Have Patagonian waterfowl been affected by the introduction of the American mink Mustela vison?

Abstract

The American mink Mustela vison has spread widely beyond its native North American range and is associated with problems for the conservation of native species because of its impact as both predator and competitor. We investigated the impact of feral mink on waterfowl in Lanín National Park, southwest Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina, an area in which the predator is currently expanding. Statistically significant differences were observed in the number of waterfowl species at lakes without mink (7.3-SE 0.7) compared to those with mink (4.0-SE 0.6). Overall abundance of birds observed per day was higher at lakes without (104.2-SE 20.6) than with mink (21.2-SE 22.3). The great grebe Podiceps major, speckled teal Anas flavirostris, Chiloe wigeon Anas sibilatrix and red-gartered coot Fulica armillata were more abundant on water bodies without mink, and flocks of the ashy-headed goose Chloephaga poliocephala were larger in areas without mink. Other species, such as the white-tufted grebe Rollandia rolland, coscoroba swan Coscoroba coscoroba, black-necked swan Cygnus melanocoryphus, cinnamon teal Anas cyanoptera, Andean duck Oxyura jamaicensis and Andean gull Larus serranus were never observed in areas harbouring mink. We conclude that at least 12 of the 25 waterfowl species observed are sensitive to the presence of the mink, either being absent or having a lower abundance where mink are present.

Spatio-temporal variation in nesting success of colonial waterbirds under the impact of a non-native invasive predator

“…One of the most successful invasive carnivores introduced to Europe, Asia, and South America is the American mink Neovison vison . Mink predation on birds and their nests results in a decrease in breeding success and is considered the leading cause of decline of local populations of several waterbird species (Nordström et al 2002, 2003; Banks et al 2008; Peris et al 2009; Niemczynowicz et al 2017). …”

Range expansion of an invasive species through a heterogeneous landscape – the case of American mink in Scotland

“…Mink are small (c. 1 kg) carnivores imported to Europe, Asia and South America from North America for fur farming (Dunstone, 1993). Escaped and intentionally released mink have established feral populations in many countries (Bonesi & Palazon, 2007) and have had devastating impacts on several species of native birds (Craik, 1997;Nordstr€ om et al, 2003;Peris et al, 2009) and mammals (Aars et al, 2001;Jefferies, 2003;Macdonald & Harrington, 2003;Banks et al, 2008). Mink are highly mobile (Gerell, 1970) and inhabit coastal and freshwater habitats.…”

Range expansion and prey use of American mink in Argentinean Patagonia: dilemmas for conservation

“…2). Also in Argentina, Peris et al (2009) studied the relationship between waterfowl abundances in lakes of Lanín National Park and the presence of mink (at the edge of their distribution) and found it to be negative for 12 species. However, as they are correlational results, they must be treated with caution.…”

“…Additional information of mink spread in Nahuel Huapi National Park comes from the location of mink scat samples collected in 1988. We discarded information of expanding mink for Nahuel Huapi National Park after 1995, because a second current invasion from Chile (west) is thought to have entered the area after that time (Peris et al 2009 Chehébar and Porro 1998;Fig. 2).…”

“…Once this range expansion became evident in Patagonia by the 1980s and 1990s, interest began to mount in the invasive status of American mink in Chile and Argentina (Jaksik et al 2002;Anderson et al 2006;Novillo and Ojeda 2008). Ecological studies also emerged, focused on (a) mink diet and habitat associations (Previtali et al 1998), (b) mink ecology in the context of intra-guild interactions (Chehébar et al 1986;Medina 1997;Aued et al 2003;Delibes et al 2003;Fasola et al 2009) and (c) more recently studies on mink diet in relation to native and exotic prey (Ibarra et al 2009;Schüttler et al 2008), waterfowl vulnerability to mink predation (Schüttler et al 2009) and waterfowl abundance fluctuations in relation to mink invading process (Peris et al 2009). However, these studies were focused on restricted areas or areas of special interest (e.g.…”