Increased nest predation near protected capercaillie leks: a caveat against small reserves

摘要: Protecting animal aggregation sites is intuitively an efficient conservation approach, particularly for threatened species in fragmented landscapes. However, the appropriate scale of protection depends on accompanying threats, such as predator attraction to same sites, which target may need respond by moving alternative habitat patches. We performed experiments using artificial ground nests around protected capercaillie leks commercially managed forest landscape Estonia. considered two scales: up 3 km from lek centre, and among 10–30-ha compartments, differed abundance. found that nest predation significantly declined with distance lek. Nests were depredated multiple mammalian avian total abundance explained most between-forest variation rate. Our results indicate that, this hemiboreal area, (i) largely determined landscape-scale distribution predators (ii) can aggregate at leks. The implication lek-centred used other grouse be ineffective unless peripheral quality are specifically addressed. More generally, pressure a serious problem small set-asides within hostile landscapes ground-nesting birds.