Bird community, forest structure and landscape affects the susceptibility to open-cup nest predation in austral forests

• Autores: Benitez, Julieta; Peri, Pablo Luis; Barrera, Marcelo Daniel; Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José; Lencinas, María Vanessa
• Año de publicación: 2025
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Forests 16 (11) : 1741. (November 2025)
• Materia: Primary Forests; Thinning; Nothofagus; Canopy; Land Use; Landscape; Grazing; Ecosystem Disturbance; Predation; Bosque Primario; Aclareo; Canopeo; Uso de la Tierra; Paisaje; Pastoreo; Perturbación del Ecosistema; Tierra del Fuego; Nothofagus antarctica; Ñire; Cobertura de Canopeo; Comunidad de Aves; Estructura de la Vegetación; Milvago chimango; Campephilus magellanicus; Xolmis pyrope; Región patagonica; Patagonian region; Canopy Cover; Bird Community; Vegetation Structure
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

Nest predation is a major factor limiting avian reproductive success. It depends on factors such as bird community, land use, vegetation structure and landscape. Anthropogenic disturbances in native forests, such as logging and livestock grazing, alter forest structure and understory, potentially affecting nest predation rates. In this study, we analysed the susceptibility of open-cup nests to predation in Nothofagus antarctica forests in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), comparing 15–50 years ago thinned—T and unthinned forests, the latter classified as open—O, closed—C or very closed—VC. We also identified nest predators through camera traps and the main variables influencing predation using a Generalized Lineal Model. Data were collected from 32 sites representing the four studied categories of canopy cover across two years (256 artificial nests per year). Artificial nest predation rates varied between year (9.4% in 2018 and 40.2% in 2022) and among forest types. In 2018, the O forests had the highest predation rate (50%, 12 in total), whereas in 2022, VC forests showed the greatest predation (38%, 39 in total). Camera traps identified three nest predators: Milvago chimango, Campephilus magellanicus and Xolmis pyrope. In 2018, canopy cover was the only variable that influenced artificial nest predation, while in 2022, tree sapling cover, patch shape, open-cup nester density and tree basal area were the most influential (in that order). We found annual variations driven by different ecological factors in N. antarctica forest of southern Patagonia. Although thinning showed no significant long-term effects on artificial nest predation on this study, more research is needed to understand the influence of low impact forest management in austral bird communities.
EEA Santa Cruz
Fil: Benitez, Julieta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas. Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral (UNPA). Santa Cruz; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.
Fil: Barrera, Marcelo Daniel. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Investigación de Sistemas Ecológicos y Ambientales; Argentina.
Fil: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC); Argentina.
Fil: Lencinas, María Vanessa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC); Argentina.