Impact of introduced house mice (Mus musculus) on burrowing seabirds on Steeple Jason and Grand Jason Islands, Falklands, South Atlantic

Bolton, Mark; Stanbury, Andrew; Baylis, Alastair M. M.; Cuthbert, Richard

doi:10.1007/s00300-014-1554-2

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Though house mice on islands are known to depredate seabird eggs and chicks (Bolton et al 2014, Dilley et al 2015, there is little evidence of such direct effects of mice on breeding seabirds on the South Farallon Islands (Ainley and Boekelheide 1990, Point Blue, unpublished data). Rather, mice have an indirect impact on storm petrels through the hyper-predation of burrowing owls.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating population impacts of predation by owls on storm petrels in relation to proposed island mouse eradication

et al. 2019

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We quantify the expected demographic benefit to a seabird of conservation concern, the ashy storm‐petrel Oceanodroma homochroa, from the proposed eradication of introduced house mice Mus musculus on the South Farallon Islands, California. A key objective of the eradication is to reduce storm petrel predation by burrowing owls Athene cunicularia, which stopover on the island during their fall migration. Mouse trapping and field surveys of both owls and depredated storm petrel carcasses conducted during 2000–2012 reveal a strongly seasonal, inter‐related pattern among the three species: When owls arrive during the fall, mice are super‐abundant and the overwhelming choice of prey for those owls that remain. In the winter, the mouse population crashes just as storm petrels begin to arrive in large numbers; owls that remain on the island switch to preying upon storm petrels until May, when they depart to breed. Capture–recapture analyses of storm petrels showed (1) annual adult survival was inversely related to owl abundance, especially during January–April, and (2) storm petrels demonstrated a declining trend in abundance 2006–2012. The latter was associated with low rates of adult survival, high abundance of overwintering burrowing owls, and high incidence of depredated storm petrels. To evaluate projected impacts to storm petrels of a change in owl predation, we developed a Leslie matrix model, incorporating environmental stochasticity. We modeled future storm petrel population trajectories, allowing for different levels of owl‐mediated predation. Our results suggest that a reduction in owl abundance, a projected consequence of the elimination of mice, has the potential to substantially reduce overall storm petrel mortality, thereby reducing storm petrel declines and increasing the likelihood of stable trends in the future. While long‐term benefits to storm petrels of mouse eradication are apparent, the risk of increased predation due to prey‐switching by owls also needs to be addressed. This study highlights uncertainty of outcomes, which must be considered in evaluating management impacts. This study demonstrates the value of concurrent, continuous, long‐term datasets in providing a quantitative basis for management to aid the conservation of species of concern.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating population impacts of predation by owls on storm petrels in relation to proposed island mouse eradication

et al. 2019

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“…Fugler et al (1987) suspected that mice predated 'some eggs and small chicks' of blue petrels Halobaena caerulea (Gmelin) at Long Ridge in 1982 when they found 'one chick carcass had deep wounds on the back of the neck, probably made by a mouse' (p. 106). On Gough Island mice have been shown to be very efficient predators of burrow-nesting petrel chicks (Wanless et al 2012, Dilley et al 2015, and there is circumstantial evidence that mice impact breeding success and distribution of storm petrels on Steeple Jason Island (Bolton et al 2014), but the extent of mouse predation on burrow-nesting petrels on Marion Island is unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mouse predation affects breeding success of burrow-nesting petrels at sub-Antarctic Marion Island

et al. 2017

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We report the breeding success of four species of burrow-nesting petrels at sub-Antarctic Marion Island where house mice Mus musculus are the sole introduced mammal. Feral cats Felis catus were present on Marion for four decades from 1949, killing millions of seabirds and greatly reducing petrel populations. Cats were eradicated by 1991, but petrel populations have shown only marginal recoveries. We hypothesize that mice are suppressing their recovery through depredation of petrel eggs and chicks. Breeding success for winter breeders (grey petrels Procellaria cinerea (34±21%) and great-winged petrels Pterodroma macroptera (52±7%)) were lower than for summer breeders (blue petrels Halobaena caerulea (61±6%) and white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis (59±6%)) and among winter breeders most chick fatalities were of small chicks up to 14 days old. We assessed the extent of mouse predation by monitoring the inside of 55 burrow chambers with video surveillance cameras (4024 film days from 2012–16) and recorded fatal attacks on grey (3/18 nests filmed, 17%) and great-winged petrel chicks (1/19, 5%). Our results show that burrow-nesting petrels are at risk from mouse predation, providing further motivation for the eradication of mice from Marion Island.

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“…Kilda field mice, providing important information on this endemic subspecies that features in the Statement of Universal Value for this World Heritage Site 60 . It is therefore of interest that mice appear to feed on seabird-derived food, as previously suspected on St Kilda 27 , and documented at other seabird colonies 7,9,20,21,24,59,61 . However, our results reveal nothing about the way in which mice obtain seabird-derived food.…”

Section: St Kilda Field Mouse Diet and Seabird Predation This Is Thementioning

confidence: 79%

Stable isotopes reveal the importance of seabirds and marine foods in the diet of St Kilda field mice

Bicknell

Walker

Black

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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introduced mammals have devastated island nesting seabird populations worldwide. Declines in breeding seabirds on St Kilda, UK, have been linked to climate change and predation from great skuas Stercorarius skuas, but the introduced St Kilda field mouse Apodemus sylvaticus hirtensis may also play a role by feeding on adults, chicks or eggs. Here, we use stable isotopes in St Kilda mouse blood and potential dietary items to investigate their foraging ecology, specifically focussing on the importance of seabirds and marine foods in their diet. Mice were seasonally sampled at three sites on Hirta, St Kilda over three consecutive years (2010-2012). The δ 13 c and δ 15 N ratios were used in analyses, including isotope niche and dietary source mixing models, to examine foraging behaviour among locations and between seabird breeding seasons. Mice sampled in Carn Mor-where the majority of the island's seabirds nest-had consistently higher δ 13 C than other locations throughout the year, with δ 15 n also being significantly higher for all but one comparison. The isotopic niche width (SEAs) of Carn Mor mice in each season were distinct from the other locations, and became smaller during the seabird breeding season. Dietary mixing models revealed that seabirds made up a large proportion of the diet for mice from Carn Mor, particularly during the seabird breeding season. In conclusion, our work reveals that seabird-derived foods are likely to form a significant part of the diet of St Kilda mice populations located in and around breeding colonies. It is unclear however, whether this is from scavenging or predation of seabirds, or through their discarded food items. Given that mice have had significant effects on seabird populations elsewhere, it is important to carry out further work to determine whether mice are a significant cause of seabird mortality in this island ecosystem. Human colonisation of islands has caused profound environmental transformations, extinction events, and cascading ecosystem changes 1-4. Many of the negative impacts of human colonisation can be attributed to the introduction of non-native species, which often accompanied human arrival, and subsequently became invasive 5-7. The introduction of invasive species is a leading cause of extinctions worldwide 8 , with effects ranging from direct predation and competition 1,9,10 , to indirect impacts, such as vegetation change, breeding site destruction, and altered nutrient availability 7,11-13. Introduced mammals have had some of the most damaging effects on island wildlife, altering trophic relationships and leading to large numbers of extinctions 1,5,14. Seabirds have been particularly severely impacted by introduced mammals. This is typically because seabirds have evolved in the absence of mammalian predators and because of their bet-hedging life history characteristics 15,16. For instance, introduced rats (Rattus sp) have negatively affected at least 75 species of seabirds across 10 families 17 and overall, introduced cats (Felis sp

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Impact of introduced house mice (Mus musculus) on burrowing seabirds on Steeple Jason and Grand Jason Islands, Falklands, South Atlantic

Cited by 21 publications

References 28 publications

Evaluating population impacts of predation by owls on storm petrels in relation to proposed island mouse eradication

Evaluating population impacts of predation by owls on storm petrels in relation to proposed island mouse eradication

Mouse predation affects breeding success of burrow-nesting petrels at sub-Antarctic Marion Island

Stable isotopes reveal the importance of seabirds and marine foods in the diet of St Kilda field mice

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