BREEDING ECOLOGY OF PRAIRIE NESTING SHOREBIRDS: RELATIONSHIPS WITH HABITAT, LAND USE AND PREDATORS
| dc.contributor.advisor | Clark, B. | |
| dc.creator | Jackson, Cameron R | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-06-22T22:01:35Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-06-22T22:01:35Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1961 | |
| dc.date.submitted | Spring 2003 | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Some prairie shorebird population shave declined over the past century as a result of hunting pressure and from habitat loss due to agricultural expansion. While habitat loss and fragmentation likely were ultimate factors contributing to these declines, an increase in nest predation by mammalian predators within breeding habitats may potentially be aproximate cause. Species such as red fox, skunk, raccoon and coyote have readily adapted to intensively farmed landscapes and resulting predation levels may have detrimental effects on many ground-nesting species, including shorebirds. To assess partial effects of predation on prairieĀ nesting shorebirds in 2000 and 200I, I monitored nesting success of seven shorebird species in intensively cultivated landscapes of southern Saskatchewan where large mammalian predators had been removed (4 study sites) and areas without predator removal (4 sites).As expected, removal of mammalian predators increased nest success, but the effect varied with shorebird' species, among removal sites and between years. Interspecific differences in nest success may have been influenced by compensatory predation by other non-target predators, or by differences in habitat use, body size and nest defense by incubating adults. Another hypothesized factor affecting nesting success in shorebirds is habitat preferences or, more specifically, characteristics of nesting habitat, including micro-site features. Nesting sites that reduce nest predation should be advantageous, and there is ample evidence of non-random nest site use in shorebirds and other bird species. Therefore, I examined nest site selection patterns at nest site (fine) and habitat patch (course) scales in five shorebird species. At a coarse scale, I found that native pasture (willet and upland sandpiper) and wetland margins (Wilson's phalarope)were used more often than expected (when compared to random sites).Ata finer scale, phalarope nest site characteristics differed significantly from those at random sites, which provides evidence that patterns in nest site selection could result from long-term selection. However, there were no significant differences between successful and depredated nests, and the lack of similarity between nest sites and successful nests further indicates little support for an ongoing refinement of nest site selection patterns in phalaropes in response to current predation pressure. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10388/13443 | |
| dc.title | BREEDING ECOLOGY OF PRAIRIE NESTING SHOREBIRDS: RELATIONSHIPS WITH HABITAT, LAND USE AND PREDATORS | en_US |
| dc.type.genre | Thesis | en_US |
| thesis.degree.department | Biology | en_US |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Biology | en_US |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Saskatchewan | en_US |
| thesis.degree.level | Undergraduate | en_US |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (M.Sc.) | en_US |