Invasive American mink Mustela vison in wetlands of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, southern Chile: what are they eating?

Abstract

Reserve of southern Chile the species is currently expanding in an area where the native fauna evolved in the absence of terrestrial predators. To evaluate any emerging problems we therefore investigated seasonal variation in prey use by mink on Navarino Island within the Reserve. We identified undigested remains in 414 scats collected from the shores of 27 ponds over January-November 2006. Diet consisted mainly of mammals and birds. Mammals, including both native and exotic rodents, were the predominant prey in all seasons but birds were of equal importance during the summer (when birds breed and their abundance and diversity increases on the island). Exotic rodents were the only identifiable mammalian prey item during winter. Native wetland birds constituted a substantial proportion of mink diet, and greater than that reported in other areas. Many birds breeding on Navarino Island are ground-nesting, a strategy that evolved in the absence of native mammalian predators. Considering the international importance of this region, our results emphasize the need for an assessment of the impact of mink predation on the populations of native prey.

Range expansion and prey use of American mink in Argentinean Patagonia: dilemmas for conservation

“…Diet in watersheds where crustaceans are available was similar to that previously reported for mink in freshwater systems of Patagonia (Medina 1997;Previtali et al 1998; Table 3). However, our study extended beyond the crustaceans' distribution (see also the results of Ibarra et al (2009) from Navarino Island, another area without crustaceans, but with which comparisons are confounded by the high availability of ground-nesting birds naïve to mammalian predators).…”

“…Once this range expansion became evident in Patagonia by the 1980s and 1990s, interest began to mount in the invasive status of American mink in Chile and Argentina (Jaksik et al 2002;Anderson et al 2006;Novillo and Ojeda 2008). Ecological studies also emerged, focused on (a) mink diet and habitat associations (Previtali et al 1998), (b) mink ecology in the context of intra-guild interactions (Chehébar et al 1986;Medina 1997;Aued et al 2003;Delibes et al 2003;Fasola et al 2009) and (c) more recently studies on mink diet in relation to native and exotic prey (Ibarra et al 2009;Schüttler et al 2008), waterfowl vulnerability to mink predation (Schüttler et al 2009) and waterfowl abundance fluctuations in relation to mink invading process (Peris et al 2009). However, these studies were focused on restricted areas or areas of special interest (e.g.…”

Primera década de investigación y educación en la Reserva de la Biosfera Cabo de Hornos: El enfoque biocultural del Parque Etnobotánico Omora

“…Fuentes: (1) Arróniz-Crespo et al 2014;Jofre et al 2010, Lewis et al 2014aMéndez, 2013;Méndez et al 2013;Rozzi et al 2008b; (2) Mansilla et al 2012Mansilla et al , 2013aMansilla et al , 2014aOjeda et al 2014Ojeda et al , 2015; (3) Contador et al 2012Contador et al , 2014; (4) Merino et al 2008;Reyes et al 2015;(5) Crego et al 2014(5) Crego et al , 2015Ibarra et al 2009Ibarra et al , 2010Schüttler et al 2008Schüttler et al , 2009Schüttler et al , 2010Schüttler et al , 2011Jiménez et al 2014;(6) Berghöfer et al 2008(6) Berghöfer et al , 2010Jax & Rozzi, 2004;Rozzi & Schüttler, 2013;Rozzi, 2004, Rozzi et al 2006a,b, 2007, 2012a; (7) Aguirre, 2015; Ibarra et al 2012;Massardo et al 2012;Poole et al 2013;Rozzi 2012aRozzi ,b, 2013Rozzi et al 2010bRozzi et al ,c, 2014Rozzi et al , 2015(8) Medina, 2013;Pizarro & Caballero, 2011;Sherriffs et al 2005;Zárraga et a...…”

Estudios socio-ecológicos de largo plazo en los sitios fundadores de la red LTSER-Chile: desafíos y oportunidades para el futuro

“…Desde el año 1999 este parque ha definido tres ámbitos de trabajo que han sido adaptados desde el enfoque de la "Iniciativa para una biosfera sustentable" (Lubchenco et al 1991) que consiste en: a) investigación ecológica transdisciplinaria de largo plazo, b) educación formal y no formal, y c) conservación biocultural, incluyendo el turismo de intereses especiales como una forma de contribuir a la sustentabilidad ambiental, económica y social. Para desarrollar estos ámbitos de trabajo el Parque Etnobotánico Omora estableció tres áreas de investigación transdisciplinaria dividida en sublíneas (cuadro 1): (I) Biodiversidad Subantártica poco percibida (Rozzi et al 2008a, Contador et al2012, Arróniz-Crespo et al 2014, (II) Investigación y monitoreo de largo plazo (Ibarra et al 2009, Rozzi y Jiménez 2014) y (III) Integración de ética ambiental, educación y conservación biocultural (Rozzi et al 2008b, Schüttler et al 2011. Identificación de Cabo de Hornos como "hotspot de biodiversidad" de flora no-vascular, y funciones ecosistémicas esenciales desempeñadas por briofitas y líquenes.…”