Forest fragment size affects edge effect in nest predation - Experiment with artificial nests

Many species react negatively to forest fragmentation. If this process also decreases the abundance of forest predators we expect that birds' broods in small forest patches would be preyed upon only by predators that penetrate from the matrix while broods in larger patches would be also attacked by predators specifically associated with forests. We tested the hypothesis that an increase in forest patch size leads to an increase in predator pressure on nests. Studies were conducted in Central Poland, in an agriculturally dominant area with 6% forest cover and highly fragmented woodlots. Artificial nests were placed along transects from the forest edge to the center of the woodlot. Three patch sizes were chosen for the experiment: small (< 20 ha), medium (30-50 ha) and large (> 120 ha). One quail egg was placed in each nest. All transects were checked after 1314 days. The highest predation level was found in medium-sized patches, the lowest - in the largest patches. We found a reverse edge effect on nest predation in the largest patches, i.e. a decreased predation risk closer to the forest/matrix border. When comparing our results with other studies, it seems that the manner of classifying forest size significantly affects the results obtained. This may explain the differences in the results of many authors studying this phenomenon.