Dog urine deployed as a repellent does not improve nest survival in mock nests mimicking those of the ground-nesting red-capped plover Charadrius ruficapillus

Foxes prey upon clutches of ground-nesting birds, and in Australia this constitutes a conservation problem for which no effective solution currently exists. We trialled the application of dog urine spray around camera-monitored, mock plover nests in a wetland (eight with urine, eight with a water control) in an attempt to reduce loss to predators and increase clutch survival. No survival benefit was detectable. We also studied predator visits to treated and control nests; no difference occurred in the number of putative predators at urine-treated nests, including foxes. This small trial suggests there would be little benefit to further study, or application of, dog urine to protect nests in our study system.