Predation by feral cats threatens great albatrosses

Barbraud, Christophe; Monstiers, Baudouin des; Chaigne, Adrien; Marteau, Cédric; Weimerskirch, Henri; Delord, Karine

doi:10.1007/s10530-021-02512-9

Cited by 7 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…For instance, a cat was observed feeding for several days on a fully grown white-capped albatross (Thalassarche cauta steadi) fledgling (c. 4 kg) in the South West Cape colony of the island during August 2019 (cold period) (Cox et al 2019). Either preyed upon or scavenged, this observation suggests albatross may also become a resource to cats, which is also supported by reports of cats killing wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) chicks on the Kerguelen Islands (Barbraud et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Spatial ecology meets eradication of feral cats on Auckland Island

Recio¹,

Sagar²,

Chan³

et al. 2022

NZJE

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Restoration initiatives of ecosystems transformed by human actions require optimisation of eradication measures of introduced species, particularly in fragile insular ecosystems. We studied aspects of the spatial ecology of introduced feral cats (Felis catus) on subantarctic Auckland Island of New Zealand to assist eradication efforts of pests from this remote, biologically rich island. Firstly, we estimated home range sizes and identified core areas of activity based on movement-rooted dynamic Brownian bridge models. Second, we used resource selection functions with generalised linear mixed models to identify seasonal patterns of space use associated to topographic, vegetation and other landscape predictors. Lastly, we quantified cats daily movement rates within home ranges. Average home range size was larger than on other offshore islands and mainland New Zealand, which might relate to lower cat densities and the abundance and predictability of food resources on the island. Cats mostly selected mosaic areas of forest, shrubs and tall tussocks near the coast, and in predominantly flat areas or nearby steep cliffs, which are all typical habitats of seabirds and terrestrial birds. Cats also selected alpine short tussocks during the cold season, likely related to the upsurge of mice (Mus musculus) due to tussock mast seeding and to transiting to steep cliffy areas. Male cats had home ranges that were larger, contained more core areas, and covered longer daily distances in the warm season than females, which might be associated with different breeding and reproductive behaviour. Eradication tools will need to target all habitats on Auckland Island with increased efforts in areas of identified higher use by cats. Understanding aspects of pest species' spatial ecology on offshore islands worldwide can assist decision-makers in optimising eradication programs such as Predator Free 2050 in New Zealand.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Spatial ecology meets eradication of feral cats on Auckland Island

Recio¹,

Sagar²,

Chan³

et al. 2022

NZJE

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“…Invasive alien species affect all seabird groups, with a particularly high impact on small petrels (including storm-petrels), shearwaters, and albatrosses (Dias et al 2019). The invasive species with the greatest impacts are predators, particularly rats Rattus spp., house mice Mus musculus, and cats Felis cattus, which affect seabird species ranging in size from small, burrow-nesting petrels, to large, surface-nesting albatrosses (Angel et al 2009;Barbraud et al 2021b;Cleeland et al 2021). Other problematic invasive alien species include ants, which can attack nesting seabirds (Plentovich et al 2009), and mammalian herbivores and plants, which damage habitats and reduce breeding propensity or success (Cleeland et al 2020;McChesney and Tershy 1998).…”

Section: Invasive Alien Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation status and overview of threats to seabirds

Phillips¹,

Fort²,

Dias³

2023

Conservation of Marine Birds

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“…Recent research has shown that Antarctic ports are surprisingly well-connected to the global shipping network 28 and physiological barriers to the establishment of alien species will likely weaken under future climate change scenarios 29 – 31 . Moreover, projections also indicate that the impacts of invasive alien species on their indigenous counterparts and on ecosystems are likely to grow into the future with increasing human occupancy of the region and with changing climates 32 , 33 . Given these expectations, the management of introduced and invasive alien species remains a priority for the region.…”

Section: Background and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduced and invasive alien species of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean Islands

et al. 2023

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Open data on biological invasions are particularly critical in regions that are co-governed and/or where multiple independent parties have responsibility for preventing and controlling invasive alien species. The Antarctic is one such region where, in spite of multiple examples of invasion policy and management success, open, centralised data are not yet available. This dataset provides current and comprehensive information available on the identity, localities, establishment, eradication status, dates of introduction, habitat, and evidence of impact of known introduced and invasive alien species for the terrestrial and freshwater Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. It includes 3066 records for 1204 taxa and 36 individual localities. The evidence indicates that close to half of these species are not having an invasive impact, and that ~ 13% of records are of species considered locally invasive. The data are provided using current biodiversity and invasive alien species data and terminology standards. They provide a baseline for updating and maintaining the foundational knowledge needed to halt the rapidly growing risk of biological invasion in the region.

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Predation by feral cats threatens great albatrosses

Cited by 7 publications

References 53 publications

Spatial ecology meets eradication of feral cats on Auckland Island

Spatial ecology meets eradication of feral cats on Auckland Island

Conservation status and overview of threats to seabirds

Introduced and invasive alien species of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean Islands

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