THE INFLUENCE OF NEST PLACEMENT ON BREEDING SUCCESS OF THE BLACKCAP (SYLVIA ATRICAPILLA L.) IN TWO DIFFERENT FOREST HABITATS

One of the hypotheses to explain a lack of relationship between nest location and breeding success of passerine birds predicts that in an environment characterized by a high diversity of predators that use a variety of foraging strategies, clutches in different locations and degrees of concealment may be equally subject to destruction. In this study I assumed that the impact of nest location on breeding success of the Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla would differ in habitats characterized by significantly different species richness and, consequently, population density and species diversity of potential predators. Thus, I expected that the influence of the nest location and particularly its concealment on breeding success of the Blackcap would be more significant in a habitat characterized by the overall low biotic diversity and low vegetation density. The study was conducted in two forested areas located in central Poland - managed pine forest characterized by low biodiversity and vegetation density and floodplain forest consisting of much higher biodiversity and having higher stand density. I assessed the influence of Blackcap nest placement (concealment, height above the ground, nest plant height, distance from the nest to the closest edge of the nest plant) on breeding success. Among the analyzed parameters, only nest concealment had a significant impact on breeding success. This conclusion, however, pertains only to the pine forest, where successful nests were better concealed than nests with clutch losses. Similar relationships were found in the floodplain forest area, but they were not statistically significant.