Invasive rat drives complete collapse of native small mammal communities in insular forest fragments

Moore, Jonathan H.; Palmeirim, Ana Filipa; Peres, Carlos A.; Ngoprasert, Dusit; Gibson, Luke

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.053

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…A number of studies have demonstrated that habitat loss and insular fragmentation cause species local extinctions across lowland tropical forests (Gibson et al, 2013; Moore et al, 2022; Palmeirim et al, 2022; Pinto Henriques et al, 2021). Here, we contribute to fill an important knowledge gap by accordingly demonstrating overall negative bats response to disturbance across an insular fragmented landscape in Southeast Asia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging guild modulates insectivorous bat responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation in peninsular Malaysia

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Froidevaux

Yoh

et al. 2023

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Despite mounting evidence on the ecological impacts of damming for biodiversity, little is known regarding its consequences in the hyper-diverse Southeast Asian tropical forests. Here we assess the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the diversity and activity of insectivorous bats within the hydroelectric Kenyir Lake in peninsular Malaysia. We surveyed bat assemblages on 26 islands and two mainland continuous forest sites using passive acoustic monitoring. Echolocation calls were classified into sonotypes, each corresponding to either one or multiple species, and grouped into foraging guilds. We then examined bat overall assemblage (sonotype richness, activity, and composition), guild- and sonotype-specific activity. From 9360 hours of recordings, we identified 16 bat sonotypes, including 10 forest (2854 bat passes), three edge (13 703) and three open-space foragers (3651). Sonotype richness increased towards denser forest structures (higher Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - NDVI), while species composition varied across the gradient of forest area. Forest foragers were positively affected by NDVI and negatively affected by distance to the closest neighbour, whereas edge foragers' activity increased in smaller islands. Of the six sonotypes analysed, the activity of one forest sonotype increased with forest area, while that of one edge sonotype decreased. Ensuring habitat quality within insular forest remnants, in addition to their functional connectivity, maximises bat diversity, including the persistence of forest foraging species. Future hydropower development should therefore avoid the creation of a myriad of small, isolated, and habitat-degraded islands further characterised by altered levels of bat diversity and guild-level activity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging guild modulates insectivorous bat responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation in peninsular Malaysia

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Froidevaux

Yoh

et al. 2023

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“…Evidence of black rats R. rattus , a non‐native, global, and urban‐adapted invasive species, was found in 7% of scat samples overall and accounted for 24% of the small mammal category, occurring in scats from all sites except the unrestored saltmarsh. Rats are potential predators of native birds and their eggs, and are competitors with native small mammals (Moore et al 2022). The role of pest control played by urban coyotes may save urban areas thousands of dollars, an ecological service hampered by the use of anticoagulant rodenticides that kill coyotes, other rodent predators, and non‐target wildlife (Erickson and Urban 2004, Moriarty et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supplementation of seasonal natural resources with year‐round anthropogenic resources by coyotes in natural fragments within a high‐density urban area

2023

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Coyotes Canis latrans in urban landscapes provide important food web functions and ecological services but can also trigger human‐wildlife conflict when their diet includes anthropogenic resources or domestic pets. As adaptable omnivores, coyotes adjust their diet to their environment, routinely switching among food items to accommodate spatial and seasonal differences in availability. To evaluate the coyote's potential impacts within the food web of urban Long Beach, California where human‐wildlife conflict involving coyotes may occur, we analyzed 115 scat samples collected once every two weeks from four open space fragments inside the urban matrix. We hypothesized that differences in scat composition would correlate with seasonal and site differences, with greater use of anthropogenic resources during the dry season supplementing lower prey availability, and with greater consumption of wild mammal prey during the wet season when fruiting plants are less abundant. We found coyote diet was predominately composed of natural prey and vegetation year‐round, with seasonal variation. Mammals made up more of coyote diet in the wet season than the dry, while invertebrates and vegetation were more prevalent in dry season scats. Coyotes relied on rabbits as their main prey year‐round across all sites. Domestic cats Felis catus were the third most common individual prey species found in coyote scats, occurring in 14% of scat samples in both seasons. Coyotes also supplemented seasonally available natural food sources with anthropogenic resources, which occurred in 13% of coyote scats overall with no significant seasonal variation. While rabbits appeared in scat from all sites, the occurrence of invertebrates, small mammals, and vegetation in scats varied between sites. While there is a potential for human‐wildlife conflict in coyote's consumption of feral or domestic cats, coyotes may also be providing an ecological service by reducing cats in natural habitat fragments.

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“…(6) Managing hyperabundant wildlife Hyperabundant species can impact humans and local fauna and flora in a multitude of negative ways, requiring extensive control measures (Taylor et al, 2016;Wilson & Edwards, 2019;Moore et al, 2022). There are significant efforts to manage hyperabundant pig and macaque populations in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Luskin et al, 2014;Lamperty et al, 2023).…”

Section: The Causes and Consequences Of Hyperabundance (1) Pig And Ma...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Species like rodents with r ‐selected life histories (prolific reproduction, high mortality, short‐lived) may appear predisposed to hyperabundance since they can double their populations within a single year (Fryxell, Sinclair & Caughley, 2014), but we reserve the term hyperabundance for situations with persistently elevated densities across multiple years (e.g. Gibson et al ., 2013; Moore et al ., 2022).…”

Section: Wildlife Hyperabundancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hyperabundance in Southeast Asia is poorly understood (Amir et al ., 2022 a ). To date, clear results have only been reported for Malayan field rats ( Rattus tiomanicus ) on man‐made islands (Moore et al ., 2022), wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) in one forest in Peninsular Malaysia (Ickes, 2001; Luskin et al ., 2017 b ), and sporadic reports suggesting high densities of long‐tailed macaques ( Macaca fascicularis ) that require management in Peninsular Malaysia (Choong et al ., 2021). There are no clear regional trends for pigs and macaques and these taxa are actually presumed to be declining in most accounts (Luskin & Ke, 2017; Luskin et al ., 2018, 2021 b , 2023; Keuling & Leus, 2019; Ke & Luskin, 2019; Ruppert et al ., 2022; Hansen et al ., 2023).…”

Section: Wildlife Hyperabundancementioning

confidence: 99%

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The rise of hyperabundant native generalists threatens both humans and nature

et al. 2023

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In many disturbed terrestrial landscapes, a subset of native generalist vertebrates thrives. The population trends of these disturbance‐tolerant species may be driven by multiple factors, including habitat preferences, foraging opportunities (including crop raiding or human refuse), lower mortality when their predators are persecuted (the ‘human shield’ effect) and reduced competition due to declines of disturbance‐sensitive species. A pronounced elevation in the abundance of disturbance‐tolerant wildlife can drive numerous cascading impacts on food webs, biodiversity, vegetation structure and people in coupled human–natural systems. There is also concern for increased risk of zoonotic disease transfer to humans and domestic animals from wildlife species with high pathogen loads as their abundance and proximity to humans increases. Here we use field data from 58 landscapes to document a supra‐regional phenomenon of the hyperabundance and community dominance of Southeast Asian wild pigs and macaques. These two groups were chosen as prime candidates capable of reaching hyperabundance as they are edge adapted, with gregarious social structure, omnivorous diets, rapid reproduction and high tolerance to human proximity. Compared to intact interior forests, population densities in degraded forests were 148% and 87% higher for wild boar and macaques, respectively. In landscapes with >60% oil palm coverage, wild boar and pig‐tailed macaque estimated abundances were 337% and 447% higher than landscapes with <1% oil palm coverage, respectively, suggesting marked demographic benefits accrued by crop raiding on calorie‐rich food subsidies. There was extreme community dominance in forest landscapes with >20% oil palm cover where two pig and two macaque species accounted for >80% of independent camera trap detections, leaving <20% for the other 85 mammal species >1 kg considered. Establishing the population trends of pigs and macaques is imperative since they are linked to cascading impacts on the fauna and flora of local forest ecosystems, disease and human health, and economics (i.e., crop losses). The severity of potential negative cascading effects may motivate control efforts to achieve ecosystem integrity, human health and conservation objectives. Our review concludes that the rise of native generalists can be mediated by specific types of degradation, which influences the ecology and conservation of natural areas, creating both positive and detrimental impacts on intact ecosystems and human society.

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Invasive rat drives complete collapse of native small mammal communities in insular forest fragments

Cited by 13 publications

References 66 publications

Foraging guild modulates insectivorous bat responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation in peninsular Malaysia

Foraging guild modulates insectivorous bat responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation in peninsular Malaysia

Supplementation of seasonal natural resources with year‐round anthropogenic resources by coyotes in natural fragments within a high‐density urban area

The rise of hyperabundant native generalists threatens both humans and nature

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