Use nest covers to reduce the impact of research on predation of ground-nesting seabirds

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

41%
Certainty

35%
Harms

19%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Researchers arriving at nesting colonies may disturb birds and, particularly with ground-nesting species, may leave them vulnerable to opportunistic predators. This predation might be reduced by protecting the nests with cages or individual barriers.

Studies describing the more general use of nest cages and predator barriers are discussed in ‘Reduce nest predation by excluding predators from nests or nesting areas’.

Study locations

Key messages

A before-and-after study in Canada found that protecting Caspian tern Sterna caspia nests after researchers disturbed parents from them significantly increased hatching success. This was due to a reduction in predation by ring-billed gulls Larus delawarensis.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A before-and-after study at a site on the South Limestone Islands, Lake Huron, Canada (Quinn 1984), found that the hatching rate in a Caspian tern Sterna caspia colony was significantly higher in 1979 when researchers visiting the site added nest covers to nests when they arrived at the colony and removed them as they left, compared to in 1978, when covers were not used (77% of 156 eggs hatching in 1979 vs. 62% of 188 in 1978). This difference was mainly due to large numbers of eggs being eaten by ring-billed gulls Larus delawarensis in 1978. The author notes that two eggs in 1978 were crushed by poor placement of the covers. Covers were 38 cm diameter hemisphere made from wood, steel and chicken wire.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Quinn J.S. (1984) Egg predation reduced by nest covers during researcher activities in a Caspian tern colony. Colonial Waterbirds, 7, 149-151.

Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

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