Evidence-based culling of a facultative predator: Efficacy and efficiency components

Sanz‐Aguilar, Ana; Martínez‐Abraín, Alejandro; Tavecchia, Giacomo; Mínguez, Eduardo; Oro, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2008.11.004

Cited by 61 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The high degree of specialization across yellowlegged gulls of southern Spain has management and conservation implications related to the implementation of effective actions to reduce specific impacts on human or conservation interests (Sanz-Aguilar et al 2009, Bowen & Lidgard 2013. For example, if the owners of fish farms wish to reduce the potential impact of yellow-legged gulls on their installations, one tractable management option is to remove gulls that specialize in this resource.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, taking into account the individual component should allow for a better understanding of ecological processes. In addition, knowing the degree of individual specialization in winning species that negatively affect human or wildlife health may help to implement more effective management actions (Sanz-Aguilar et al 2009, Bowen & Lidgard 2013, Ceia et al 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting individual habitat specialization of a successful predator living in anthropogenic landscapes

Navarro¹,

Grémillet²,

Ramírez³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Population expansions of successful species have gained importance as a major conservation and management concern. The success of these 'winners' is widely attributed to their high adaptability and behavioural plasticity, which allow them to efficiently use opportunities provided by human-modified habitats. However, most of these studies consider conspecifics as ecological equivalents, without considering the individual components within populations. This is critical for a better understanding of the main ecological mechanisms related to the success of winning species. Here, we investigated the spatial ecology of the opportunistic yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis, a clear example of a winning species in southern Europe, to examine its degree of individual specialization in habitat use. To test for such individual strategies, we applied specialization metrics to spatial data obtained from 18 yellow-legged gulls that were GPS-tracked simultaneously during the breeding season. The results revealed that population-level generalism in habitat use in the yellow-legged gull arises through varying levels of individual specialization, and individual spatial segregation within each habitat. Importantly, we found that the combination of individual specialization and individual spatial segregation may reduce intra-specific competition, with these 2 important mechanisms driving the success of this winning species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting individual habitat specialization of a successful predator living in anthropogenic landscapes

Navarro¹,

Grémillet²,

Ramírez³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Artificially creating habitat to mimic natural habitat can play a critical role in population recovery of terns (Schippers et al 2009;Pakanen et al 2014). We recommend that the possible effects of avian predators and potential specialisation be considered (Sanz-Aguilar et al 2009) and monitoring of black-fronted terns on lowland rivers be continued, extending it to include different life-stages, on cleared and vegetated islands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clearing islands as refugia for black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) breeding colonies in braided rivers

Schlesselmann¹,

O’Donnell²,

Monks³

et al. 2018

NZ J Ecol

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Black-fronted terns/tarapirohe (Chlidonias albostriatus) are highly adapted to nesting on clear shingle areas of the braided rivers in the South Island, New Zealand. They are nationally and internationally classified as 'Endangered'. Ongoing threats, primarily an interaction of predation and habitat degradation or loss, have resulted in population decline. Conservation management in the form of control of introduced mammalian predators has proven partially successful. Using the lower Waitaki River as a case study, we cleared vegetation from seven islands creating potential refugia from mammalian predators and providing high quality bare gravel breeding habitat. We: (1) determined the mammalian predators present on river banks, vegetated islands and cleared islands; (2) assessed the nesting success of black-fronted terns and primary causes of nest failure; (3) identified the predator species at nests using remote cameras; and (4) compared the nesting success on cleared and vegetated islands. Fewer mammalian predators were detected on islands compared to adjacent riverbanks: mustelids (Mustela spp.) occurred on approximately half of the vegetated islands, but only mice (Mus musculus) were detected once on one of the cleared islands. Black-fronted terns established three colonies on islands immediately after the clearing of vegetation, but nesting success in the lower Waitaki River was low overall (50.5% to 56.4% of nests contained at least one egg that hatched) and the primary cause of nest failure was predation before and after clearing islands. The main predators of nests (62.5% of predation events) were southern black-backed gulls (Larus dominicanus). There was no overall difference in nesting successes of colonies between cleared and vegetated islands, presumably because gulls depredated tern eggs irrespective of vegetation cover around target nests. Nesting success depended on the timing and size of the colony, with earlier established nests and nests in larger colonies being more successful. Artificially created nesting habitat can play a critical role for conservation, particularly on lowland rivers in New Zealand, and we recommend control of avian predators be considered.

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IntroductionPredator control is most commonly considered as a management strategy for invasive predators (Baxter et al 2008;Barbour et al 2011;Morris Jr et al 2011) or outbreaks of endemic predators (Yamaguchi 1986;Sanz-Aguilar et al 2009). Previous attempts to cull corallivores, specifically Acanthaster planci, have largely been aimed at localized outbreaks with the goal of preserving coral tissue over a large area (Yamaguchi 1986).

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Removal of corallivorous snails as a proactive conservation tool

Williams

Miller

Bright

et al. 2014

Preprint

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PrePrints IntroductionPredator control is most commonly considered as a management strategy for invasive predators (Baxter et al. 2008;Barbour et al. 2011;Morris Jr et al. 2011) or outbreaks of endemic predators (Yamaguchi 1986;Sanz-Aguilar et al. 2009). Previous attempts to cull corallivores, specifically Acanthaster planci, have largely been aimed at localized outbreaks with the goal of preserving coral tissue over a large area (Yamaguchi 1986). These efforts have been deemed ineffective due to the large numbers and migrating aggregations of these predators (Yamaguchi 1986;Johnson et al. 1990). However, removal of a relatively sedentary predator from targeted populations of a threatened coral species has not been evaluated.Ecological theory on predator-prey dynamics can provide insight on situations when predator removal may be effective in protecting prey. Sinclair et al. (1998) present a framework whereby controlling natural predators may improve the outcome for management of declining or reintroduced populations of threatened species. In this framework, the appropriate scale of intervention depends on the functional and numerical response of predators to changing prey abundance. In cases where the effects of predation are depensatory and prey abundance is so low that they are vulnerable to stochastic events, predator control could provide benefit to prey populations (Sinclair et al. 1998). Rotjan and Lewis (2008), in a review of corallivory, suggest that the rapid pace of coral decline over the past two decades, largely from factors other than predation, may have indeed reached such a depensatory threshold such that predation is exerting undue influence, potentially compromising coral reef resilience.On reefs in the western Atlantic, the dominant framework builder, Acropora palmata, is preyed upon by the corallivorous snail Coralliophila abbreviata. Although disease, storms, and bleaching have largely driven the range-wide decline of A. palmata populations, snail predation is PrePrints recognized as one of the top three threats to the persistence and recovery of these populations (Bruckner 2002;Williams and Miller 2012). In the upper Florida Keys, there has been a 50% decline in A. palmata tissue abundance since 2004. Although the main culprit has been disease, feeding by C. abbreviata accounted for an estimated one-quarter of the observed tissue loss (Williams and Miller 2012). It is unknown whether or not the C. abbreviata population is increasing; however, typical predators of shelled gastropods are grunts, wrasses, trunkfish, triggerfish, and pufferfish (Randall 1967). Therefore it is possible that reduced predation on snails due to overfishing may have increased snail abundance (Burkepile and Hay 2007), though specific data to support this hypothesis are lacking. Regardless, as A. palmata populations decline, snails have been observed to become more concentrated on the remaining A. palmata (Bruckner et al. 1997;Bruckner 2000;Baums et al. 2003a;Williams and Miller 2012) rather than declining themselves,...

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Evidence-based culling of a facultative predator: Efficacy and efficiency components

Cited by 61 publications

References 42 publications

Shifting individual habitat specialization of a successful predator living in anthropogenic landscapes

Shifting individual habitat specialization of a successful predator living in anthropogenic landscapes

Clearing islands as refugia for black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) breeding colonies in braided rivers

Removal of corallivorous snails as a proactive conservation tool

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