As anyone who has watched a flock of birds at their backyard feeder knows, one moment the birds will be busily munching their seeds and the next they will be desperately diving for cover from some phantom predator. This cycle of feeding and fleeing will then repeat itself until it is time for a siesta. This never-ending tension between finding food and avoiding becoming food likely afflicts all but the top-most predators. Lions may be the only animals that get a good night’s sleep. Getting back to your backyard feeder, the more often the birds are disturbed by real or imagined predators, the less they will get to eat. These birds may then be suffering from a predator-induced shortage of food despite having access to an unlimited food supply. Conversely, birds provided poorer quality food would have to visit the feeder more often resulting in more opportunities for their predators. The effects of food and predators cannot be separated if this is indeed how nature operates. For the past 3 years we have been working together with enthusiastic volunteers from the naturalist community, as well as students and colleagues from UBC, U of T, UWO and UVIC, studying the physiological, behavioural and demographic effects of food and predators on Song Sparrows. Every year at several sites in and around Victoria, we monitor about 100 Song Sparrow territories. Half of these are located in Victoria, in the Rithets Bog and Swan Lake Conservation Areas, while the other half are located on several small islands (Brackman, Hood, Portland, Russell and Tortoise) near the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. Comparing the Victoria and island sites allows us to contrast sites where predators are abundant (Victoria) with sites where predators are rare (islands). To explore the joint effects of food and predators, half of the territories in Victoria are given a feeder kept filled with high protein pellets, as are half of the island territories. While they are physically capable of producing up to 16 offspring per year, the average Song Sparrow pair in Victoria successfully fledges only 2. Pairs in Victoria given a feeder, fledge 1 additional young compared to those with no feeder. The lower number of predators on the islands means that pairs there can also fledge 1 additional young compared to those in Victoria with no feeder. If the effects of food and predators are simply added together, pairs on the islands given a feeder should therefore fledge 2 additional young (+ 1 with added food; + 1 with fewer predators). Instead, they fledge 4 additional young! Since the effects of food and predators multiply together, this means that food abundance affects vulnerability to predators, and predator abundance affects access to food, just as one might suspect from watching birds at your backyard feeder. Surprisingly, this is the first time a multiplicative effect of food and predators on reproduction has been demonstrated in birds, and only the second time such an effect has been shown in any bird or mammal. We expect that this effect will be found to be nearly universal once similar experiments are conducted elsewhere. The most likely reason our results are at present unique is because a small army of dedicated people is needed to accomplish such labour-intensive research. By studying these effects in a common species, we hope to identify general principles that will aid in species protection. Many songbirds throughout the world have declined in numbers in recent years. While changes in food supply or predator abundance are often implicated, conservation efforts have often proved disappointing. Our research suggests that simultaneously targeting both food and predators may not only be the key, but could also provide disproportionate benefits per dollar spent on conservation. We welcome the participation of any enthusiastic naturalist in our study. Our activities include basic bird watching for the identification of colour-banded individuals, nest searching, mist-netting, measuring nestlings, radio-tracking juveniles, and small mammal inventories for predator identification. Our sites in Victoria are an easy stroll from the nearest parking area. Travel to the islands is via a small boat, which requires a bit more stamina, but offers rewards in the form of breathtaking scenery and the chance to see seals, porpoises, Marbled Murrelets and other marine life. If you would like to know more or are ready to help, either visit the ‘Volunteer Opportunities’ website below or phone or e-mail us directly. If you simply wish to have some fun spotting banded Song Sparrows at Rithets Bog or Swan Lake, please visit the ‘Song Sparrow Spotting’ website listed below. This website allows you to download maps, data sheets, and lists of banded birds that you can take with you on your strolls around these conservation areas. When you see a banded sparrow, find it on the list, mark it on the map, list the time and your details on the data sheet and send your findings to us. We will then send you a brief biography of each bird. You can enjoy yourself and provide valuable information! Dr. Liana Zanette or Dr. Michael Clinchy 5268 Santa Clara Avenue Victoria, B.C., V8Y 1W4 Phone: (250) 658-3325 E-mail: lzanette@uwo.ca, mclinchy@uwo.ca ‘Volunteer Opportunities’ website Song Sparrow Spotting’ website