary to our hypotheses, 3 stewardship activities were not associated with any of the occupancy variables. Trapping competitors, such as house sparrows and European starlings, was expected to increase opportunities for martins to nest in settings with limited nesting spaces by reducing interference competition through aggression (e.g., killing eggs, nestlings, and sometimes adults; Stokes et al 1997) and by reducing exploitation competition by occupying nest sites (Bailey et al 2020). In addition, by trapping competitors, landlords would not have to remove as many nests of competitors, a separate stewardship activity.…”

“…Managers of nest boxes readily undertake a variety of lethal and nonlethal stewardship practices, including actions to reduce predation and competition (Larson et al 2016). In fact, martin landlords observing nest box usurpation by non‐native species was the greatest predictor of engaging in management activities (Bailey et al 2020). Given the lack of research on success of martin stewardship practices in a variety of locations and the lack of consistency in some practices, we conducted research on how martin landlord stewardship activities affect martin occupancy in central Alberta, Canada.…”

Predicting aquatic invasions in a megadiverse region: Maximum‐entropy‐based modelling of six alien fish species in Malaysia

“…Public engagement through citizen science programmes may also increase awareness and induce change in behaviour and perceptions about alien fish (Bailey et al, 2020; Phillips et al, 2021). Economic benefits and emotional attachment of society towards alien invasive fish species can result in potential conflicts that may hinder management efforts.…”

Local perceptions and ethnobotanical uses values of Senna obtusifolia, an invasive native plant species in Burkina Faso, West Africa

“…Indeed, up to date, no research specifically addressed the management of the species. This may be due to the fact that previous research on invasive plants was focused on their negative influence on biodiversity and pasture ecosystems (Archibald et al, 2020;Bailey et al, 2020; R. T. Shackleton et al, 2019). However, invasive species could have positive economic, social, and ecological impacts (Charahabil & Akpo, 2018;Souley et al, 2020;Wagh & Jain, 2018) which can be used as an adaptation strategy to their negative effects.…”