Data from: Nest predation in New Zealand songbirds: exotic predators, introduced prey and long-term changes in predation risk

Predation is a major factor in ecology, evolution and conservation and thus its understanding is essential for insights into ecological processes and management of endangered populations of prey. Here we conducted a spatially (main island through to offshore islets) and temporally (1938-2005) extensive meta-analysis of published nest predation rates in New Zealand songbirds. We obtained information on nest predation rates from 79 populations (n = 4838 nests) of 26 species of songbirds belonging to 17 families. Nest predation rates increased from southwest to northeast and also across the last 60 years (by 15-25 percentage points in both cases). We identified a major impact of exotic mammalian predators. Nest predation was lowest in areas where no exotic predators were present (12.8), higher in areas with ongoing predator control (33.9%), and highest in areas without control that had the full set of exotic and native nest predators (47.5). Surprisingly, nest predation rates were higher in introduced as compared to native species. Our analyses demonstrated that human-caused factors (introduced predators and prey) overrode factors such as nest type and habitat identified as important in predicting nest predation in North America and Europe previously.