The diet, breeding, and ecological role of brown skuas Stercorarius antarcticus lönnbergi (Mathews, 1912) on Macquarie Island, following the eradication of invasive prey ...
Throughout 2010 and 2011, Macquarie Island underwent a substantial conservation intervention that drastically altered the state of its ecosystem. After 140 years of inhabiting the island, invasive rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), black rats (Rattus rattus), and house mice (Mus musculus) were all era...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | unknown |
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University Of Tasmania
2023
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23249981 https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/The_diet_breeding_and_ecological_role_of_brown_skuas_Stercorarius_antarcticus_l_nnbergi_Mathews_1912_on_Macquarie_Island_following_the_eradication_of_invasive_prey/23249981 |
| Summary: | Throughout 2010 and 2011, Macquarie Island underwent a substantial conservation intervention that drastically altered the state of its ecosystem. After 140 years of inhabiting the island, invasive rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), black rats (Rattus rattus), and house mice (Mus musculus) were all eradicated. Brown Skuas (Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi) are a top-order avian predator and the island's primary terrestrial predator. For skuas, rabbits were an abundant prey species and were heavily relied upon as a food source during the summer breeding season. Prior to the arrival of rabbits, skuas most likely thrived upon vast quantities of seabirds, including burrowing petrels, as a key dietary component. However, as invasive pests severely reduced petrel numbers, rabbits became an important component of skua diet, likely replacing that of burrowing petrels. The rabbit eradication was, therefore, likely to have a negative effect on skuas; however, prior to Macquarie Island, rabbit eradication had never been ... |
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