Presence of mammalian predators decreases tolerance to human disturbance in a breeding shorebird

Clair, James J. H. St; García‐Peña, Gabriel E.; Woods, Robin W.; Szèkely, T.

doi:10.1093/beheco/arq144

Cited by 32 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Other contextual factors that determine the psychological and physiological excitability of animals are the relative position of the animal to humans (e.g. animals ‘feel’ safer when located higher or closer to escape routes) (MacArthur, Geist & Johnston, ; Steidl & Anthony, ; Thiel et al , ; Tadesse & Kotler, ), predation pressure (Berger et al , ; St Clair et al , ; Januchowski‐Hartley et al , ), and simultaneous stressful events, such as extreme weather or agonistic encounters with conspecifics (Romero, Reed & Wingfield, ; Romero, ). Increases in the latter two usually lead to high levels of awareness and baseline CORT that, in turn, may lower response thresholds to disturbance (Thaker, Lima & Hews, 2009 a ; Thaker et al , ).…”

Section: Level 2: Physiological and Behavioural Responses To Human Prmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of uncertainty in wildlife responses to human disturbance

2015

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Outdoor recreation is increasing in intensity and space. Areas previously inaccessible are now being visited by ever-growing numbers of people, which increases human-wildlife encounters across habitats. This has raised concern among researchers and conservationists as, even in non-aggressive encounters, animals often perceive humans as predators and mount physiological and behavioural responses that can have negative consequences. However, despite all the research in recent decades, not many general patterns have emerged, especially at the level of populations, and many studies have yielded seemingly contradictory or inconclusive results. We argue that this is partly due to incomplete knowledge of the number and complexity of factors that may modulate the responses of animals. Thus, we aim to provide a conceptual approach intended to highlight the reasons that make it difficult to detect general patterns. We present a comprehensive compilation of factors modulating animal responses to humans at increasing levels (from sensory detection and immediate behavioural and physiological reactions, to changes in fitness and population trends), which may help understanding the uncertainty in the patterns. We observed that there are many modulating factors, which can be categorized as reflecting characteristics of the recreational activity itself (e.g. intensity of human presence), of the animals concerned (e.g. age or antipredatory strategy), and of the spatio-temporal context (e.g. habitat or timing of the encounter). Some factors appear to have non-linear and complex effects, which, if not considered, may lead to erroneous conclusions. Finally, we conclude that the difficulty in finding general patterns will be amplified at higher levels (i.e. at the level of populations), since as we proceed from one level to the next, the number of potential modulating factors accumulates, adding noise and obscuring direct associations between recreation and wildlife. More comprehensive knowledge about which (and how) factors affect animal responses across levels will certainly improve future research design and interpretation, and thus, our understanding of human recreational impacts on wildlife.

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Section: Level 2: Physiological and Behavioural Responses To Human Prmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of uncertainty in wildlife responses to human disturbance

2015

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“…; Cooper ; St.Clair et al. ). Thus, if detection is uncertain at the beginning of the approach (as in Blumstein ), the effect on FID of SD through an increased cost of monitoring is itself uncertain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight Initiation Distance and Starting Distance: Biological Effect or Mathematical Artefact?

et al. 2012

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In many studies, flight initiation distance (FID, the distance at which a prey starts to flee at the approach of a walker) is positively related to starting distance (SD, the distance at which the walker begins to approach) and alert distance (AD, the distance at which the focal individual becomes alert to the threat). In spite of the fundamental differences between SD, a covariate that may not have any biological effect, and AD, a measure related to the behaviour of the animal, it is common to use SD as a proxy for AD when AD is hard to measure (e.g. in species that do not exhibit distinguishable alert postures). However, the relationship between SD and AD or FID may not have any biological reasons, but may instead simply result from a mathematical artefact because of the constraints SD ≥ AD ≥ FID. Under such constrains, the homoscedasticity assumption is violated, and thus, the classical null hypothesis of linear regression (slope = 0) is invalid. In this study, we first show that using SD as a proxy for AD can strongly affect the results on FID. Using data from FID tests on alpine marmots (Marmota marmota), a linear mixed model with AD as a covariate, suggested that the interaction between previous activity and AD had an effect on FID, while this effect was not detected when SD replaced AD as the covariate in the analysis. We then propose that the actual statistical test of the relationship between SD, AD and FID should be based on a null hypothesis that incorporates the constraint SD ≥ AD ≥ FID ≥ 0 and generate 95% CI of simulated slopes obtained from random values under this constraint. This null hypothesis can be rejected if the observed slope of the relationship between two of these variables is outside the 95% CI. We demonstrated that, for alpine marmots, the observed slope of the relationship between AD and SD was within the 95% CI of the simulated slopes. The absence of a statistically significant biological effect in the relationship between SD and AD raises important questions on the outcome of relationship between SD and FID. In Alpine marmot flight, decision should be studied separating the effect of SD on AD and the effect of AD on FID.

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“…Dogs disturb proportionately more nests than humans on beaches [56] presumably because dogs chase plovers on a regular basis and birds instinctively view them as predators [61]–[63]. On the beach most affected by human presence (Serradal), the main threats of nests and incubating plovers were humans and dogs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest Site Selection by Kentish Plover Suggests a Trade-Off between Nest-Crypsis and Predator Detection Strategies

Gómez‐Serrano

López‐López

2014

PLoS ONE

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Predation is one of the main causes of adult mortality and breeding failure for ground-nesting birds. Micro-habitat structure around nests plays a critical role in minimizing predation risk. Plovers nest in sites with little vegetation cover to maximize the incubating adult visibility, but many studies suggest a trade-off between nest-crypsis and predator detection strategies. However, this trade-off has not been explored in detail because methods used so far do not allow estimating the visibility with regards to critical factors such as slope or plant permeability to vision. Here, we tested the hypothesis that Kentish plovers select exposed sites according to a predator detection strategy, and the hypothesis that more concealed nests survive longer according to a crypsis strategy. To this end, we obtained an accurate estimation of the incubating adult's field of vision through a custom built inverted periscope. Our results showed that plovers selected nest sites with higher visibility than control points randomly selected with regards to humans and dogs, although nests located in sites with higher vegetation cover survived longer. In addition, the flushing distance (i.e., the distance at which incubating adults leave the nest when they detect a potential predator) decreased with vegetation cover. Consequently, the advantages of concealing the nest were limited by the ability to detect predators, thus indirectly supporting the existence of the trade-off between crypsis and predator detection. Finally, human disturbance also constrained nest choice, forcing plovers to move to inland sites that were less suitable because of higher vegetation cover, and modulated flushing behavior, since plovers that were habituated to humans left their nests closer to potential predators. This constraint on the width of suitable breeding habitat is particularly relevant for the conservation of Kentish Plover in sand beaches, especially under the current context of coastal regression and increase of recreational activities.

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Presence of mammalian predators decreases tolerance to human disturbance in a breeding shorebird

Cited by 32 publications

References 50 publications

Determinants of uncertainty in wildlife responses to human disturbance

Determinants of uncertainty in wildlife responses to human disturbance

Flight Initiation Distance and Starting Distance: Biological Effect or Mathematical Artefact?

Nest Site Selection by Kentish Plover Suggests a Trade-Off between Nest-Crypsis and Predator Detection Strategies

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