Importance of lethal control of invasive predators for island conservation

Russell, James C.; Jones, Holly P.; Armstrong, Doug P.; Courchamp, Franck; Kappes, Peter J.; Seddon, Philip J.; Oppel, Steffen; Rauzon, Mark J.; Cowan, P. E.; Rocamora, Gérard; Genovesi, Piero; Bonnaud, Elsa; Keitt, Bradford S.; Holmes, Nick D.; Tershy, Bernie R.

doi:10.1111/cobi.12666

Cited by 51 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Given the many islands on which invasive predators occur and the high costs involved in controlling or eradicating them, prioritization of islands for eradications is an important exercise (30)(31)(32)(33). Facilitation between multiple invasive species (e.g., rodents providing abundant food for cats, thus maintaining high densities of the latter) can exacerbate their respective impacts on native species (1,9).…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss

Doherty

Glen

Nimmo

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

920

713

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Invasive species threaten biodiversity globally, and invasive mammalian predators are particularly damaging, having contributed to considerable species decline and extinction. We provide a global metaanalysis of these impacts and reveal their full extent. Invasive predators are implicated in 87 bird, 45 mammal, and 10 reptile species extinctions-58% of these groups' contemporary extinctions worldwide. These figures are likely underestimated because 23 critically endangered species that we assessed are classed as "possibly extinct." Invasive mammalian predators endanger a further 596 species at risk of extinction, with cats, rodents, dogs, and pigs threatening the most species overall. Species most at risk from predators have high evolutionary distinctiveness and inhabit insular environments. Invasive mammalian predators are therefore important drivers of irreversible loss of phylogenetic diversity worldwide. That most impacted species are insular indicates that management of invasive predators on islands should be a global conservation priority. Understanding and mitigating the impact of invasive mammalian predators is essential for reducing the rate of global biodiversity loss.I nvasive mammalian predators ("invasive predators" hereafter) are arguably the most damaging group of alien animal species for global biodiversity (1-3). Species such as cats (Felis catus), rats (Rattus rattus), mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), and stoats (Mustela erminea) threaten biodiversity through predation (4, 5), competition (6), disease transmission (7), and facilitation with other invasive species (8). The decline and extinction of native species due to invasive predators can have impacts that cascade throughout entire ecosystems (9). For example, predation by feral cats and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) has led to the decline or extinction of two thirds of Australia's digging mammal species over the past 200 y (10, 11). Reduced disturbance to topsoil in the absence of digging mammals has led to impoverished landscapes where little organic matter accumulates and rates of seed germination are low (10). In the Aleutian archipelago, predation of seabirds by introduced Arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) has lowered nutrient input and soil fertility, ultimately causing vegetation to transform from grasslands to dwarf shrub/forb-dominated systems (12).Mitigating the negative impacts of invasive mammalian predators is a primary goal of conservation agencies worldwide (1,13,14). Regardless, there remains no global synthesis of the role of invasive predators in species declines and extinctions (but see refs. 3 and 15). Here, we quantify the number of bird, mammal, and reptile species threatened by, or thought to have become extinct (since AD 1500) due to, invasive mammalian predators. We use metaanalysis to examine taxonomic and geographic trends in these impacts and show how the severity of predator impacts varies according to species endemicity and evolutionary distinctiveness. Results and DiscussionIn total, 596 threatened and 142 extinc...

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Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss

Doherty

Glen

Nimmo

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

920

713

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…We pick our battles more carefully now, and have a world-beating record of success in wildlife conservation on offshore islands. 170 Our aspirations are more ambitious than ever, 171 but they are informed by the failures of the past-including those most bitter of lessons, taught by stoats, weasels and ferrets. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The history of transportations of stoats (Mustela erminea) and weasels (M. nivalis) to New Zealand, 1883–92

King¹

2017

IREH

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This article presents an intensive original analysis of the history of the first deliberate transportations of non-domesticated European predators into southern New Zealand during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was part of one of the world's first large-scale attempts to use alien carnivores as agents of biological control against a major vertebrate pest. In response to serious pasture damage in Southland and Otago by European rabbits, and the consequent decline in the value of wool exports, tens of thousands of the rabbits' 'natural enemies', semi-tame ferrets, and pet cats collected from cities, were liberated on the worst-affected pastoral land, followed by wild-captured stoats and weasels. Against strong and repeated protests, at least 7,838 stoats and weasels were imported from Britain in at least 25 shipments between 1883 and 1892. The total cost over the decade was probably at least NZ$1-2 million in today's money, with no effect on the numbers of rabbits. The historic details of the mustelid introductions, never previously assembled, cast an unconventional light on an old story, concerning how powerful economic interests and dominant cultural assumptions determine official policy, with implications for thinking about contemporary ecological globalisation.

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“…Understanding and reducing their impacts is thus considered essential for threatened and endemic species conservation; cat population management has generally involved reducing populations through lethal operations Russell et al, 2016). Effective feral cat management (especially eradications) on numerous islands generally has positive effects on native biodiversity conservation (e.g.…”

Section: Conservation and Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feral cats threaten the outstanding endemic fauna of the New Caledonia biodiversity hotspot

Palmas

Jourdan

Rigault

et al. 2017

Biological Conservation

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A B S T R A C TFeral cats (Felis catus) are one of the most successful and harmful invasive predator species, leading to dramatic loss of biodiversity across the globe. Our study assessed feral cat predation in a major biodiversity hotspot: the New Caledonian archipelago. We focused on the consequences of this predation for the outstanding endemic fauna found throughout the rich range of New Caledonian natural habitats. We analyzed > 5300 cat scats sampled from 14 selected sites representing the 4 main natural habitats, with 4 to 6 sampling sessions per year over > 4 years per habitat. Our study reveals previously unreported patterns of cat predation on both alien and endemic species. Throughout the archipelago, cats prey strongly upon squamates, flying foxes and petrels. Feral cat prey included at least 44 native vertebrate species, 20 of which are IUCN Red-listed threatened species. This study adds some 44.4% to the number of IUCN threatened species vulnerable to and preyed upon by feral cats on the world's islands. New Caledonia, while it represents only 0.12% of the total area of islands worldwide (Australia included), hosts 30.8% of IUCN threatened species known to be predated by feral cats. This study recommends prioritizing management and conservation strategies by focusing actions on maquis mosaic and humid forest habitats, where feral cats pose the greatest threat. To limit the impact of feral cats, we recommend conducting targeted management actions on sites key to threatened species conservation, and preventing arrival or promoting eradication on islets.

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Importance of lethal control of invasive predators for island conservation

Cited by 51 publications

References 26 publications

Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss

Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss

The history of transportations of stoats (Mustela erminea) and weasels (M. nivalis) to New Zealand, 1883–92

Feral cats threaten the outstanding endemic fauna of the New Caledonia biodiversity hotspot

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