Open AccessMisinformation tactics protect rare birds from problem predators
Author(s) -
Grant Norbury,
Catherine J. Price,
M. Cecilia Latham,
Samantha J. Brown,
A. David M. Latham,
Gretchen Brownstein,
Hayley Ricardo,
Nikki McArthur,
Peter B. Banks
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
science advances
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.928
H-Index - 146
ISSN - 2375-2548
DOI - 10.1126/sciadv.abe4164
Subject(s) - misinformation , predation , threatened species , odds , population , ecology , biology , zoology , computer science , computer security , medicine , environmental health , logistic regression , machine learning , habitat
Efficient decision-making integrates previous experience with new information. Tactical use of misinformation can alter choice in humans. Whether misinformation affects decision-making in other free-living species, including problem species, is unknown. Here, we show that sensory misinformation tactics can reduce the impacts of predators on vulnerable bird populations as effectively as lethal control. We repeatedly exposed invasive mammalian predators to unprofitable bird odors for 5 weeks before native shorebirds arrived for nesting and for 8 weeks thereafter. Chick production increased 1.7-fold at odor-treated sites over 25 to 35 days, with doubled or tripled odds of successful hatching, resulting in a 127% increase in modeled population size in 25 years. We demonstrate that decision-making processes that respond to changes in information reliability are vulnerable to tactical manipulation by misinformation. Altering perceptions of prey availability offers an innovative, nonlethal approach to managing problem predators and improving conservation outcomes for threatened species.