Synopses & Reviews
and#147;Until recently, inferring identities of predators and monitoring cryptic behaviors at the nest was time-consuming, often with anecdotal results. No more. Video nest surveillance, so aptly revealed in this volume, has ushered in a new era of data collection that allows field workers to link environmental factors with such aspects as the temporal dynamics of predator communities in relation to what the birds are doing at their nests, thus removing much of the guesswork of earlier studies.and#8221;--Spencer G. Sealy, University of Manitoba
"Video Surveillance of Nesting Birds shatters earlier beliefs about how birds interact with nest predators. Much of what we thought we knew about nesting and its hazards was flat-out wrong, as authors in this book discovered by using modern technology in the field. As simple as we would like our models of animal behavior to be, this book shows that reality is far more complex and nuanced."--Douglas H. Johnson, University of Minnesota
Review
and#8220;This book is an essential reference for ornithologists. . . . It should be added to the ornithological library bookshelf. . . . Highly recommended.and#8221;
Review
"Really interesting from a range of angles."
Synopsis
Declining bird populations, especially those that breed in North American grasslands, have stimulated extensive research on factors that affect nest failure and reduced reproductive success. Until now, this research has been hampered by the difficulties inherent in observing nest activities. Video Surveillance of Nesting Birds highlights the use of miniature video cameras and recording equipment yielding new important and some unanticipated insights into breeding bird biology, including previously undocumented observations of hatching, incubation, fledging, diurnal and nocturnal activity patterns, predator identification, predator-prey interactions, and cause-specific rates of nest loss. This seminal contribution to bird reproductive biology uses tools capable of generating astonishing results with the potential for fresh insights into bird conservation, management, and theory.
About the Author
Christine A. Ribic is Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin, Unit Leader, US Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit.
Frank R. Thompson, III is a Research Wildlife Biologist in the Sustainable Management of Central Hardwood Ecosystems and Landscapes Unit of the Northern Research Station of the USDA at the University of Missouri-Columbia
Pamela A. Pietz is a Research Wildlife Biologist in the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center of the USGS in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword
Part 1. Synthesis/Overview
Chapter 1: Knowledge gained from video-monitoring grassland passerine nests
Pamela J. Pietz, Diane A. Granfors and Christine A. Ribic
Chapter 2: Conservation implications when the nest predators are known
Frank R. Thompson, III and Christine A. Ribic
Chapter 3: Gamebirds and nest cameras: present and future
Susan N. Ellis-Felege and John P. Carroll
Part 2: Breeding Behavior
Chapter 4: Hatching and fledging information from grassland passerine nests
Pamela J. Pietz, Diane A. Granfors and Todd A. Grant
Chapter 5: Attendance patterns and survival of Western Meadowlark nests
Larkin A. Powell, Matthew D. Giovanni, Scott Groepper, Mitchell L. Reineke and Walter H. Schacht
Chapter 6: Sprague's Pipit incubation behavior
Stephen K. Davis and Teslin G. Holmes
Chapter 7: Patterns of incubation behavior in Northern Bobwhites
Jonathan S. Burnam, Gretchen Turner, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, William E. Palmer, D. Clay Sisson and John P. Carroll
Chapter 8: The influence of weather on shorebird incubation
Paul A. Smith, Sarah A. Dauncey, H. Grant Gilchrist and Mark R. Forbes
Chapter 9: Nocturnal activity of nesting shrubland and grassland passerines
Christy M. Slay, Kevin S. Ellison, Christine A. Ribic, Kimberly G. Smith and Carolyn M. Schmitz
Part 3: Behavioral Responses to Predation/Predator Identification
Chapter 10: Bird productivity and nest predation in agricultural grasslands
Christine A. Ribic, Michael J. Guzy, Travis J. Anderson, David W. Sample and Jamie L. Nack
Chapter 11: Predator identity can explain nest predation patterns
Jennifer L. Reidy and Frank Thompson, III
Chapter 12: Nest defense: grassland bird responses to snakes
Kevin Ellison and Christine A. Ribic
Chapter 13: Partial depredations on Northern Bobwhite nests
Susan N. Ellis-Felege, Anne Miller, Jonathan S. Burnam, Shane D. Wellendorf, D. Clay Sisson, William E. Palmer and John P. Carroll
Chapter 14: Identification of Spragues's Pipit nest predators
Stephen K. Davis, Stephanie L. Jones, Kimberly M. Dohms and Teslin G. Holmes
Part 4: Technology
Chapter 15: Development of camera technology for monitoring nests
W. Andrew Cox, M. Shane Pruett, Thomas J. Benson, Scott J. Chiavacci and Frank R. Thompson III