Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

Predator control to enhance avian reproductive success is a controversial issue in wildlife management, yet rarely is the effectiveness of this tool evaluated with respect to the impact it has on predator populations. Understanding predator demographic responses to intense predator reduction efforts has important applied implications, and provides data to answer to public scrutiny. Medium-sized, generalist mammals (i.e., meso-mammalian) are important nest predators of the declining gamebird, the northern bobwhite, and may limit bobwhite populations. To evaluate the effectiveness of intensive predator control on influencing meso-mammal populations, we monitored 4 primary meso-mammal nest predators of bobwhites. These species include raccoon, Virginia opossum, nine-banded armadillo, and bobcat. We used scent stations to monitor predators on 4 study sites (1,300-1,400 ha each) in northern Florida and southern Georgia during 2000-2006. Baseline data were collected in 2000 for all study sites. During 2001-2003, 2 sites received intensive meso-mammal predator reduction during the 7-month bobwhite breeding season, whereas the other two sites served as controls with no reduction occurring. After 3 years, the treatments were reversed. Using predator detection at scent stations, we modeled the probability that predators used 25-ha patches across the study sites via a community occupancy model. We examined the probability of patch use between years to determine the effectiveness of predator reduction and the resilience of predator populations to management. We removed a total of 5,161 meso-mammals from our study areas. Our results show meso-mammal predator control, as done on our study area, was sufficiently intensive enough to reduce predator use across target sites, but continued reduction would be needed to reduce predator patch use between years. Our findings demonstrate that a predator community can be reduced at the local scale; however, the predators remain on the greater landscape thereby minimizing potential for negative impacts on ecosystem integrity.