Effect of camera monitoring on survival rates of High-Arctic shorebird nests

ABSTRACT.   Monitoring bird nests with cameras provides an opportunity to identify the cause of nest failure and record the behavior of individuals. However, leaving an object continuously within sight of a nest could have potential negative effects on nesting success. We compared daily survival rates of nests monitored using cameras and human visitation to nests tracked via human visitation only to test for potential additional effects of camera monitoring on predation rates. From 2006 to 2008, experiments were conducted on Bylot Island (Nunavut) using 80 artificial nests and 53 real nests of Baird's Sandpipers ( Calidris bairdii ) and White-rumped Sandpipers ( Calidris fuscicollis ). Rates of predation on real and artificial nests varied considerably among years. However, survival rates of camera-monitored nests did not differ from those of nests monitored without cameras. Predators of artificial nests included Arctic foxes ( Vulpes lagopus ), Glaucous Gulls ( Larus hyperboreus ), and Long-tailed Jaegers ( Stercorarius longicaudus ), whereas Arctic foxes were responsible for all camera-recorded predation events at real nests. Camera monitoring should be promoted as a viable method for monitoring nests of Arctic shorebirds because our results indicate that placing cameras at nests does not bias estimates of nest survival obtained via nest visits.