Supplementary feeding of wild birds by domestic garden-holders is a globally widespread and popular form of human–wildlife interaction, particularly in urban areas. Vast amounts of energy are thus being added to garden ecosystems. However, the potential indirect effects of this activity on non-avian species have been little studied to date, with the only two previous studies taking place under experimentally manipulated conditions. Here we present the first evidence of a localised depletive effect of wild bird feeding on ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in suburban gardens under the usual feeding patterns of the garden-holders. We trapped significantly fewer ground beetles directly under bird-feeding stations than in matched areas of habitat away from feeders. Video analysis also revealed significantly higher activity by ground-foraging birds under the feeding stations than in the control areas. Small mammal trapping revealed no evidence that these species differ in abundance between gardens with and without bird feeders. We therefore suggest that local increases in ground-foraging activity by bird species whose diets encompass arthropods as well as seed material are responsible for the reduction in ground beetle numbers. Our work therefore illustrates that providing food for wild birds can have indirect negative effects on palatable prey species under typical conditions.

中文翻译：

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补充野生鸟类的饲养间接影响郊区花园中的甲虫。

家庭菜主补充野生鸟类是人类与野生动物互动的一种全球广泛流行的形式，特别是在城市地区。因此，大量的能源被添加到花园的生态系统中。但是，迄今为止，这项活动对非禽类物种的潜在间接影响很少进行研究，此前仅有两项研究是在实验条件下进行的。在这里，我们提供了第一个证据，表明在野外觅食的情况下，野鸟对郊区花园中的地面甲虫（鞘翅目：Carabidae）的取食作用是常规的。与在远离饲养者的栖息地的匹配区域相比，我们在鸟类饲养站直接捕获的地面甲虫数量明显减少。视频分析还显示，与控制区相比，喂食站下地面觅食的鸟类活动明显增加。小型哺乳动物诱捕没有证据表明在有和没有喂鸟器的花园之间，这些物种的丰度有所不同。因此，我们建议，饮食中包括节肢动物和种子物质的鸟类在地面觅食中的局部增加是造成地面甲虫数量减少的原因。因此，我们的工作表明，在典型条件下，为野鸟提供食物可能会对可口的猎物物种产生间接的负面影响。因此，我们建议，饮食中包括节肢动物和种子物质的鸟类在地面觅食中的局部增加是造成地面甲虫数量减少的原因。因此，我们的工作表明，在典型条件下，为野鸟提供食物可能会对可口的猎物物种产生间接的负面影响。因此，我们建议，饮食中包括节肢动物和种子物质的鸟类在地面觅食中的局部增加是造成地面甲虫数量减少的原因。因此，我们的工作表明，在典型条件下，为野鸟提供食物可能会对可口的猎物物种产生间接的负面影响。