Forest Fragmentation Increases Nest Predation in the Eurasian Treecreeper

Abstract:  We used long-term breeding data to monitor the influences of fragmentation and habitat composition at different spatial scales on the reproductive success of Eurasian Treecreepers ( Certhia familiaris ) breeding in nest boxes. We collected data from the same forest patches (2.7–65.1 ha in size) during seven breeding seasons. Nest predation varied considerably over the years and was the primary cause of nesting failure (mean annual rate of 21.6 ± 12.8%). Nest predation explained most of the variation in fledgling production during the study period. Landscape-level fragmentation (radius of 500 m from territory center) affected nest predation more than did fragmentation on the territory scale (radius of 200 m from territory center). In general, nest loss due to predation in fragmented landscapes (32.4%) was almost threefold that of less fragmented (12.0%) landscapes. Of the habitat variables, predation rate correlated positively with the density of edges between forest and open land and with the proportion of sapling stands on the spatial scale of 500 m around a nest. In the core area of a territory (radius of 30 m from territory center), a high density of trees increased the frequency of nest predation. Further, a high proportion of agricultural land close to a nest site increased nest losses of treecreepers, probably because of a high degree of mustelid predation. Our results showed that the spatial scale on which we examined nest predation is important and that even within moderately fragmented landscapes it is possible to detect fragmentation-related nest predation.