Seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after Norway rat eradication at Tromelin Island, western Indian Ocean
International audience Seabirds are notoriously sensitive to introduced mammalian predators and eradication programs have benefitted seabird populations and their habitats on numerous islands throughout the world. However, less evidence is available from the tropics as to the benefits of rat eradica...
Published in: | Biological Conservation |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
HAL CCSD
2015
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-01207081 https://hal.science/hal-01207081/document https://hal.science/hal-01207081/file/Seabird%20recovery%20and%20vegetation%20dynamics%20after%20Norway%20rat%20eradication_hal%20%282%29.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 |
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ftunivreunion:oai:HAL:hal-01207081v1 |
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record_format |
openpolar |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université de la Réunion: HAL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivreunion |
language |
English |
topic |
Interspecific interactions Habitat restoration Seabird ecology Soil manuring [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Interspecific interactions Habitat restoration Seabird ecology Soil manuring [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology Le Corre, Matthieu Danckwerts, D. K. Ringler, David Bastien, Matthieu Orlowski, S. Morey Rubio, C. Pinaud, David Micol, Thierry Seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after Norway rat eradication at Tromelin Island, western Indian Ocean |
topic_facet |
Interspecific interactions Habitat restoration Seabird ecology Soil manuring [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology |
description |
International audience Seabirds are notoriously sensitive to introduced mammalian predators and eradication programs have benefitted seabird populations and their habitats on numerous islands throughout the world. However, less evidence is available from the tropics as to the benefits of rat eradication. Here, we report the seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics on a small coralline island of the tropical western Indian Ocean, eight years after Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) eradication. Two species of seabirds were breeding before rat eradication (red-footed and masked boobies, Sula sula and Sula, dactylatra) and, in both species, the number of breeding pairs had an apparent increase of 22–23% per year after rat eradication. Such a highannual growth rate cannot be achieved by auto-recruitment only and our data suggest that immigration from other source populations never occurred in at least one of these species. We suggest that it is rather due to a rapid increase in breeding success, which rapidly increased the observed number of breeders since birds remained in the available-for-counting-as-breeders group for much longer. Two other species, the white tern (Gygis alba) and the brown booby (Sula leucogaster) were recorded breeding in 2014. The former species has not bred on the island since 1856 and the latter has never bred on the island. Plant cover (monospecific formation of the ruderal herb Boerhavia diffusa) dramatically increased from less than 30% of surface coverage to more than 70%. Although the initial restoration project was to eradicate all introduced mammals of the island simultaneously, house mouse (Mus musculus) eradication failed. Mouse density was high 8 years after rat eradication (32 mice/ha in dry season and 52 mice/ha in rainy season) but not higher than at a comparable tropical island of the region (Juan de Nova) where mice coexistwith introduced black rats (Rattus rattus) and feral cats (Felis catus). These results are discussed in terms of the direct positive effects of rat ... |
author2 |
Laboratoire d'Ecologie Marine (ECOMAR) Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Department of Zoology and Entomology Rhodes University Rhodes University, Grahamstown Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (T.A.A.F.) Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux Bird Life International Partner in France |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Le Corre, Matthieu Danckwerts, D. K. Ringler, David Bastien, Matthieu Orlowski, S. Morey Rubio, C. Pinaud, David Micol, Thierry |
author_facet |
Le Corre, Matthieu Danckwerts, D. K. Ringler, David Bastien, Matthieu Orlowski, S. Morey Rubio, C. Pinaud, David Micol, Thierry |
author_sort |
Le Corre, Matthieu |
title |
Seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after Norway rat eradication at Tromelin Island, western Indian Ocean |
title_short |
Seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after Norway rat eradication at Tromelin Island, western Indian Ocean |
title_full |
Seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after Norway rat eradication at Tromelin Island, western Indian Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after Norway rat eradication at Tromelin Island, western Indian Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after Norway rat eradication at Tromelin Island, western Indian Ocean |
title_sort |
seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after norway rat eradication at tromelin island, western indian ocean |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-01207081 https://hal.science/hal-01207081/document https://hal.science/hal-01207081/file/Seabird%20recovery%20and%20vegetation%20dynamics%20after%20Norway%20rat%20eradication_hal%20%282%29.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 |
geographic |
Norway Indian |
geographic_facet |
Norway Indian |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
ISSN: 0006-3207 Biological Conservation https://hal.science/hal-01207081 Biological Conservation, 2015, 185, pp.85-94. ⟨10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 hal-01207081 https://hal.science/hal-01207081 https://hal.science/hal-01207081/document https://hal.science/hal-01207081/file/Seabird%20recovery%20and%20vegetation%20dynamics%20after%20Norway%20rat%20eradication_hal%20%282%29.pdf doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 |
container_title |
Biological Conservation |
container_volume |
185 |
container_start_page |
85 |
op_container_end_page |
94 |
_version_ |
1809937426498453504 |
spelling |
ftunivreunion:oai:HAL:hal-01207081v1 2024-09-09T20:05:06+00:00 Seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics after Norway rat eradication at Tromelin Island, western Indian Ocean Le Corre, Matthieu Danckwerts, D. K. Ringler, David Bastien, Matthieu Orlowski, S. Morey Rubio, C. Pinaud, David Micol, Thierry Laboratoire d'Ecologie Marine (ECOMAR) Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Department of Zoology and Entomology Rhodes University Rhodes University, Grahamstown Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (T.A.A.F.) Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux Bird Life International Partner in France 2015 https://hal.science/hal-01207081 https://hal.science/hal-01207081/document https://hal.science/hal-01207081/file/Seabird%20recovery%20and%20vegetation%20dynamics%20after%20Norway%20rat%20eradication_hal%20%282%29.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 en eng HAL CCSD Elsevier info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 hal-01207081 https://hal.science/hal-01207081 https://hal.science/hal-01207081/document https://hal.science/hal-01207081/file/Seabird%20recovery%20and%20vegetation%20dynamics%20after%20Norway%20rat%20eradication_hal%20%282%29.pdf doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 0006-3207 Biological Conservation https://hal.science/hal-01207081 Biological Conservation, 2015, 185, pp.85-94. ⟨10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015⟩ Interspecific interactions Habitat restoration Seabird ecology Soil manuring [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2015 ftunivreunion https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.015 2024-06-17T23:54:31Z International audience Seabirds are notoriously sensitive to introduced mammalian predators and eradication programs have benefitted seabird populations and their habitats on numerous islands throughout the world. However, less evidence is available from the tropics as to the benefits of rat eradication. Here, we report the seabird recovery and vegetation dynamics on a small coralline island of the tropical western Indian Ocean, eight years after Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) eradication. Two species of seabirds were breeding before rat eradication (red-footed and masked boobies, Sula sula and Sula, dactylatra) and, in both species, the number of breeding pairs had an apparent increase of 22–23% per year after rat eradication. Such a highannual growth rate cannot be achieved by auto-recruitment only and our data suggest that immigration from other source populations never occurred in at least one of these species. We suggest that it is rather due to a rapid increase in breeding success, which rapidly increased the observed number of breeders since birds remained in the available-for-counting-as-breeders group for much longer. Two other species, the white tern (Gygis alba) and the brown booby (Sula leucogaster) were recorded breeding in 2014. The former species has not bred on the island since 1856 and the latter has never bred on the island. Plant cover (monospecific formation of the ruderal herb Boerhavia diffusa) dramatically increased from less than 30% of surface coverage to more than 70%. Although the initial restoration project was to eradicate all introduced mammals of the island simultaneously, house mouse (Mus musculus) eradication failed. Mouse density was high 8 years after rat eradication (32 mice/ha in dry season and 52 mice/ha in rainy season) but not higher than at a comparable tropical island of the region (Juan de Nova) where mice coexistwith introduced black rats (Rattus rattus) and feral cats (Felis catus). These results are discussed in terms of the direct positive effects of rat ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Université de la Réunion: HAL Norway Indian Biological Conservation 185 85 94 |