However it should be noted that predators may learn the location of genuine nests as well, such as through the behaviour and location of nesting birds

Predation intensity on arboreal versus ground nests

Predation intensity at ground levels were significantly larger than those in arboreal nests, which supports previous studies \cite{article,Piper_2004}, although this is not universal \cite{articlea}.

2. Why would there be spatial autocorrelation here, but not in ground nests? (Honestly, I don't know, it seems like locomotion would be more of a limiting factor for things that don't have goddam wings)

 One of the more unusual results from this experiment is the spatial autocorrelation between arboreal nest proximity and location, which is not present on ground nests. Particularly given the disersal constraints of terrestrial predators are usually larger than those of arboreal predators. This may be due to X
This could be an avenue of future study, however it should be noted the spatial autocorrelation was quite weak (r = 0.0889), so may not be particularly ecologically significant. 

3. Predation is very very high here compared to other studies, why is that?

Nest predation is the most common cause of nest failure, and previous experiments in the U.S. have found over 75% of ground nest predations are caused by terrestrial rodents \cite{Sanders_2019}. These are slightly higher than our experiment 63%, and may be accounted for by the presence of  
Predation generally in this experiment is quite high compared to other nest predation experiments in 
One possible mechanism is the mesopredator release effect, whereby in the absence of apex predators, mid-ranking predators take over the role of apex predators in the food web \cite{SOULE_1988}. In unfragmented habitats, apex predators can exert top down ecological control of an ecosystem, which has indirect benefits on prey populations by suppressing mid-level predators \cite{Prugh_2009}. However, larger species are more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation due to the larger range size, meaning mesopredator release may become a growing problem for an increasingly fragmented U.K. forest habitat. This in turns suggests that apex predator control measures may be a valid conservation mechanism for ground nesting bird populations through top-down control of rodent populations. A possible future route of study in this area should aim to examine the populations of apex predators and mesopredators in this woodland, and examine whether the mesopredator release hypothesis is a good fit for these findings.
 \cite{Elmhagen_2007}

Implications for bird conservation in the U.K.

1. How many ground nesting birds live in the U.K.? What proportion are endangered and live in deciduous woodlands?

What are the downsides of this experiment which we need to take these conclusions with a grain of salt?

One of the potential limitations of this experiment is the use of artificial nests over natural ones, which attract different predators. Previous experiments have shown artificial nests can overestimate predation rates, by attracting different predators \cite{WEIDINGER_2008}. In addition, artificial nests do not mimic the seasonal variation in predation rates observed in natural nest experiments \cite{Zanette_2002}.
This experiment was also short lived, having only been run for 2 weeks post spring, where populations of predators are at their highest. 

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Cristina Banks-Leite of Imperial College London for help and advice regarding the pilot study, statistical analysis and invaluable guidance. I would also like to thank the technical staff at Silwood Park for their assistance using the GPS unit for spatial analysis. Many thanks to the Biology Undergraduate department, without whom this project could not be possible.