Habitat-driven vulnerability to nest predation in Arctic-breeding plovers based on artificial nest experiment and real shorebird nest monitoring – Survival dataset

Lower vulnerability to predation should increase the capacity of prey populations to maintain positive population growth rate in regions characterized by high predation pressure. Some arctic nesting shorebirds nest almost exclusively in areas where predation pressure is regularly released. The few species that can breed within the entire distribution range of the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), the main nest predator in the arctic tundra, are supposedly less sensitive to predation. However, empirical data supporting this hypothesis are scarce and mechanisms driving interspecific variation in vulnerability to nest predation are poorly documented. We monitored nest success of two shorebird species with contrasting breeding distribution and nesting habitat. We found that i) when co-existing at the same breeding site, the widely distributed Ringed Plover nesting along stony shores showed a higher nest survival rate than the Golden Plover nesting in mesic tundra, and ii) such differences in nest survival were at least partly driven by the nesting habitat type per se, with lower predation risk in stony shores than in adjacent mesic tundra. We suggest that the use of safer nesting habitat by some shorebird species can contribute to maintaining viable breeding populations over a broader distribution range.