Abstract Culling of overabundant and invasive species to manage their ecological impacts on target species is widely practised but outcomes are unpredictable and monitoring of effectiveness often poor. Culling must improve ecosystem function, so clear, measurable goals, such as improved breeding potential of target species, are necessary. Many overabundant and invasive species are also nest predators and nest predation is the principal cause of breeding failure of many birds of conservation concern. It is important for managers to know the likely effects on nest predation when culling one species among a suite of nest predatory species. We tested the effect of culling a hyperaggressive, overabundant bird and known nesting disruptor, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), on artificial nest predation rates in remnant eucalypt woodlands in a highly fragmented agricultural landscape of eastern Australia. Culling of noisy miners is already practised to manage this key threatening process, but evidence of improved breeding outcomes for target species is lacking. We found no significant change in artificial nest predation rates following the treatment, despite a 28% reduction in noisy miner abundance in treatment compared to control sites. We identified five other nest predatory bird species, the noisy miner being responsible for 18.3% of total predation. Our findings suggest a compensatory nest predation model, which is problematic for management. It means that, where culling is done with a view to improving breeding potential of target species by reducing nest predation, removing one nest predatory species may not result in a commensurate reduction in nest predation.

中文翻译：

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对过量本地物种进行致命控制后的补偿性巢穴捕食模型的实验测试

摘要 扑杀过多的入侵物种以管理其对目标物种的生态影响已被广泛采用，但结果是不可预测的，而且有效性监测往往很差。扑杀必须改善生态系统功能，因此需要明确、可衡量的目标，例如提高目标物种的繁殖潜力。许多过多的入侵物种也是巢穴捕食者，而巢穴捕食是许多受保护鸟类繁殖失败的主要原因。在从一组巢穴捕食性物种中剔除一个物种时，管理者必须了解对巢穴捕食的可能影响。我们测试了扑杀一只攻击性过强、数量过多的鸟类和已知的筑巢破坏者——吵闹的矿工 (Manorina melanocephala) 的效果，澳大利亚东部高度分散的农业景观中残余桉树林中的人工巢穴捕食率。已经采取了扑杀嘈杂矿工来管理这一关键威胁过程的做法，但缺乏改善目标物种育种结果的证据。我们发现处理后人工巢穴捕食率没有显着变化，尽管与对照地点相比，处理中嘈杂的矿工丰度减少了 28%。我们确定了其他五种巢穴掠食性鸟类，嘈杂的矿工占总捕食量的 18.3%。我们的研究结果表明了一种补偿性的巢穴捕食模型，这对管理来说是有问题的。这意味着，在进行扑杀以通过减少巢穴捕食来提高目标物种的繁殖潜力时，