Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) Science Article 2
abstract
Survival of Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) nests was compared in areas with andwithout nesting Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) to determine whether the protection provided to plovers by associationwith this colonial species is passive or aggressive. Artificial and natural nests placed=100 m from terns hadsimilar rates of survival (<10% of all nests lost to predators), and benefited substantially from protection againstpredators through aggressive behavior of nesting terns. Natural nests had much higher survival than artificial nestswhen positioned >100 m from nesting terns, suggesting that the presence of incubating adult plovers reduces theprobability of nest predation.
LINHP. NGUYEN, KENNETH F. ABRAHAM AND ERICA NOL, Waterbirds 29(1): 100-104, 2006