scholarly journals Can predation by invasive mice drive seabird extinctions?

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross M Wanless ◽  
Andrea Angel ◽  
Richard J Cuthbert ◽  
Geoff M Hilton ◽  
Peter G Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
House Mouse ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Population Models ◽  
South Atlantic Ocean ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Invasive Mammals

The house mouse, Mus musculus , is one of the most widespread and well-studied invasive mammals on islands. It was thought to pose little risk to seabirds, but video evidence from Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean shows house mice killing chicks of two IUCN-listed seabird species. Mouse-induced mortality in 2004 was a significant cause of extremely poor breeding success for Tristan albatrosses, Diomedea dabbenena (0.27 fledglings/pair), and Atlantic petrels, Pterodroma incerta (0.33). Population models show that these levels of predation are sufficient to cause population decreases. Unlike many other islands, mice are the only introduced mammals on Gough Island. However, restoration programmes to eradicate rats and other introduced mammals from islands are increasing the number of islands where mice are the sole alien mammals. If these mouse populations are released from the ecological effects of predators and competitors, they too may become predatory on seabird chicks.

scholarly journals Potential for primary poisoning of a critically endangered endemic land bird during rodent eradication operations at Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L Bond ◽  
Michelle M Risi ◽  
Christopher W Jones ◽  
Peter G Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
South Atlantic Ocean ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Tristan Da Cunha ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Island Ecosystem ◽  
Rodent Eradication ◽  
Land Bird

Eradicating introduced rodents from islands restores these communities, but operations must mitigate bait uptake by non-target species to ensure adequate bait coverage, and minimize mortality of non-target species. Ingestion of toxic bait is a recognised risk for scavenging birds, but is also a concern for generalist feeders. Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic Ocean, has introduced house mice (Mus musculus) that negatively affect the island ecosystem. It is also home to the endemic globally threatened Gough bunting (Rowettia goughensis), a generalist that may be affected by primary poisoning. We presented 26 wild individuals with non-toxic bait pellets and observed their reactions for up to 30 min, or until they flew away. While 23% of Gough buntings did not react to bait pellets, 77% showed some level of interest. Generalist feeders, such as Gough bunting, may also be at risk of primary poisoning during rodent eradication operations.

scholarly journals Potential for primary poisoning of a critically endangered endemic land bird during rodent eradication operations at Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L Bond ◽  
Michelle M Risi ◽  
Christopher W Jones ◽  
Peter G Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
South Atlantic Ocean ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Tristan Da Cunha ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Island Ecosystem ◽  
Rodent Eradication ◽  
Land Bird

Eradicating introduced rodents from islands restores these communities, but operations must mitigate bait uptake by non-target species to ensure adequate bait coverage, and minimize mortality of non-target species. Ingestion of toxic bait is a recognised risk for scavenging birds, but is also a concern for generalist feeders. Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic Ocean, has introduced house mice (Mus musculus) that negatively affect the island ecosystem. It is also home to the endemic globally threatened Gough bunting (Rowettia goughensis), a generalist that may be affected by primary poisoning. We presented 26 wild individuals with non-toxic bait pellets and observed their reactions for up to 30 min, or until they flew away. While 23% of Gough buntings did not react to bait pellets, 77% showed some level of interest. Generalist feeders, such as Gough bunting, may also be at risk of primary poisoning during rodent eradication operations.

scholarly journals Potential for primary poisoning of a critically endangered endemic land bird during rodent eradication operations at Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L Bond ◽  
Michelle M Risi ◽  
Christopher W Jones ◽  
Peter G Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
South Atlantic Ocean ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Tristan Da Cunha ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Island Ecosystem ◽  
Rodent Eradication ◽  
Land Bird

Eradicating introduced rodents from islands restores these communities, but operations must mitigate bait uptake by non-target species to ensure adequate bait coverage, and minimize mortality of non-target species. Ingestion of toxic bait is a recognised risk for scavenging birds, but is also a concern for generalist feeders. Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic Ocean, has introduced house mice (Mus musculus) that negatively affect the island ecosystem. It is also home to the endemic globally threatened Gough bunting (Rowettia goughensis), a generalist that may be affected by primary poisoning. We presented 26 wild individuals with non-toxic bait pellets and observed their reactions for up to 30 min, or until they flew away. While 23% of Gough buntings did not react to bait pellets, 77% showed some level of interest. Generalist feeders, such as Gough bunting, may also be at risk of primary poisoning during rodent eradication operations.

scholarly journals Mouse eradication is required to prevent local extinction of an endangered seabird on an oceanic island

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Jones ◽  
Michelle M. Risi ◽  
Alexis M. Osborne ◽  
Peter G. Ryan ◽  
Steffen Oppel
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Success ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Breeding Populations ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Invasive Mammals ◽  
Population Trajectory ◽  
The Impact

AbstractPetrels (Procellariidae) are a highly diverse family of seabirds, many of which are globally threatened due to the impact of invasive species on breeding populations. While predation by invasive cats and rats has led to the extinction of petrel populations, the impact of invasive house mice Mus musculus is slower and less well documented. However, mice impact small burrow-nesting species such as MacGillivray’s prion Pachyptila macgillivrayi, a species classified as endangered because it has been extirpated on islands in the Indian Ocean by introduced rodents. We use historic abundance data and demographic monitoring data from 2014 to 2020 to predict the population trajectory of MacGillivray’s prion on Gough Island with and without a mouse eradication using a stochastic integrated population model. Given very low annual breeding success (0.01 fledglings per breeding pair in ‘poor’ years (83%) or 0.38 in ‘good’ years (17%), n = 320 nests over 6 years) mainly due to mouse predation, our model predicted that the population collapsed from ~3.5 million pairs in 1956 to an estimated 175,000 pairs in 2020 despite reasonably high adult survival probability (ϕ = 0.901). Based on these parameters, the population is predicted to decline at a rate of 9% per year over the next 36 years without a mouse eradication, with a 31% probability that by 2057 the MacGillivray’ prion population would become extremely vulnerable to extinction. Our models predict population stability (λ = 1.01) and a lower extinction risk (<10%) if mouse eradication on Gough Island restores annual breeding success to 0.519, which is in line with that of closely-related species on predator-free islands. This study demonstrates the devastating impacts that introduced house mice can have on small burrowing petrels and highlights the urgency to eradicate invasive mammals from oceanic islands.

Breeding success of Northern Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes moseleyi) at Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean

2010 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Wilson ◽  
M.-H. Burle ◽  
R. Cuthbert ◽  
R. L. Stirnemann ◽  
P. G. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
South Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Gough Island

scholarly journals Low burrow occupancy and breeding success of burrowing petrels at Gough Island: a consequence of mouse predation

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICHARD J. CUTHBERT ◽  
HENK LOUW ◽  
JEROEN LURLING ◽  
GRAHAM PARKER ◽  
KALINKA REXER-HUBER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Predatory Behaviour ◽  
Breeding Parameters ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Detrimental Impact ◽  
Winter Breeding

SummaryThe predatory behaviour of introduced house mice Mus musculus at Gough Island is known to impact on albatross and petrels, resulting in the Tristan Albatross Diomedea dabbenena and Atlantic Petrel Pterodroma incerta being listed as “Critically Endangered” and “Endangered”, respectively. Although predation has been documented for two burrowing petrels and one albatross species, the impact of house mice on other burrowing petrels on Gough Island is unknown. We report burrow occupancy and breeding success of Atlantic Petrels, Soft-plumaged Petrels Pterodroma mollis, Broad-billed Prions Pachyptila vittata, Grey Petrels Procellaria cinerea and Great Shearwaters Puffinus gravis. With the exception of the Great Shearwater, breeding parameters of burrowing petrels at Gough Island were very poor, with low burrow occupancy (range 4–42%) and low breeding success (0–44%) for four species, and high rates of chick mortality in Atlantic Petrel burrows. Breeding success decreased with mass, suggesting that smaller species are hardest hit, and winter-breeding species had lower breeding success than summer breeders. The results indicate that introduced house mice are having a detrimental impact on a wider range of species than previously recorded and are likely to be causing population declines among most burrowing petrels on Gough Island. The very low values of burrow occupancy recorded for Soft-plumaged Petrels and Broad-billed Prions and greatly reduced abundance of burrowing petrels in comparison to earlier decades indicate that Gough Island’s formerly abundant petrel populations are greatly threatened by the impact of predatory house mice which can only be halted by the eradication of this species from the island.

scholarly journals A juvenile Tristan albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) on land at the Crozet Islands

Polar Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L. Bond ◽  
Christopher Taylor ◽  
David Kinchin-Smith ◽  
Derren Fox ◽  
Emma Witcutt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Cytochrome B ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Mitochondrial Gene ◽  
Small Population ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
South Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Tristan Da Cunha ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Dispersal Events

AbstractAlbatrosses and other seabirds are generally highly philopatric, returning to natal colonies when they achieve breeding age. This is not universal, however, and cases of extraordinary vagrancy are rare. The Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) breeds on Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, with a small population on Inaccessible Island, Tristan da Cunha, ca 380 km away. In 2015, we observed an adult male albatross in Gonydale, Gough Island, which had been ringed on Ile de la Possession, Crozet Islands in 2009 when it was assumed to be an immature Wandering Albatross (D. exulans). We sequenced 1109 bp of the cytochrome b mitochondrial gene from this bird, and confirmed it to be a Tristan Albatross, meaning its presence on Crozet 6 years previous, and nearly 5000 km away, was a case of prospecting behaviour in a heterospecific colony. Given the challenges in identifying immature Diomedea albatrosses, such dispersal events may be more common than thought previously.

scholarly journals Insights into mammalian biology from the wild house mouse Mus musculus

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Phifer-Rixey ◽  
Michael W Nachman
Keyword(s):  
House Mouse ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Inbred Strains ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Wide Range

The house mouse, Mus musculus, was established in the early 1900s as one of the first genetic model organisms owing to its short generation time, comparatively large litters, ease of husbandry, and visible phenotypic variants. For these reasons and because they are mammals, house mice are well suited to serve as models for human phenotypes and disease. House mice in the wild consist of at least three distinct subspecies and harbor extensive genetic and phenotypic variation both within and between these subspecies. Wild mice have been used to study a wide range of biological processes, including immunity, cancer, male sterility, adaptive evolution, and non-Mendelian inheritance. Despite the extensive variation that exists among wild mice, classical laboratory strains are derived from a limited set of founders and thus contain only a small subset of this variation. Continued efforts to study wild house mice and to create new inbred strains from wild populations have the potential to strengthen house mice as a model system.

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