Mink predation in great crested grebe colonies: random robbery or a well-planned hunt?

Title:

Mink predation in great crested grebe colonies: random robbery or a well-planned hunt?

Creator:

Brzeziński, Marcin, Chibowski, Piotr, and Zalewski, Andrzej

Identifier:

https://cdk.lib.cas.cz/client/handle/uuid:0c054556-1741-4f78-ba48-f8a845174265
uuid:0c054556-1741-4f78-ba48-f8a845174265
doi:10.25225/jvb.22056

Subject:

Podiceps cristatus, coloniality, artificial nests, Neovison vison, and invasive species

Type:

model:article and TEXT

Format:

počítač and online zdroj

Description:

The study aimed to recognize whether the activity of a semi-aquatic invasive carnivore – the American mink Neovison vison – is related to the distribution of waterbird colonies. For this reason, we monitored mink occurrence in lake reedbeds and the fate of artificial nests imitating those of the great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus. The location of artificial nests in the grebe colony increased the probability of their survival compared to those placed outside the grebe colony. During the study, mink activity increased over time. In general, it was lower in colonies than outside of them, suggesting that the presence of natural nests does not increase the probability of mink occurrence in lake reedbeds. However, mink activity was negatively correlated with the distance from the lake shoreline and differed spatially according to the presence or absence of natural grebe nests. In grebe colonies, the probability of mink occurrence at greater distances from the lake shoreline was higher than outside, which can be explained by optimizing swimming effort while searching for prey. In conclusion, mink activity in colonies was lower than in areas with no waterbird nests, and nest location in a colony decreased predation risk by mink.

Language:

English

Rights:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
policy:public

Coverage:

1-11

Source:

Journal of Vertebrate Biology | 2022 Volume:71 | Number:1

Harvested from:

CDK

Metadata only:

false