Balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducks
Abstract Wetlands belong to the globally most threatened habitats, and organisms depending on them are of conservation concern. Wetland destruction and quality loss may affect negatively also boreal breeding ducks in which habitat selection often needs balancing between important determinants of hab...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11011 |
| _version_ | 1797290910984175616 |
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| author | Sari Holopainen Elmo Miettinen Veli‐Matti Väänänen Petri Nummi Hannu Pöysä |
| author_facet | Sari Holopainen Elmo Miettinen Veli‐Matti Väänänen Petri Nummi Hannu Pöysä |
| author_sort | Sari Holopainen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Wetlands belong to the globally most threatened habitats, and organisms depending on them are of conservation concern. Wetland destruction and quality loss may affect negatively also boreal breeding ducks in which habitat selection often needs balancing between important determinants of habitat suitability. In Finland duck population trajectories are habitat‐specific, while the reasons behind are poorly understood. In this research, we studied the balance of nest predation risk and invertebrate food abundance in boreal breeding ducks in Finland at 45 lakes and ponds in 2017 and 2018. We surveyed duck pairs and broods from these and 18 additional water bodies. We evaluated nest predation by monitoring artificial nests with camera traps over a 7‐day exposure period and sampled invertebrates from water bodies using emergence and activity traps. Camera trap results indicate that predation risk was higher in the water bodies surrounded by agricultural land than in forestland. Ponds (seasonal, beaver, and man‐made) had lower nest predation risk, and they were also more invertebrate‐rich than permanent lakes. In addition, artificial nests further away from water bodies had higher survival than shoreline nests. Habitat use of duck pairs was not associated with invertebrate food, but duck broods preferred habitats rich in food. High nest predation pressure in shorelines of especially agricultural landscapes may contribute to the declining population trends of ducks in Finland. Controlling predators could be an important conservation action to improve duck breeding success. This research underlines the benefits of the availability of different water body types for breeding ducks. There is an urgent need to pay attention to protecting seasonal ponds, while the lack of flooded waters may be mitigated by favouring beavers or creating man‐made ponds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:29:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-92bbcfddae5a46ee882a275ec796a9dd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:29:06Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-92bbcfddae5a46ee882a275ec796a9dd2024-02-29T08:56:40ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-02-01142n/an/a10.1002/ece3.11011Balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducksSari Holopainen0Elmo Miettinen1Veli‐Matti Väänänen2Petri Nummi3Hannu Pöysä4Department of Forest Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandOrganismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Forest Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Forest Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Environmental and Biological Sciences University of Eastern Finland Joensuu FinlandAbstract Wetlands belong to the globally most threatened habitats, and organisms depending on them are of conservation concern. Wetland destruction and quality loss may affect negatively also boreal breeding ducks in which habitat selection often needs balancing between important determinants of habitat suitability. In Finland duck population trajectories are habitat‐specific, while the reasons behind are poorly understood. In this research, we studied the balance of nest predation risk and invertebrate food abundance in boreal breeding ducks in Finland at 45 lakes and ponds in 2017 and 2018. We surveyed duck pairs and broods from these and 18 additional water bodies. We evaluated nest predation by monitoring artificial nests with camera traps over a 7‐day exposure period and sampled invertebrates from water bodies using emergence and activity traps. Camera trap results indicate that predation risk was higher in the water bodies surrounded by agricultural land than in forestland. Ponds (seasonal, beaver, and man‐made) had lower nest predation risk, and they were also more invertebrate‐rich than permanent lakes. In addition, artificial nests further away from water bodies had higher survival than shoreline nests. Habitat use of duck pairs was not associated with invertebrate food, but duck broods preferred habitats rich in food. High nest predation pressure in shorelines of especially agricultural landscapes may contribute to the declining population trends of ducks in Finland. Controlling predators could be an important conservation action to improve duck breeding success. This research underlines the benefits of the availability of different water body types for breeding ducks. There is an urgent need to pay attention to protecting seasonal ponds, while the lack of flooded waters may be mitigated by favouring beavers or creating man‐made ponds.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11011alien predatorcamera trapinvertebratenest predationwaterbirdwetland |
| spellingShingle | Sari Holopainen Elmo Miettinen Veli‐Matti Väänänen Petri Nummi Hannu Pöysä Balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducks Ecology and Evolution alien predator camera trap invertebrate nest predation waterbird wetland |
| title | Balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducks |
| title_full | Balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducks |
| title_fullStr | Balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducks |
| title_short | Balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducks |
| title_sort | balancing between predation risk and food by boreal breeding ducks |
| topic | alien predator camera trap invertebrate nest predation waterbird wetland |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11011 |
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