Significance of predation for breeding ecology and conservation in shorebirds

Predation is the most common cause of reproduction failure and it strongly influences breeding performance in birds, impacting the whole species population dynamics as well as it represents a major force in the evolution of avian life-history strategies. Investigating the factors driving predation rates, or quantifying predation consequences, is highly relevant for evolutionary ecology as well as for species conservation, especially in a rapidly changing world. In this dissertation, I investigate links between nest and chick predation, environmental factors, life-history and anti-predatory strategies, together with consequences for population dynamics and conservation. I use shorebirds as a uniquely suitable model system for three reasons: i) they are globally distributed; ii) have predominant ground nesting strategy and high interspecific similarity in nest appearance to potential predators; iii) are sufficiently well- studied in terms of nest predation all over the world. In the two first sections of this dissertation, Predation in the agricultural landscape and Interspecific interactions and anti-predatory strategies, Chapter 2 supports the thermoregulatory hypothesis of nest lining size rather than anti-predatory adaptation. Chapter 3 discusses, from the perspective of predation, the twofold..