Bird responses at inherent and induced edges in the Murray Mallee, South Australia. 2. Nest predation as an edge effect

We assayed nest predation as an edge effect, using artificial ground nests, at inherent (naturally occurring) and induced (human-created) edges, in th e Murray Mallee, South Australia. Nests were constructed at distances betwe en 0-120 m away from habitat edges. The relative predation rate on nests ge nerally increased close to induced edges with a significant difference (P < 0.05) recorded for two out of five experiments. Predation rate at inherent edges was similar from the edge to the interior, and was lower than that r ecorded at induced edges. Our results suggest that increased predator numbe rs, activity or efficiency at locating nests occurred close to the induced edges at our study sites.