Original Paper

• Main Authors: Dominique Pontier Ludovic, Eugenia Natoli, D. Pontier, J. Bried, T. Micol, E. Natoli, Present Address L. Say
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: Antarctic; Kerguelen; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.7.5442; http://pbil.univ-lyon1.fr/ADE-4/ref/DPetal2002.pdf

Assessing the impact (direct or indirect) of introduced predator species on native seabird populations is a clear management priority, particularly so in the simple sub-Antarctic ecosystems where these e#ects may be dramatic. We evaluated the diet of introduced feral cats (Felis catus L.) on the Grande Terre, Kerguelen archipelago, by analysing 149 scats from 5 sites. Overall, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were the primary prey (72.6%), followed by house mice (Mus musculus) (11.6%) and birds (all species confounded, 14.9%). However, the proportions of the three prey species varied among sites, reflecting the spreading pattern of cats onto the Grande Terre. Birds were consumed much less frequently in this study (7.3%, all sites pooled but one) compared to a 1976 study in the same area (66.3%), suggesting that cats had a strong impact on the native avifauna.