Date: December 7, 2016
Source: Central Ornithology Publication Office
Many bird lovers put out feeders full of seed for their feathered friends -- but those feeders may also attract predators that eat eggs and nestlings. The researchers behind a new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications tried to untangle these relationships through a four-year study of songbird nests, bird feeders, and predators in urban Central Ohio.
Feeders may attract more predators to an area, but the food can also satiate predators so that they're less likely to target nests. To learn more, Jennifer Malpass of The Ohio State University and her colleagues tracked the relationships between the success of American Robin and Northern Cardinal nests, the presence of potential nest predators like squirrels, domestic cats, and other birds, and the presence of bird feeders in the area. Relationships among feeders, predators and nest survival were complex -- areas with lots of feeders had more cowbirds and crows, birds that are known to prey on songbird nests, but that didn't generally affect the success of the nests the researchers monitored.
Read more
Many bird lovers put out feeders full of seed for their feathered friends -- but those feeders may also attract predators that eat eggs and nestlings. The researchers behind a new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications tried to untangle these relationships through a four-year study of songbird nests, bird feeders, and predators in urban Central Ohio.
Feeders may attract more predators to an area, but the food can also satiate predators so that they're less likely to target nests. To learn more, Jennifer Malpass of The Ohio State University and her colleagues tracked the relationships between the success of American Robin and Northern Cardinal nests, the presence of potential nest predators like squirrels, domestic cats, and other birds, and the presence of bird feeders in the area. Relationships among feeders, predators and nest survival were complex -- areas with lots of feeders had more cowbirds and crows, birds that are known to prey on songbird nests, but that didn't generally affect the success of the nests the researchers monitored.
Read more
No comments:
Post a Comment