Eaten out of house and home: local extinction of Abrolhos painted button-quail Turnix varius scintillans due to invasive mice, herbivores and rainfall decline

Carter, R. S.; Lohr, Cheryl A.; Burbidge, Allan H.; Dongen, R. van; Chapman, J.; Davis, Robert A.

doi:10.1007/s10530-022-02966-5

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 64 publications

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“…Previous research of house mice on islands shows that mice have complex, omnivorous diets but tend to prefer arthropods (especially Lepidopteran larvae), followed by seeds and vegetative materials [2,5,6,9,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Beyond arthropods and plants, mice have been documented to consume a variety of other foods, including seabirds (via depredation and/or scavenging; [1,4,10,16,[25][26][27]), landbirds [28], skinks, and possibly other reptiles [29]. Only one study has noted the presence of fungi and spores of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in mouse diet [30], although it is unclear if mice were actively preying on these fungi, or if they were inadvertently consumed while mice were eating plant roots.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An invasive appetite: Combining molecular and stable isotope analyses to reveal the diet of introduced house mice (Mus musculus) on a small, subtropical island

Holthuijzen,

Flint,

Green

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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House mice (Mus musculus) pose a conservation threat on islands, where they adversely affect native species’ distributions, densities, and persistence. On Sand Island of Kuaihelani, mice recently began to depredate nesting adult mōlī (Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis). Efforts are underway to eradicate mice from Sand Island, but knowledge of mouse diet is needed to predict ecosystem response and recovery following mouse removal. We used next-generation sequencing to identify what mice eat on Sand Island, followed by stable isotope analysis to estimate the proportions contributed by taxa to mouse diet. We collected paired fecal and hair samples from 318 mice between April 2018 to May 2019; mice were trapped approximately every eight weeks among four distinct habitat types to provide insight into temporal and spatial variation. Sand Island’s mice mainly consume arthropods, with nearly equal (but substantially smaller) contributions of C3 plants, C4 plants, and mōlī. Although seabird tissue is a small portion of mouse diet, mice consume many detrital-feeding arthropods in and around seabird carcasses, such as isopods, flesh flies, ants, and cockroaches. Additionally, most arthropods and plants eaten by mice are non-native. Mouse diet composition differs among habitat types but changes minimally throughout the year, indicating that mice are not necessarily limited by food source availability or accessibility. Eradication of house mice may benefit seabirds on Sand Island (by removing a terrestrial, non-native predator), but it is unclear how arthropod and plant communities may respond and change. Non-native and invasive arthropods and plants previously consumed (and possibly suppressed) by mice may be released post-eradication, which could prevent recovery of native taxa. Comprehensive knowledge of target species’ diet is a critical component of eradication planning. Dietary information should be used both to identify and to monitor which taxa may respond most strongly to invasive species removal and to assess if proactive, pre-eradication management activities are warranted.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An invasive appetite: Combining molecular and stable isotope analyses to reveal the diet of introduced house mice (Mus musculus) on a small, subtropical island

Holthuijzen,

Flint,

Green

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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A review of methods for detecting rats at low densities, with implications for surveillance

et al. 2023

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Invasive rats are the biggest threat to island biodiversity world-wide. Though the ecological impacts of rats on insular biota are well documented, introduced rats present a difficult problem for detection and management. In recent decades, improved approaches have allowed for island-wide eradications of invasive rats on small-medium sized islands and suppression on large islands, although both these still represent a formidable logistical and financial challenge. A key aspect of eradication or suppression and ongoing management is the ability to detect the presence of rats, especially at low densities. Here we review recent developments in the field of rat surveillance and summarise current published literature to recommend practices and the factors to consider when developing a surveillance program for either eradication or suppression plans. Of 51 empirical studies covering 17 countries, 58% were from New Zealand. Although detecting rats at low density is extremely challenging, advances over the past 15 years, have significantly improved our ability to detect rats. Motion-sensored cameras and rodent detection dogs have greatly improved our ability to detect rats at low densities, with cameras consistently showing an ability to detect rats at lower densities than other techniques. Rodent detection dogs are also able to reliably detect even an individual rat, although there are challenges to their widespread adoption, particularly in developing countries, due to the cost and skills required for their training and maintenance. New monitoring devices, the use of eDNA and drones represent current and future innovations to improve detection.

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Trends in monitoring of Australia’s threatened birds (1990–2020): much improved but still inadequate

Verdon,

Davis,

Tulloch

et al. 2024

Emu - Austral Ornithology

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Eaten out of house and home: local extinction of Abrolhos painted button-quail Turnix varius scintillans due to invasive mice, herbivores and rainfall decline

Cited by 4 publications

References 64 publications

An invasive appetite: Combining molecular and stable isotope analyses to reveal the diet of introduced house mice (Mus musculus) on a small, subtropical island

An invasive appetite: Combining molecular and stable isotope analyses to reveal the diet of introduced house mice (Mus musculus) on a small, subtropical island

A review of methods for detecting rats at low densities, with implications for surveillance

Trends in monitoring of Australia’s threatened birds (1990–2020): much improved but still inadequate

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