Effects of an island-wide rodent eradication programme on two threatened bird species
Richard D. Segal
A B * , Rachel Whitsed B , Nicholas Carlile C and Melanie Massaro A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia.
B Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia.
C Department of Planning, Industry and Environment NSW, Parramatta, NSW, Australia.
Pacific Conservation Biology 29(3) 253-266 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC21068
Submitted: 5 November 2021 Accepted: 24 April 2022 Published: 17 May 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Context: For the past 50 years, rodent eradications have been conducted worldwide to reverse the devastating impacts of introduced rodents on island species. However, few studies have quantitatively measured the effects of rodent eradications on native species.
Aims: This study investigated the effects of a rodent eradication on Lord Howe Island on two native birds.
Methods: To mitigate the risk of Lord Howe currawongs being poisoned during baiting operations, 30–40% of the population were taken into captivity during baiting, while the remaining currawongs were left in the wild. We studied currawong survival, nesting density and breeding success pre- and post-eradication to test how the baiting, a period in captivity, and the removal of rodents affected currawongs. We also investigated breeding success of white terns as they were expected to benefit from the eradication due to predator reduction.
Key results: We found that many currawongs left in the wild disappeared during the baiting period and nesting densities in one part of the island were significantly lower after the eradication. These currawongs likely died of poisoning as they were not resighted for 2 years post-eradication. White tern breeding success did not increase after the rodent eradication, although their predators were largely eliminated.
Conclusions: The captive management of currawongs mitigated the adverse effects of the baiting. As those currawongs that survived had high breeding success, we predict that the population will soon recover to pre-eradication size.
Implications: Our study reinforces the necessity of integrating ecological monitoring as part of future eradications on islands.
Keywords: breeding success, captive management, common white tern, Gygis alba, Lord Howe currawong, Lord Howe Island, rodent eradication, Strepera graculina crissalis.
References
Adams, ES (2001). Approaches to the study of territory size and shape. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 32, 277–303.| Approaches to the study of territory size and shape.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ashmole, NP (1968). Breeding and molt in the white tern (Gygis alba) on Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean. The Condor 70, 35––55.
Ballou JD, Lees C, Faust LJ, Long S, Lynch C, Bingaman Lackey L, Foose TJ (2010) Demographic and genetic management of captive populations. In ‘Wild mammals in captivity: principles and techniques for zoo management’. (Eds DG Kleiman, KV Thompson, CK Baer) pp. 219–252. (University of Chicago Press: Chicago)
Bellingham, PJ, Towns, DR, Cameron, EK, Davis, JJ, Wardle, DA, Wilmshurst, JM, and Mulder, CPH (2010). New Zealand island restoration: seabirds, predators and the importance of history. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 34, 115–136.
Bertrand, JAM, Bourgeois, YXC, Delahaie, B, Duval, T, García-Jiménez, R, Cornuault, J, Heeb, P, Milá, B, Pujol, B, and Thébaud, C (2014). Extremely reduced dispersal and gene flow in an island bird. Heredity 112, 190–196.
| Extremely reduced dispersal and gene flow in an island bird.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Billing, J (2000). The control of introduced Rattus rattus L. on Lord Howe Island. II. The status of warfarin resistance in rats and mice. Wildlife Research 27, 659–661.
| The control of introduced Rattus rattus L. on Lord Howe Island. II. The status of warfarin resistance in rats and mice.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Blackburn, TM, Cassey, P, Duncan, RP, Evans, KL, and Gaston, KJ (2004). Avian extinction and mammalian introductions on oceanic islands. Science 305, 1955–1958.
| Avian extinction and mammalian introductions on oceanic islands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 15448269PubMed |
Bomford, M, and O’Brien, P (1995). Eradication or Control for Vertebrate Pests? Wildlife Society Bulletin 23, 249–255.
Brooke MdL (2019) Rat eradication in the Pitcairn Islands, South Pacific: a 25-year perspective. In ‘Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge’. (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout, AR Martin, JC Russell, CJ West) pp. 95–99. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
Brooke, MdL, Bonnaud, E, Dilley, BJ, Flint, EN, Holmes, ND, Jones, HP, Provost, P, Rocamora, G, Ryan, PG, Surman, C, and Buxton, RT (2018). Seabird population changes following mammal eradications on islands. Animal Conservation 21, 3–12.
| Seabird population changes following mammal eradications on islands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Buxton, R, Taylor, G, Jones, C, Lyver, POB, Moller, H, Cree, A, and Towns, D (2016). Spatio-temporal changes in density and distribution of burrow-nesting seabird colonies after rat eradication. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 40, 88–99.
| Spatio-temporal changes in density and distribution of burrow-nesting seabird colonies after rat eradication.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Campbell, DJ, and Atkinson, IAE (1999). Effects of kiore (Rattus exulans Peale) on recruitment of indigenous coastal trees on northern offshore islands of New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 29, 265–290.
| Effects of kiore (Rattus exulans Peale) on recruitment of indigenous coastal trees on northern offshore islands of New Zealand.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Campbell, KJ, Beek, J, Eason, CT, Glen, AS, Godwin, J, Gould, F, Holmes, ND, Howald, GR, Madden, FM, Ponder, JB, Threadgill, DW, Wegmann, AS, and Baxter, GS (2015). The next generation of rodent eradications: innovative technologies and tools to improve species specificity and increase their feasibility on islands. Biological Conservation 185, 47–58.
| The next generation of rodent eradications: innovative technologies and tools to improve species specificity and increase their feasibility on islands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Carlile N, Priddel D (2007) ‘Population size and distribution of the Lord Howe Currawong (Strepera graculina crissalis).’ (Department of Environment and Climate Change: Hurstville, NSW)
Carlile, N, and Priddel, D (2015). Establishment and growth of the White Tern Gygis alba population on Lord Howe Island, Australia. Marine Ornithology 43, 113–118.
Cory, F, Wilson, A, Priddel, D, Carlile, N, and Klomp, N (2011). Eradication of the House Mouse (Mus musculus) from Montague Island, New South Wales, Australia. Ecological Management & Restoration 12, 102–109.
| Eradication of the House Mouse (Mus musculus) from Montague Island, New South Wales, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Courchamp, F, Chapuis, J-L, and Pascal, M (2003). Mammal invaders on islands: impact, control and control impact. Biological Reviews 78, 347–383.
| Mammal invaders on islands: impact, control and control impact.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 14558589PubMed |
Croll, DA, Newton, KM, McKown, M, Holmes, N, Williams, JC, Young, HS, Buckelew, S, Wolf, CA, Howald, G, Bock, MF, Curl, JA, and Tershy, BR (2016). Passive recovery of an island bird community after rodent eradication. Biological Invasions 18, 703–715.
| Passive recovery of an island bird community after rodent eradication.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cromarty P, Broome K, Cox A, Empson RA, Hutchinson WM, McFadden I (2002) Eradication planning for invasive alien species on islands - the approach developed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. In ‘Turning the tide: the eradication of invasive species’. (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout) pp. 85–91. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) (2007) ‘Lord Howe Island Biodiversity Management Plan.’ (Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW): Sydney, Australia)
Dorward, DF (1963). The fairy tern Gygis Alba on Ascension Island. IBIS 103b, 365–378.
| The fairy tern Gygis Alba on Ascension Island.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
ESRI Inc. (2019) ‘ArcGIS desktop 10.7.1.’ (ESRI: Redlands, CA)
Forsdick, NJ, Cubrinovska, I, Massaro, M, and Hale, ML (2017). Genetic diversity and population differentiation within and between island populations of two sympatric Petroica robins, the Chatham Island black robin and tomtit. Conservation Genetics 18, 275–285.
| Genetic diversity and population differentiation within and between island populations of two sympatric Petroica robins, the Chatham Island black robin and tomtit.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Funk, WC, Lovich, RE, Hohenlohe, PA, Hofman, CA, Morrison, SA, Ghalambor, CK, Maldonado, JE, Rick, TC, Day, MD, Polato, NR, Fitzpatrick, SW, Coonan, TJ, Crooks, KR, Dillon, A, Garcelon, DK, King, JL, Boser, CL, Gould, N, and Andelt, WF (2016). Adaptive divergence despite strong genetic drift: genomic analysis of the evolutionary mechanisms causing genetic differentiation in the island fox (Urocyon littoralis). Molecular Ecology 25, 2176–2194.
| Adaptive divergence despite strong genetic drift: genomic analysis of the evolutionary mechanisms causing genetic differentiation in the island fox (Urocyon littoralis).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 26992010PubMed |
Gillespie, R, and Bennett, J (2017). Costs and benefits of rodent eradication on Lord Howe Island, Australia. Ecological Economics 140, 215–224.
| Costs and benefits of rodent eradication on Lord Howe Island, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Grant, GS, Pettit, TN, and Whittow, GC (1981). Rat predation on Bonin petrel eggs on Midway Atoll. Journal of Field Ornithology 52, 336–338.
Harper, GA (2007). Detecting predation of a burrow-nesting seabird by two introduced predators, using stable isotopes, dietary analysis and experimental removals. Wildlife Research 34, 443–453.
| Detecting predation of a burrow-nesting seabird by two introduced predators, using stable isotopes, dietary analysis and experimental removals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Harper GA, Pahor S, Birch D (2020) The Lord Howe Island rodent eradication: lessons learnt from an inhabited island. In ‘Proceedings of the vertebrate pest conference Vol. 29’, pp. 1–11. (UC Agriculture & Natural Resources)
Hart, LA, Gane, J, Olivier, I, Downs, CT, and Brown, M (2016). A helping hand: artificial nest site provisioning increases breeding success of a tropical seabird. African Journal of Marine Science 38, 233–239.
| A helping hand: artificial nest site provisioning increases breeding success of a tropical seabird.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Herrera-Giraldo JL, Figuerola-Hernández CE, Holmes ND, Swinnerton K, Bermúdez-Carambot EN, González-Maya JF, Gómez-Hoyos DA (2019) Survival analysis of two endemic lizard species before, during and after a rat eradication attempt on Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. In ‘Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge’. (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout, AR Martin, JC Russell, CJ West) pp. 191–195. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
Higgins PJ, Davies SJJF (Eds) (1996) ‘Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds: snipe to pigeons. Vol. 3.’ pp. 825–833. (Oxford University Press: Melbourne, Vic.)
Howald, G, Donlan, CJ, Gálvan, JP, Russell, JC, Parkes, J, Samaniego, A, Wang, Y, Veitch, D, Genovesi, P, Pascal, M, Saunders, A, and Tershy, B (2007). Invasive rodent eradication on islands. Conservation Biology 21, 1258–1268.
| Invasive rodent eradication on islands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 17883491PubMed |
Hutton I (1991) ‘Birds of Lord Howe Island: past and present.’ (Ian Hutton: Coffs Harbour, NSW)
Hutton, I, Parkes, JP, and Sinclair, ARE (2007). Reassembling island ecosystems: the case of Lord Howe Island. Animal Conservation 10, 22–29.
| Reassembling island ecosystems: the case of Lord Howe Island.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jones, HP, Tershy, BR, Zavaleta, ES, Croll, DA, Keitt, BS, Finkelstein, ME, and Howald, GR (2008). Severity of the effects of invasive rats on seabirds: a global review. Conservation Biology 22, 16–26.
| Severity of the effects of invasive rats on seabirds: a global review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 18254849PubMed |
Jones, HP, Holmes, ND, Butchart, SHM, Tershy, BR, Kappes, PJ, Corkery, I, Aguirre-Muñoz, A, Armstrong, DP, Bonnaud, E, Burbidge, AA, Campbell, K, Courchamp, F, Cowan, PE, Cuthbert, RJ, Ebbert, S, Genovesi, P, Howald, GR, Keitt, BS, Kress, SW, Miskelly, CM, Oppel, S, Poncet, S, Rauzon, MJ, Rocamora, G, Russell, JC, Samaniego-Herrera, A, Seddon, PJ, Spatz, DR, Towns, DR, and Croll, DA (2016). Invasive mammal eradications on islands results in substantial conservation gains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113, 4033–4038.
| Invasive mammal eradications on islands results in substantial conservation gains.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 27001852PubMed |
Kassambara A, Kosinski M, Biecek P, Fabian S (2021) survminer: drawing survival curves using ‘ggplot2’. Available at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=survminer
Laake J (2013) RMark: an r interface for analysis of capture-recapture data with MARK. AFSC Processed Report 2013-01. Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, WA. Available at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/ProcRpt/PR2013-01.pdf
Lavers, JL, Wilcox, C, and Donlan, JC (2010). Bird demographic responses to predator removal programs. Biological Invasions 12, 3839–3859.
| Bird demographic responses to predator removal programs.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lohr, MT, and Davis, RA (2018). Anticoagulant rodenticide use, non-target impacts and regulation: a case study from Australia. Science of the Total Environment 634, 1372–1384.
| Anticoagulant rodenticide use, non-target impacts and regulation: a case study from Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 29710637PubMed |
Lord Howe Island Board (2017) Lord Howe Island Rodent Eradication Project – NSW species impact statement. Lord Howe Island Board, Lord Howe Island, Australia.
Major, RE, Ewart, KM, Portelli, DJ, King, A, Tsang, LR, O’Dwyer, T, Carlile, N, Haselden, C, Bower, H, Alquezar-Planas, DE, Johnson, RN, and Eldridge, MDB (2021). Islands within islands: genetic structuring at small spatial scales has implications for long-term persistence of a threatened species. Animal Conservation 24, 95–107.
| Islands within islands: genetic structuring at small spatial scales has implications for long-term persistence of a threatened species.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Massaro, M, Starling-Windhof, A, Briskie, JV, and Martin, TE (2008). Introduced mammalian predators induce behavioural changes in parental care in an endemic New Zealand bird. PLoS ONE 3, e2331.
| Introduced mammalian predators induce behavioural changes in parental care in an endemic New Zealand bird.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 18523640PubMed |
Mayfield, HF (1961). Nesting success calculated from exposure. Wilson Bulletin 73, 255–261.
McClelland P (2002) Eradication of Pacific rats (Rattus exulans) from Whenua Hou Nature Reserve (Codfish Island), Putauhinu and Rarotoka Islands, New Zealand. In ‘Turning the tide: the eradication of invasive species’. (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout) pp. 173–181. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
Merton D, Climo G, Laboudallon V, Robert S, Mander C (2002) Alien mammal eradication and quarantine on inhabited islands on the Seychelles. In ‘Turning the tide: the eradication of invasive species.’ (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout) pp. 182–198. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
Milledge, D, Bower, H, and Carlile, N (2019). Removing a threatened apex predator from an oceanic World Heritage island: the Masked Owls of Lord Howe Island. Australian Zoologist 40, 75–91.
| Removing a threatened apex predator from an oceanic World Heritage island: the Masked Owls of Lord Howe Island.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Niethammer KR, Patrick LB (1998) White tern (Gygis alba). In ‘The birds of North America. Vol. 371’. (Eds A Poole, F Gill). (The Birds of North America Inc.: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
O’Dwyer T, Carlile N (2017) ‘Draft assessment of Lord Howe currawong Strepera graculina crissalis population numbers in preparation for proposed rodent eradication program.’ (Office of Environment and Heritage: Hurstville, NSW)
Office of Environment and Heritage NSW (2020a) Pied Currawong (Lord Howe Is. subsp.). Available at https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=10897
Office of Environment and Heritage NSW (2020b) White Tern – profile. Available at https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=10383
Parkes J, Fisher P, Russel J, Morris K (2007) ‘Exotic rodents on Australian islands: issue paper.’ (Department of Environment and Water Resources: Canberra, ACT)
Priddel D, Carlile N, Wilkinson I, Wheeler R (2011) Eradication of exotic mammals from offshore islands in New South Wales, Australia. In ‘Island invasives: eradication and management.’ (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout, DR Towns) pp. 337–344. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
R Core Team (2020) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria) Available at https://www.R-project.org
Rotella, JJ, Dinsmore, SJ, and Shaffer, TL (2004). Modelling nest-survival data: a comparison of recently developed methods that can be implemented in MARK and SAS. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 27, 187–205.
Rueda D, Carrion V, Castaño PA, Cunninghame F, Fisher P, Hagen E, Ponder JB, Riekena CA, Sevilla C, Shield H, Will D, Campbell KJ (2019) Preventing extinctions: planning and undertaking invasive rodent eradication from Pinzon Island, Galapagos. In ‘Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge.’ (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout, AR Martin, JC Russell, CJ West) pp. 51–56. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
Segal, RD, Massaro, M, Carlile, N, and Whitsed, R (2021b). Small-scale species distribution model identifies restricted breeding habitat for an endemic island bird. Animal Conservation 24, 959–969.
| Small-scale species distribution model identifies restricted breeding habitat for an endemic island bird.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Segal, RD, Whitsed, R, and Massaro, M (2021a). Review of the reporting of ecological effects of rodent eradications on Australian and New Zealand islands. Pacific Conservation Biology 28, 4–14.
| Review of the reporting of ecological effects of rodent eradications on Australian and New Zealand islands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shaffer, TL (2004). A unified approach to analyzing nest success. The Auk 121, 526–540.
| A unified approach to analyzing nest success.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Springer K (2012) Ecological restoration of sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. In ‘Proceedings of the vertebrate pest conference. Vol. 25’, pp. 34–37. (UC Agriculture & Natural Resources)
Temple, HJ, Hoffman, JI, and Amos, W (2006). Dispersal, philopatry and intergroup relatedness: fine-scale genetic structure in the white-breasted thrasher, Ramphocinclus brachyurus. Molecular Ecology 15, 3449–3458.
| Dispersal, philopatry and intergroup relatedness: fine-scale genetic structure in the white-breasted thrasher, Ramphocinclus brachyurus.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 16968282PubMed |
Tershy, BR, Shen, K-W, Newton, KM, Holmes, ND, and Croll, DA (2015). The importance of islands for the protection of biological and linguistic diversity. BioScience 65, 592–597.
| The importance of islands for the protection of biological and linguistic diversity.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Therneau T (2021) A package for survival analysis in R. R package version 3.3-1. Available at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=survival
Towns, DR, and Broome, KG (2003). From small Maria to massive Campbell: forty years of rat eradications from New Zealand islands. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 30, 377–398.
| From small Maria to massive Campbell: forty years of rat eradications from New Zealand islands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Towns, DR, Atkinson, IAE, and Daugherty, CH (2006). Have the harmful effects of introduced rats on islands been exaggerated? Biological Invasions 8, 863–891.
| Have the harmful effects of introduced rats on islands been exaggerated?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Towns D, Broome K, Saunders A (2018) Ecological restoration on New Zealand islands: a history of shifting scales and paradigms. In ‘Australian Island Arks: conservation, management and opportunities.’ (Eds D Moro, D Bell, SL Bryant) pp. 205–220. (CSIRO Publishing: Clayton South, Vic.)
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (2022) Lord Howe Island Group. Available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/186/
VanderWerf, EA (2003). Distribution, abundance, and breeding biology of White Terns on Oahu, Hawaii. The Wilson Bulletin 115, 258–262.
Walsh A, Wilson A, Bower H, McClelland P, Pearson J (2019) Winning the hearts and minds – proceeding to implementation of the Lord Howe Island rodent eradication project: a case study. In ‘Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge’. (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout, AR Martin, JC Russell, CJ West) pp. 522–530. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
Wilkinson IS, Priddel D (2011) Rodent eradication on Lord Howe Island: challenges posed by people, livestock and threatened endemics. In ‘Island invasives: eradication and management.’ (Eds CR Veitch, MN Clout, DR Towns) pp. 508–514. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland)
Wood, KA (1998). Seasonal changes in diet of pied currawongs Strepera graculina at Wollongong, New South Wales. Emu - Austral Ornithology 98, 157–170.
| Seasonal changes in diet of pied currawongs Strepera graculina at Wollongong, New South Wales.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
