Fragmented forests result in more snakes, fewer birds

Monitoring both prey and predator, researchers learned that rat snakes accounted for a high percentage of cases of nest predation. Because snakes spend so much more time on the edges of the forest, that's where bird nests should be most vulnerable, but the opposite was true. They go into the forest to feed, then return to the edges. This knowledge of habitat preferences of rat snakes is starting to explain why forest fragmentation usually results in increased nest predation for forest birds.

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