Anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: Wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats
International audience Seabirds are particularly vulnerable to introduced alien mammalian predators, especially invasive rats, which are the main contributors to seabird extinction and endangerment in many places worldwide. However, this appears context-dependent because, paradoxically, cases of app...
Published in: | Austral Ecology |
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ftunivavignon:oai:HAL:hal-03559059v1 2024-02-11T10:08:13+01:00 Anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: Wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats Gérard, A. Jourdan, H. Millon, A. Vidal, E. Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE) Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement IRD : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2015-04-14 https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059 https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059/document https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059/file/16_Gerard%20Millon%20etal%202015%20Austral%20Ecol_shearwaters%20do%20not%20recognise%20rat%20odour_b.pdf https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12252 en eng HAL CCSD Wiley info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/aec.12252 hal-03559059 https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059 https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059/document https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059/file/16_Gerard%20Millon%20etal%202015%20Austral%20Ecol_shearwaters%20do%20not%20recognise%20rat%20odour_b.pdf doi:10.1111/aec.12252 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 1442-9985 EISSN: 1442-9993 Austral Ecology https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059 Austral Ecology, 2015, 40 (7), pp.775 - 781. ⟨10.1111/aec.12252⟩ avoidance behaviour introduced rodent invasive species Procellariiformes Y-maze experiment [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE]Environmental Sciences info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2015 ftunivavignon https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12252 2024-01-23T23:41:16Z International audience Seabirds are particularly vulnerable to introduced alien mammalian predators, especially invasive rats, which are the main contributors to seabird extinction and endangerment in many places worldwide. However, this appears context-dependent because, paradoxically, cases of apparent long-term coexistence between rats and some species of seabird have been reported for centuries, in various locations. Among seabirds, procellariiforms are known to have developed a range of olfactory-driven behaviours, such as partner recognition and homing. Olfaction could be an effective means of recognizing and thereafter avoiding invasive predators. However, the role of olfaction in predation risk assessment has not yet been examined in any procellariiform. Here, we investigated, through a Y-maze experiment, whether the wedge-tailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus) avoided the odour of one of the most damaging alien predators on islands, the ship rat (Rattus rattus). The experiment was conducted in different ecological contexts on three neighbouring islets off New Caledonia having different communities of invasive rats. Contrary to our expectations, the wedge-tailed shearwater either did not detect or did not avoid the odour of the ship rat, despite about 175 years of coexistence between rats and shearwaters in New Caledonia. These findings highlight the need for further investigations (across species, across sites) into the factors underpinning the paradox between high vulnerability and the surprising long-term coexistence between procellariid seabirds and alien invasive rats. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse: HAL Austral Ecology 40 7 775 781 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse: HAL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivavignon |
language |
English |
topic |
avoidance behaviour introduced rodent invasive species Procellariiformes Y-maze experiment [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE]Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
avoidance behaviour introduced rodent invasive species Procellariiformes Y-maze experiment [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE]Environmental Sciences Gérard, A. Jourdan, H. Millon, A. Vidal, E. Anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: Wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats |
topic_facet |
avoidance behaviour introduced rodent invasive species Procellariiformes Y-maze experiment [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE]Environmental Sciences |
description |
International audience Seabirds are particularly vulnerable to introduced alien mammalian predators, especially invasive rats, which are the main contributors to seabird extinction and endangerment in many places worldwide. However, this appears context-dependent because, paradoxically, cases of apparent long-term coexistence between rats and some species of seabird have been reported for centuries, in various locations. Among seabirds, procellariiforms are known to have developed a range of olfactory-driven behaviours, such as partner recognition and homing. Olfaction could be an effective means of recognizing and thereafter avoiding invasive predators. However, the role of olfaction in predation risk assessment has not yet been examined in any procellariiform. Here, we investigated, through a Y-maze experiment, whether the wedge-tailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus) avoided the odour of one of the most damaging alien predators on islands, the ship rat (Rattus rattus). The experiment was conducted in different ecological contexts on three neighbouring islets off New Caledonia having different communities of invasive rats. Contrary to our expectations, the wedge-tailed shearwater either did not detect or did not avoid the odour of the ship rat, despite about 175 years of coexistence between rats and shearwaters in New Caledonia. These findings highlight the need for further investigations (across species, across sites) into the factors underpinning the paradox between high vulnerability and the surprising long-term coexistence between procellariid seabirds and alien invasive rats. |
author2 |
Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE) Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement IRD : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gérard, A. Jourdan, H. Millon, A. Vidal, E. |
author_facet |
Gérard, A. Jourdan, H. Millon, A. Vidal, E. |
author_sort |
Gérard, A. |
title |
Anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: Wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats |
title_short |
Anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: Wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats |
title_full |
Anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: Wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats |
title_fullStr |
Anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: Wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats |
title_full_unstemmed |
Anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: Wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats |
title_sort |
anti-predator behaviour in a procellariid seabird: wedge-tailed shearwaters do not respond to the odour of introduced ship rats |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059 https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059/document https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059/file/16_Gerard%20Millon%20etal%202015%20Austral%20Ecol_shearwaters%20do%20not%20recognise%20rat%20odour_b.pdf https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12252 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
ISSN: 1442-9985 EISSN: 1442-9993 Austral Ecology https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059 Austral Ecology, 2015, 40 (7), pp.775 - 781. ⟨10.1111/aec.12252⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/aec.12252 hal-03559059 https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059 https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059/document https://amu.hal.science/hal-03559059/file/16_Gerard%20Millon%20etal%202015%20Austral%20Ecol_shearwaters%20do%20not%20recognise%20rat%20odour_b.pdf doi:10.1111/aec.12252 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12252 |
container_title |
Austral Ecology |
container_volume |
40 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
775 |
op_container_end_page |
781 |
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1790607250394447872 |