Ongoing climate change is thought to disrupt trophic relationships, with consequences for complex interspecific interactions, yet the effects of climate change on species interactions are poorly understood, and such effects have not been documented at a global scale. Using a single database of 38,191 nests from 237 populations, we found that shorebirds have experienced a worldwide increase in nest predation over the past 70 years. Historically, there existed a latitudinal gradient in nest predation, with the highest rates in the tropics; however, this pattern has been recently reversed in the Northern Hemisphere, most notably in the Arctic. This increased nest predation is consistent with climate-induced shifts in predator-prey relationships.

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Alfred Denny Building Western Bank Sheffield S10 2TN UK

Department of Conservation Zoology University of Debrecen Egyetem tér 1 H 4032 Debrecen Hungary

Department of Ecology Charles University Prague Vinicna 7 128 44 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology University of Debrecen Egyetem tér 1 H 4032 Debrecen Hungary

Faculty of Environmental Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Kamycka 129 165 21 Prague Czech Republic

Hortobágy National Park Directorate Sumen u 2 H 4024 Debrecen Hungary

Milner Centre for Evolution University of Bath Claverton Down Bath BA2 7AY UK

Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering College of Life Sciences Beijing Normal University Beijing 100875 China

State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and College of Ecology and Evolution Sun Yat sen University Guangzhou 510275 China

Zoological Museum Moscow MV Lomonosov State University Bolshaya Nikitskaya Str 6 Moscow 125009 Russia

Comment In

Science. 2019 Jun 14;364(6445):eaaw8529. doi: 10.1126/science.aaw8529. PubMed

References provided by Crossref.org

Variation in nest survival of three species of tropical plovers in Madagascar with clutch size, age of nest, year and El Niño effect

Egg characteristics vary longitudinally in Arctic shorebirds

Diel timing of nest predation changes across breeding season in a subtropical shorebird

Global population trends in shorebirds: migratory behaviour makes species at risk

Successful breeding predicts divorce in plovers

Incubating parents serve as visual cues to predators in Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)

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Dryad
10.5061/dryad.45g90h4