Mitigating impacts of invasive alien predators on an endangered sea duck amidst high native predation pressure

Abstract Invasive species represent a major threat to global biodiversity by causing population declines and extinctions of native species. The negative impacts of introduced predators are well documented, yet a fundamental knowledge gap exists regarding the efficiency of potential mitigation methods to restore the ecosystem. Other understudied aspects concern prey behavioural antipredator responses and the historical context of native predator-prey interactions, which may moderate invasion impacts on native prey. Invasion impacts of American mink (Neovison vison) and raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) into the Baltic Sea archipelago are poorly understood, and the efficiency of removal efforts as a means to alleviate depredation pressure on native prey is debated. Here, we examine the effectiveness of invasive predator removal on ground-nesting female common eider (Somateria mollissima) mortality, breeding success and breeding propensity over a nine-year period, while controlling for predation risk imposed by the main native predator, the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Our results clearly show that intensified removal of American minks and raccoon dogs decreased the number of female eiders killed during nesting, while improving both nesting success and breeding propensity. Such obvious positive effects of invasive predator removal are particularly noteworthy against the backdrop of a soaring eagle population, indicating that the impacts of invasives may become accentuated when native predators differ taxonomically and by hunting mode. This study shows that invasive alien predator removal is a cost-efficient conservation measure clearly aiding native fauna even under severe native predation pressure. Such cost-effective conservation actions call for governmental deployment across large areas.

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Evolution or Extinction: Might Zooplankton Adaptively Respond to the Novel Invasive Predator Bythotrephes longimanus?

Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings ◽

10.24908/iqurcp.11564 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Emma Bloomfield

Keyword(s):

Vertical Migration ◽

Diel Vertical Migration ◽

Prey Species ◽

Rapid Evolution ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Bythotrephes Longimanus ◽

Economic Implications ◽

Invasive Predators ◽

Invasive Predator ◽

Introduced Predators

Invasive predators are a large and growing threat to species diversity and human well-being. One of the reasons invasive predators have a negative impact is that native prey species do not possess appropriate anti-predator defenses. However, rapid evolution may allow prey species to respond adaptively to introduced predators. When this occurs the impacts of invasive predators are mitigated. An invasive predator that is of concern in North America is the spiny water flea, Bythotrephes longimanus. It disrupts freshwater ecosystems through voracious consumption of zooplankton. Declines in zooplankton abundance and richness reduce water quality and recreational fishing opportunities. However, a species of zooplankton, Daphnia mendotae has been found to adaptively respond to B. longimanus. This adaptation is diel vertical migration, the behavioral change of occupying a lower position in the water column during the day to reduce predation risk. Despite the ecological and economic implications of this behavior in response to B. longimanus, it has only been studied in a few lakes. This study investigated adaptive diel vertical migration in D. mendotae from multiple lakes. This was done by measuring the vertical position of D. mendotae in artificial water columns. It was hypothesized that D. mendotae from lakes that have been invaded by B. longimanus will exhibit diel vertical migration in the presence of B. longimanus. If this hypothesis is supported, rapid evolution of diel vertical migration can be established as a widespread response. This would strengthen understanding of rapid evolution and allow lakes more vulnerable to B.longimanus to be identified.

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Garbage in the diet of carnivores in an agricultural area

European Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1515/eje-2016-0009 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 81-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Łukasz Jankowiak ◽

Anna W. Malecha ◽

Agata J. Krawczyk

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Red Fox ◽

American Mink ◽

Natural Food ◽

Nyctereutes Procyonoides ◽

Raccoon Dog ◽

Eurasian Otter ◽

Spatial Changes ◽

Mammalian Predators ◽

Agricultural Areas

AbstractHuman food waste is considered to be richer in carbohydrates, lipids and proteins than most natural food supplies; however, it is very well digested in scats. So, as an indication of this kind of food in the diet, we have used each indigestible, anthropogenic origin element found in faeces (e.g., glass, plastic, rubber, etc.). There are few studies discussing the importance of garbage in the diet of mammalian predators living in farmland; definitely, most focus on this issue in urban areas. We studied the contribution of garbage in the diet of raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), marten (Martessp.), polecat (Mustela putorius), stoat (Mustela erminea), American mink (Neovison vison) and Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) in the agricultural areas of western Poland in 2006-2010. In addition, we examined the spatial changes in the diet of red fox and polecat. The largest contribution of garbage was found in scats of raccoon dog (8.8%), red fox (4.8%) and marten (4.3%). The diet of polecat, stoat and Eurasian otter contained 2.5%, 1.7% and 0.2% garbage items respectively. The most frequent item was plastic. Our analysis showed that garbage consumption by red fox and polecat was greater closer to human settlements. The results reveal a continuous gradient in the garbage consumption that corresponds with the degree of synanthropization of particular species.

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Non-native predator control increases the nesting success of birds: American mink preying on wader nests

Biological Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.biocon.2017.05.032 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 212 ◽

pp. 86-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Agnieszka Niemczynowicz ◽

Piotr Świętochowski ◽

Marcin Brzeziński ◽

Andrzej Zalewski

Keyword(s):

American Mink ◽

Nesting Success ◽

Predator Control ◽

Native Predator

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From tameness to wariness: chemical recognition of snake predators by lizards in a Mediterranean island

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.2828 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. e2828 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Abraham Mencía ◽

Zaida Ortega ◽

Valentín Pérez-Mellado

Keyword(s):

Slow Motion ◽

Predation Pressure ◽

Main Island ◽

Chemical Recognition ◽

Introduced Predators ◽

Podarcis Lilfordi ◽

Podarcis Siculus ◽

Mediterranean Island ◽

Snake Predators ◽

High Degree

Antipredatory defenses are maintained when benefit exceeds cost. A weak predation pressure may lead insular lizards to tameness.Podarcis lilfordiexhibits a high degree of insular tameness, which may explain its extinction from the main island of Menorca when humans introduced predators. There are three species of lizards in Menorca: the nativeP. lilfordi, only on the surrounding islets, and two introduced lizards in the main island,Scelarcis perspicillataandPodarcis siculus. In addition, there are three species of snakes, all introduced: one non-saurophagous (Natrix maura), one potentially non-saurophagous (Rhinechis scalaris) and one saurophagous (Macroprotodon mauritanicus). We studied the reaction to snake chemical cues in five populations: (1)P. lilfordiof Colom, (2)P. lilfordiof Aire, (3)P. lilfordiof Binicodrell, (4)S. perspicillata, and (5)P. siculus, ordered by increasing level of predation pressure. The three snakes are present in the main island, while onlyR. scalarisis present in Colom islet, Aire and Binicodrell being snake-free islets. We aimed to assess the relationship between predation pressure and the degree of insular tameness regarding scent recognition. We hypothesized thatP. lilfordishould show the highest degree of tameness,S. perspicillatashould show intermediate responses, andP. siculusshould show the highest wariness. Results are clear: neitherP. lilfordinorS. perspicillatarecognize any of the snakes, whileP. siculusrecognizes the scent ofM. mauritanicusand reacts to it with typical well-defined antipredatory behaviours as tail waving and slow motion. These results rise questions about the loss of chemical recognition of predators during island tameness and its related costs and benefits for lizards of insular habitats. In addition, this highlights the necessity for strong conservation measures to avoid the introduction of alien predators.

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Water vole Arvicola amphibius population under the impact of the American mink Neovison vison: Are small midfield ponds safe refuges against this invasive predator?

Mammalian Biology ◽

10.1016/j.mambio.2018.06.002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 93 ◽

pp. 182-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Marcin Brzeziński ◽

Patrycja Chibowska ◽

Andrzej Zalewski ◽

Tomasz Borowik ◽

Ewa Komar

Keyword(s):

American Mink ◽

Neovison Vison ◽

Water Vole ◽

Arvicola Amphibius ◽

Invasive Predator ◽

The Impact

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Do alien predators pose a particular risk to duck nests in Northern Europe? Results from an artificial nest experiment

Biological Invasions ◽

10.1007/s10530-021-02608-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sari Holopainen ◽

Veli-Matti Väänänen ◽

Mia Vehkaoja ◽

Anthony D. Fox

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

American Mink ◽

Nest Survival ◽

Local Population ◽

Northern Europe ◽

Nyctereutes Procyonoides ◽

Artificial Nests ◽

Predator Species ◽

Alien Predator ◽

Breeding Habitats

AbstractSeveral alien predator species have spread widely in Europe during the last five decades and pose a potential enhanced risk to native nesting ducks and their eggs. Because predation is an important factor limiting Northern Hemisphere duck nest survival, we ask the question, do alien species increase the nest loss risk to ground nesting ducks? We created 418 artificial duck nests in low densities around inland waters in Finland and Denmark during 2017–2019 and monitored them for seven days after construction using wildlife cameras to record whether alien species visit and prey on the nests more often than native species. We sampled various duck breeding habitats from eutrophic agricultural lakes and wetlands to oligotrophic lakes and urban environments. The results differed between habitats and the two countries, which likely reflect the local population densities of the predator species. The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), an alien species, was the most common mammalian nest visitor in all habitats and its occurrence reduced nest survival. Only in wetland habitats was the native red fox (Vulpes vulpes) an equally common nest visitor, where another alien species, the American mink (Neovison vison), also occurred among nest visitors. Although cautious about concluding too much from visitations to artificial nests, these results imply that duck breeding habitats in Northern Europe already support abundant and effective alien nest predators, whose relative frequency of visitation to artificial nests suggest that they potentially add to the nest predation risk to ducks over native predators.

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Invasive alien mammals of European Union concern

10.1101/2021.04.21.440832 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa Tedeschi ◽

Dino Biancolini ◽

César Capinha ◽

Carlo Rondinini ◽

Franz Essl

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Alien Species ◽

American Mink ◽

Neovison Vison ◽

Nyctereutes Procyonoides ◽

List Type ◽

Raccoon Dog ◽

Ondatra Zibethicus ◽

Invasive Mammals ◽

Study Species

ABSTRACTBiological invasions have emerged as one of the main drivers of biodiversity change and decline, and numbers of alien species are rapidly rising. The European Union established a dedicated regulation to limit the impacts of invasive alien species (IAS), which is focused on a Union List of IAS of particular concern. However, no previous study has specifically addressed the ecology of invasive alien mammals included in the Union List.We performed a systematic review of published literature on these species. We retrieved 262 studies dealing with 16 species, and we complemented these with the most up-to-date information extracted from global databases on IAS.We show that most of the study species reached Europe as pets that escaped from captivity or were intentionally released. On average, 1.2 species’ new first records/year were documented in European countries in the period 1981-2020, and most species are still expanding their alien ranges colonising neighbouring territories. France, Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands are the most invaded nations, and the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), and the American mink (Neovison vison) are the most widespread species, having invaded at least 27 countries each. Invasive mammals of European Union concern are threatening native biodiversity and human well-being: worryingly, 81.3% of the study species are implicated in the epidemiological cycle of zoonotic pathogens.Containing the secondary spread to further countries is of paramount importance to avoid the establishment of new populations of invasive mammals and the related impacts on native communities, ecosystem services, and human health.Our results offer the most updated compendium on the ecology of invasive mammals of European Union concern, that can be used to assist environmental policies, identify and subsequently fill knowledge gaps, and inform stakeholders.GRAPHICAL ABSTRACTGraphical abstract: Invasive alien mammals of European Union concern.The figure illustrates how the introduction of a species in few new areas, followed by a lag phase of adaptation and sometimes enriched by further subsequent releases, can rapidly lead to the colonisation of large parts of a continent. On the top left, a heat map with species’ richness in countries of Europe. On the top right, a word cloud with the main keywords of our literature search and some of the study species’ names. On the bottom left, four out of 16 study species: in clockwise order, the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), the American mink (Neovison vison), and the raccoon (Procyon lotor). On the bottom right, the temporal distribution of the first records of the study species in the countries of Europe.

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An invasive predator affects habitat use by native prey: American mink and water vole co-existence in riparian habitats

Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1111/jzo.12500 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 304 (2) ◽

pp. 109-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

M. Brzeziński ◽

P. Ignatiuk ◽

M. Żmihorski ◽

A. Zalewski

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

American Mink ◽

Water Vole ◽

Invasive Predator ◽

Riparian Habitats

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Removal of American mink increases the success of simulated nests in linear habitat

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr08022 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 225 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Eliška Padyšáková ◽

Martin Šálek ◽

Lukáš Poledník ◽

František Sedláček ◽

Tomáš Albrecht

Keyword(s):

American Mink ◽

Nest Survival ◽

Linear Section ◽

Short Term ◽

Predator Removal ◽

Opposite Trend ◽

Local Reduction ◽

Linear Habitat ◽

Carnivorous Species ◽

The Impact

Alien species of predators may negatively influence the breeding success of waterfowl. Previous studies have tested whether predator removal causes an increase in nest success and breeding densities; however, conclusions have been contradictory. Here we examine the impact of the removal of introduced American mink, Mustela vison, on the survival of simulated waterfowl nests in two treatment and two control transects, in a linear section of habitat along the Jihlava River, Czech Republic. Nest survival was recorded during two periods (June and July), with minks removed after the first replicate. In total, eight minks were removed from treatment transects. Whereas nest survival in control transects slightly decreased from June to July, the opposite trend, i.e. an increase in nest survival, was apparent in the treatment transects. On the basis of the results, we suggest that a local reduction in mink populations is an effective short-term tool for the conservation of protected waterfowl species. Our study adds to others, reporting potentially adverse effects of alien, introduced, carnivorous species on local biota.

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