Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009)
1. The management of non-indigenous species is not without its complications. In Bergstromet al.s(2009) study, we demonstrated that feral cats Felis catus on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island were exerting top-downcontrol on the feral rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus population, and that the eradication of...
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:60302 2023-05-15T13:35:38+02:00 Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009) Bergstrom, D Lucieer, A Kiefer, K Wasley, J Belbin, L Pedersen, TK Chown, C 2009 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01708.x http://ecite.utas.edu.au/60302 en eng Blackwell Publishing Ltd http://ecite.utas.edu.au/60302/1/Arko J Ap Ecol 46 5 Management implications.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01708.x Bergstrom, D and Lucieer, A and Kiefer, K and Wasley, J and Belbin, L and Pedersen, TK and Chown, C, Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009), Journal of Applied Ecology, 46, (5) pp. 1133-1136. ISSN 0021-8901 (2009) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/60302 Environmental Sciences Ecological Applications Invasive Species Ecology Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2009 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01708.x 2019-12-13T21:31:10Z 1. The management of non-indigenous species is not without its complications. In Bergstromet al.s(2009) study, we demonstrated that feral cats Felis catus on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island were exerting top-downcontrol on the feral rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus population, and that the eradication of the cats led to a substantial increase in rabbit numbers and an associated trophic cascade.2. Dowding et al. (2009) claim our modelling was flawed for various reasons, but primarily that a reduction in the application of the rabbit control agent,Myxoma virus, coinciding with cat removal, was a major driver of rabbit population release.3. We explore this proposition (as well as others) by examining rates of Myxoma viral releasebetween 1991 and 2006 (with an attenuation factor for the years, 20032006) in association with presence ⁄ absence of cats against two estimates of rabbit population size. Myxoma viral release was a significant factor in the lower estimates of rabbit population, but the effect was small, and was notsignificant for higher rabbit population estimates. By contrast, the presence or absence of cats remained highly significant for both estimates.4. Synthesis and applications. We re-affirm our position that top-down control of rabbit numbers by cats, prior to their eradication, was occurring on Macquarie Island. Nonetheless, we agree with Dowding et al. (2009) that systems with multiple invasive species represent complex situations that require careful scrutiny. Such scrutiny should occur in advance of, during, and following managementinterventions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Macquarie Island eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic Journal of Applied Ecology 46 5 1133 1136 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental Sciences Ecological Applications Invasive Species Ecology |
spellingShingle |
Environmental Sciences Ecological Applications Invasive Species Ecology Bergstrom, D Lucieer, A Kiefer, K Wasley, J Belbin, L Pedersen, TK Chown, C Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009) |
topic_facet |
Environmental Sciences Ecological Applications Invasive Species Ecology |
description |
1. The management of non-indigenous species is not without its complications. In Bergstromet al.s(2009) study, we demonstrated that feral cats Felis catus on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island were exerting top-downcontrol on the feral rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus population, and that the eradication of the cats led to a substantial increase in rabbit numbers and an associated trophic cascade.2. Dowding et al. (2009) claim our modelling was flawed for various reasons, but primarily that a reduction in the application of the rabbit control agent,Myxoma virus, coinciding with cat removal, was a major driver of rabbit population release.3. We explore this proposition (as well as others) by examining rates of Myxoma viral releasebetween 1991 and 2006 (with an attenuation factor for the years, 20032006) in association with presence ⁄ absence of cats against two estimates of rabbit population size. Myxoma viral release was a significant factor in the lower estimates of rabbit population, but the effect was small, and was notsignificant for higher rabbit population estimates. By contrast, the presence or absence of cats remained highly significant for both estimates.4. Synthesis and applications. We re-affirm our position that top-down control of rabbit numbers by cats, prior to their eradication, was occurring on Macquarie Island. Nonetheless, we agree with Dowding et al. (2009) that systems with multiple invasive species represent complex situations that require careful scrutiny. Such scrutiny should occur in advance of, during, and following managementinterventions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bergstrom, D Lucieer, A Kiefer, K Wasley, J Belbin, L Pedersen, TK Chown, C |
author_facet |
Bergstrom, D Lucieer, A Kiefer, K Wasley, J Belbin, L Pedersen, TK Chown, C |
author_sort |
Bergstrom, D |
title |
Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009) |
title_short |
Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009) |
title_full |
Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009) |
title_fullStr |
Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009) |
title_sort |
management implications of the macquarie island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to dowding et al.(2009) |
publisher |
Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01708.x http://ecite.utas.edu.au/60302 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Macquarie Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Macquarie Island |
op_relation |
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/60302/1/Arko J Ap Ecol 46 5 Management implications.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01708.x Bergstrom, D and Lucieer, A and Kiefer, K and Wasley, J and Belbin, L and Pedersen, TK and Chown, C, Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisted: a reply to Dowding et al.(2009), Journal of Applied Ecology, 46, (5) pp. 1133-1136. ISSN 0021-8901 (2009) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/60302 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01708.x |
container_title |
Journal of Applied Ecology |
container_volume |
46 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1133 |
op_container_end_page |
1136 |
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1766068169189883904 |