Breeding in an agricultural landscape 245


TABLE 4 Number of predators culled during 2017–2022 in the c. 26,000-ha hunting district that overlaps with the collared prat- incole nest sites.


Year 2017


2018 2019 2020 2021


Total number of culled predators


Mammals Birds 280


488 415 504 582


2,269 Total


263 543 312 800 699 1,114 1,046 1,550 953 1,535 3,273 5,542


FIG. 2 Daily nest survival (mean ± SE)inrelationtothe studyyear (r2 = 0.55,n = 10 years). The number of nests per year is indicated.


was in row crops (Table 3). Nest protection was successful, as 64% of protected nests produced at least one chick (n = 101; Table 3). The number of nests we rescued via direct protection measures was 150 (Table 3). Hunters culled a mean of 454 mammals and 655 birds


annually in the hunting district that overlapped with our study site (i.e. 1.7 mammals and 2.5 birds per 100 ha; Table 4). Daily nest survival was not predicted by the number of culled avian (linear regression, b = 0.0001,n = 5, P=0.655) or mammalian predators (linear regression, b = 0.0005,n = 5,P = 0.503).


Discussion


Here we show that the nesting success of a ground-nesting bird is predicted by the agricultural habitat type of its nest


as well as breeding density and timing of breeding. We increased daily nest survival of pratincoles over the study period through conservation measures, so that themajority of nests now hatch successfully. Collared pratincoles that breed on fallow lands and in


spring cover crops had significantly higher nesting success than those nesting in row crops. Nesting success for other shorebirds is also influenced by the timing and intensity of agricultural operations. For example, nest losses of nor- thern lapwings Vanellus vanellus depend on the timing of spring tillage during the nesting period (independently of crop type; Sheldon et al., 2007). We observed that predation pressure was lower in extensively used habitats compared with intensively treated areas. Similar patterns have been documented in black-tailed godwits Limosa limosa (Kentie et al., 2015) and other ground-nesting species (Berg et al., 1992). It is probable that the rise of modern intensive agriculture has favoured generalist predators (Pescador & Peris, 2001). In addition, rainfall was more likely to flood nests in fields of row crops, as the heavy agricultural machines used for these crops compact the soil and thus water drains more slowly in


TABLE 3 Nest protection activities for collared pratincoles in Hungary in relation to year and habitat type (n = 315 nests). Nests rescued refers to nests that would have been destroyed by agricultural machinery without direct protection.


Year 2012


2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021


Habitat Row crops


Spring cover crops Fallow lands Total


Number of nests


24 16 14 38 46 49 34 21 33 40


152 72 91


315


Number of nests protected (%)


14 (58) 9 (56) 3 (21)


31 (82) 24 (52) 12 (24) 17 (50) 13 (62) 9 (27)


27 (68) 146 (96)


8 (11) 5 (5)


159 (50)


Number of nests rescued (%)


14 (58) 9 (56) 3 (21)


31 (82) 20 (43) 12 (24) 17 (50) 13 (62) 8 (24)


23 (58) 140 (92)


5 (7) 5 (5)


150 (48)


Number of protected nests hatched (%)


0


5 (56) 0


17 (55) 18 (75) 8 (67)


12 (71) 7 (54)


9 (100)


25 (93) 92 (63)


6 (75) 3 (60)


101 (64)


Number of unprotected nests hatched (%)


3 (30) 5 (71) 8 (73)


7 (100)


12 (55) 29 (78) 14 (82) 3 (38)


20 (83) 10 (77)


2 (33)


44 (69) 65 (76) 111 (71)


Oryx, 2024, 58(2), 240–249 © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605323000911


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