RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Logging and topography effects on artificial nest predation by rats in laurel forests
A1 Delgado, Juan Domingo
A1 Morales, G.
A1 Arroyo, Natalia L.
A1 Arévalo, José Ramón
A1 Fernández-Palacios, José María
K1 vegetation structure
K1 stand disturbance
K1 laurisilva
K1 birds
K1 Rattus rattus
K1 estructura vegetal
K1 aves
AB We performed a general assessment of predation by rats (chiefly Rattus rattus) on artificialnests in context of vegetation structure at two subtropical laurel forests on Tenerife (Canary Islands). Weselected two different types of forest stands (logged vs unlogged) differing in vegetation pattern andconservation degree to test for the effect of logging on rat predation. We placed ground and tree nests onfour plots per forest stand, each plot containing 40 nests (80 nests per treatment, 160 nests in all). Wedistributed nests among available sites with contrasting topography (plain areas, slopes, ridges andravines). We tested for logging effects, topography and their interaction with survival analysis, comparingsurvival and hazard functions. We assessed the relationships between nest survival and vegetationstructure with Cox survival regression. Vegetation structure was consistently different between slopes oflogged (early successional) and unlogged (mature-like) forest. We found higher nest predation rates at theunlogged forest, in sloping areas, and in patches with dense tree canopy cover and an intermediatesuccessional development. Rat nest predation on forest slopes (the dominant topographic landscapefeature) was higher in mature (unlogged) than in early successional (logged) ones, suggesting that ratshave adapted well to mature habitat and would prefer mature forest for foraging.
PB ALÖKI Applied Ecological Research and Forensic Institute
SN 1589-1623 (Print)
YR 2013
FD 2013
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18230
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18230
LA en
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 25-abr-2024