Predator Movements and Duck Nests in Relation to Habitat Features in Suisun Marsh, CA (2016-2019)

This dataset describes mesopredator locations (raccoons and striped skunks), dabbling duck nest locations (mallard, gadwall, and cinnamon teal), northern harrier nest locations, and random locations in relation to a set of habitat features in Suisun Marsh, California during 2016 through 2019. We designed a series of questions to link fine-scale predator movements and vulnerability of dabbling duck nests to predator encounters and egg predation. We conducted our study over a 4-year period using 41 GPS-collared raccoons and striped skunks, two of the most widespread mammalian predators of waterfowl eggs in North America, and more than 2000 monitored duck nests. Each night of movement for mesopredators contains the distance between successive locations (each unique night of foraging is identified using the julian date on which the night started), which can be added up to obtain an estimate for the distance traveled per night in between day resting sites. The dataset also includes a set of dabbling duck nests and distances to habitat features that were used to examine the probability of a nest being discovered and depredated by a predator. This dataset also includes a set of nests found within the home ranges of the GPS-collared raccoons and skunks that encountered the most duck nests in the core upland nesting area and whether each nest was encountered or not on a given night by a collared animal. These nest encounters were used to examine the probability of encounter by a collared predator in relation to a set of habitat features.

These data support the following publication:
Peterson, S.H., Ackerman, J.T., Keating, M.P., Schacter, C.R., Hartman, C.A., Casazza, M.L., and Herzog, M.P., 2022. Predator movements in relation to habitat features reveal vulnerability of duck nests to predation. Ecology and Evolution, 12(9), p.e9329. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9329.