Secondary poisoning of stoats (Mustela erminea) at low mouse (Mus musculus) abundance in a New Zealand Nothofagus forest

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 419 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. P. Brown ◽  
N. Alterio ◽  
H. Moller
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Secondary Poisoning ◽  
Mustela Erminea ◽  
Nothofagus Forest ◽  
Tracking Tunnels

Two different brodifacoum (Talon 20 P™) poisoning regimes effectively killed 100% of resident radio-tagged stoats (Mustela erminea) by secondary poisoning in a New Zealand Nothofagus forest when mice (Mus musculus) were scarce. Resident possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and ship rats (Rattus rattus) were also killed. The relative importance of different prey species as sources of poison for stoats has not been clearly identified but availability of poisoned prey will determine the efficacy of secondary poisoning in years of low prey abundance. Tracking tunnels did not accurately measure the decline in the stoat population and were probably influenced by immigrant stoats that were kill-trapped and contained high levels of poison. This study corroborates the findings of several other similar studies that secondary poisoning using brodifacoum effectively kills stoats.

Secondary poisoning of stoats (Mustela erminea) in a South Island podocarp forest, New Zealand: implications for conservation

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 501 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Alterio ◽  
H. Moller
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Secondary Poisoning ◽  
Mustela Erminea ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Bait Stations

This study tested the efficacy of secondary poisoning using Talon 20 P™ (20 ppm brodifacoum) in bait stations for killing predators in a New Zealand podocarp forest. Nine of 10 resident radio-tagged stoats (Mustela erminea) were killed after poisoning operations that killed mice (Mus musculus), ship rats (Rattus rattus) and brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Possums were an important source of the poison, with six stoats dying 1–2 weeks after scavenging on poisoned carcasses. New male stoats rapidly invaded the poisoned areas, but few were killed because poisoned carcasses were scarce. Most resident stoats died before possums were poisoned in other New Zealand trials when Talon 20 P was hand-broadcast. Prey abundance is potentially an important determinant of efficacy of the method, so pulse baiting is likely to be more successful than press (sustained) baiting operations for controlling stoats. Use of bait stations delayed indirect poisoning of stoats, but reduced risks to non-target native species compared with hand-broadcast operations. Talon 20 P poisoning operations using bait stations could be an especially useful way of restoring New Zealand’s mainland communities of native biota because several species of predators are killed in the same operation, but potential risks to non-target native wildlife and humans should be intensively researched before the method is routinely used. This research also demonstrates the potential hazards of the new anticoagulant poisons like brodifacoum to conservation of small native predators elsewhere.

Functional responses of an invasive top predator Mustela erminea to invasive meso-predators Rattus rattus and Mus musculus, in New Zealand forests

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Jones ◽  
Roger Pech ◽  
Guy Forrester ◽  
Carolyn M. King ◽  
Elaine C. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Mustela Erminea ◽  
Rodent Prey

Context Management of suites of invasive mammal species can lead to perverse outcomes, such as meso-predator release, or can achieve desirable reductions in the abundance of top-order predators by controlling their prey. Predictive models for predator–prey systems require estimates of predator functional responses, i.e. predation rates as functions of prey density. Aims In New Zealand, estimates of the functional responses of stoats (Mustela erminea) to mice (Mus musculus) and ship (black) rats (Rattus rattus) are required to improve management models for these invasive species. Methods We derived fitted relationships between the presence or absence of mouse or ship-rat remains in stoat guts and corresponding indices of prey abundance in beech and podocarp forests, respectively. To convert field data on stoat-gut contents to minimum kill rates, we used data on feeding activity and estimates of gut-passage time, observed in captive stoats. Key results The most parsimonious fitted curves were Type II functional responses, with a steeper stoat–mouse curve for autumn–winter, indicating a more specialist feeding habit than that in spring–summer. Estimated kill rates of mice per stoat per day reached an asymptote of 1.13 during autumn–winter. Our maximum observed kill rate for spring–summer was 11% less than the extrapolated upper limit of 1.04 mice per stoat per day for New Zealand ecosystems. No asymptote was reached within the limits of the data for the stoat–rat relationship. Conclusions Recent models for trophic interactions between stoats and the primary rodent prey have overestimated kill rates by stoats in forested ecosystems, particularly at very low and very high densities of mice. We show how data on stoat-gut contents can be rescaled to estimate minimum kill rates of rodent prey. Implications The functional-response relationships we have derived can be used to improve modelled predictions of the effects of natural or management-driven perturbations of invasive stoats and their primary rodent-prey populations.

On the Diet of the Boa Epicrates striatus on Hispaniola, with Notes on E. fordi and E. gracilis

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
José A. Ottenwalder ◽  
Robert W. Henderson ◽  
Albert Schwartz ◽  
Teresa A. Noeske-Hallin
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Ontogenetic Shift ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Prey Remains

AbstractThe stomach contents of 214 specimens of Hispaniolan Epicrates (Serpentes: Boidae) were examined for prey remains. The largest species, E. striatus, exhibits a sharp ontogenetic shift in diet: snakes < 60 cm SVL ate predominantly Anolis lizards; snakes 60-80 cm SVL took anoles and small rodents; and snakes > 80 cm SVL ate birds and rats (Rattus rattus). Epicrates fordi preyed on anoles and small rodents, and E. gracilis took only Anolis. E. striatus ate larger individuals of the same species of Anolis consumed by Hispaniolan colubrids. Before the arrival of Europeans on Hispaniola, large Epicrates striatus most likely preyed upon birds and now-extict rodents (Brotomys, Isolobodon and Plagiodontia) and insectivores (Nesophontes). The diet of E. striatus would have gradually shifted from native to introduced mammals, and by the early 20th century, when most native, non-volant mammals had become extinct on Hispaniola, the shift would have become nearly complete, with the exotics Mus musculus and Rattus rattus becoming the predominant prey species.

Capturing the cryptic: a comparison of detection methods for stoats (Mustela erminea) in alpine habitats

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Des H. V. Smith ◽  
Kerry A. Weston
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Monitoring Methods ◽  
Mustela Erminea ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Artificial Nests ◽  
Alternative Detection ◽  
Tracking Tunnels

Context The ability to monitor the spatial distribution and abundance of species is essential for detecting population changes, and assessing the progress of conservation management programs. Stoats (Mustela erminea) are a serious conservation pest in New Zealand, but current monitoring methods are not sensitive enough to detect stoats in all situations. Aims We compare the effectiveness of the most commonly employed method for monitoring mustelids in New Zealand, footprint-tracking tunnels, with two alternative detection methods, camera traps and artificial nests. We were interested in determining whether alternative detection methods were more sensitive in detecting stoats than tracking tunnels. Methods We established a network of tracking tunnels, artificial nests and camera traps within alpine habitat. Devices were checked for stoat detections weekly across two seasons, in spring–early summer and autumn. Differences in detection rates and cost effectiveness among methods were analysed among seasons. Key results In spring–early summer, the time to first stoat detection using footprint-tracking tunnels was 61 days, compared with 7 days for camera traps and 8 days for artificial nests. The rate of stoat detection using artificial nests was significantly higher than it was using tracking tunnels (coef = 3.05 ± 1.29, P = 0.02), and moderately higher using camera traps (coef = 1.34 ± 1.09, P = 0.22). In autumn, when overall detectability of stoats was higher, there was no significant difference in detection rates among the three methods, although camera traps again recorded the earliest detection. Artificial nests were the most cost effective detection method in both seasons. Conclusions Artificial nests and camera traps were more efficient at detecting stoats during their spring breeding season (when they are known to be difficult to detect), compared with the more established footprint-tracking tunnel method. Artificial nests have potential to be developed into a monitoring index for small mammals, although further research is required. Both methods provide an important alternative to footprint tracking indices for monitoring stoats. Implications Our study demonstrated the importance of calibration among different monitoring methods, particularly when the target species is difficult to detect. We hypothesise that detection methods that do not rely on conspicuous, artificially constructed devices, may be more effective for monitoring small, cryptic mammals.

Routine blood values for New Zealand brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) at capture

1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.S. O'Keefe ◽  
M. Wickstrom
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Routine Blood

scholarly journals Implications of prefeeding for the development of bait aversions in brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula)

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zane N. Moss ◽  
Cheryl E. O'Connor ◽  
Graham J. Hickling
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Sublethal Dose ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Management Procedure

Development of aversions, or learned ‘bait-shyness’, in frequently poisoned possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) populations is becoming increasingly detrimental to the efficacy of pest-control operations in New Zealand. This experiment aimed to identify the effects of prefeeding, a common management procedure, on the subsequent development of aversions in possums. Wild possums (n = 96) were captured and acclimatised, then allocated to one of three treatments groups that for seven days received either (i) no prefeed, (ii) plain RS5 cereal baits, or (iii) green-dyed and cinnamon-lured RS5 cereal baits. The possums were then offered a standard green-dyed and cinnamon-lured RS5 bait that contained a sublethal dose (0.4 mg kg-1) of the toxin sodium monofluoroacetate (1080). The possums were tested for development of an aversion towards a toxic RS5 1080 bait, a prefeed bait, and a prefeed bait containing an alternative toxin, brodifacoum. Most (96%) of the non-prefed possums became averse to the 1080 bait after two exposures, compared with only 55% and 9% of the two prefed groups. Similarly, 90% and 92% of the non-prefed possums were averse to prefeed and brodifacoum baits, respectively, compared with 8% and 14% of the prefed possums. This suggests that pest managers can reduce the risk of ‘bait shyness’ by prefeeding. A further advantage of prefeeding is that if poison shyness develops, use of an alternative toxin such as brodifacoum in the original bait base may still be successful.

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