Indirect effects of invasive rat removal result in recovery of island rocky intertidal community structure

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Carolyn M. Kurle, Kelly M. Zilliacus, Jenna Sparks, Jen Curl, Mila Bock, Stacey Buckelew, Jeffrey C. Williams, Coral A. Wolf, Nick D. Holmes, Jonathan Plissner, Gregg R. Howald, Bernie R. Tershy, Donald A. Croll
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2021
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; Norway; Hawadax Island; Alaska; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84342-2; https://doaj.org/article/684156bc0a1e4a0a828640b187ad9b34

Abstract Eleven years after invasive Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) were eradicated from Hawadax Island, in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, the predicted three-level trophic cascade in the rocky intertidal, with native shorebirds as the apex predator, returned, leading to a community resembling those on rat-free islands with significant decreases in invertebrate species abundances and increases in fleshy algal cover. Rats had indirectly structured the intertidal community via their role as the apex predator in a four-level trophic cascade. Our results are an excellent example of an achievable and relatively short-term community-level recovery following removal of invasive animals. These conservation successes are especially important for islands as their disproportionately high levels of native biodiversity are excessively threatened by invasive mammals.