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  • Tags / Keywords extinction
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  • Tags / Keywords european storm-petrel
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Long term rodent control in Rdum tal-Madonna yelkouan shearwater colony
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Cabello, J.S. Santiago

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Lago, P.

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Varnham, K.

2019
Rodent predation on eggs and chicks is one of the main threats to procellariiform species in the Mediterranean, where the black rat (Rattus rattus) and brown rat (R. norvegicus) have been present on many islands for centuries. The yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) is an endemic Mediterranean seabird species classified as vulnerable. Malta holds up to 10% of the global population; the largest colony, Rdum tal-Madonna (RM), protected as a Natura 2000 site, hosts around 500 breeding pairs. This colony has been monitored since its discovery in 1969. A very low reproductive success due to rat predation was noticed in the late 1990s to early 2000s. In 2007 a seasonal rodent control programme was established during the breeding season of yelkouan shearwater to reduce rat predation on eggs and chicks. Rodent control took place between 2007 and 2010 and was reviewed and continued from 2012 to 2017. Breeding success since 2007 has been higher than 80%. In two other colonies with rat presence and where rodent control did not take place, the breeding success in 2016 and 2017 was substantially lower than in the colony with the rodent control programme. The European storm-petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis) only breeds in rat-free areas like remote sea caves or islets around the Maltese islands. In 2014, the first breeding attempt by European storm-petrel was recorded on the Maltese mainland at RM with a chick fledging successfully for the first time in 2016. The ongoing LIFE Arcipelagu Garnija project is assessing rat predation in all Maltese yelkouan shearwater colonies in order to establish predator control in the most important yelkouan shearwater breeding sites in 2018.
Bridging the research-management gap: using knowledge exchange and stakeholder engagement to aid decision-making in invasive rat management
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Ewen, J.G.

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Ferrière, C.

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Jones, C.G.

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Maggs, G.

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Murrell, D.J.

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Nicoll, M.A.C.

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Norris, K.

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Tatayah, V.

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Zuël, N.

2019
The world is facing a biodiversity crisis. Nowhere is that more apparent than on oceanic islands where invasive species are a major threat for island biodiversity. Rats are one of the most detrimental of these and have been the target of numerous eradication programmes; a well-established conservation tool for island systems. For at-risk native species inhabiting large, populated islands, where rat eradication is not an option, control of rat populations has been conducted but this requires continuous management and therefore its long-term viability (and that of the at-risk native species which the project aims to protect) can be uncertain. Large-scale rat management areas or ‘mainland islands’ have been successfully developed in New Zealand. However, large-scale management is a long-term investment with huge financial implications and committing to such an investment can be met with reluctance. This reluctance, and its subsequent hindrance to decision-making, can be caused by uncertainty relating to species conservation outcomes, and the multiple objectives of stakeholders. We address the issue of uncertainty and the importance of communication between all stakeholder parties in relation to the Mauritius olive white-eye (Zosterops chloronothos), a critically endangered passerine endemic to Mauritius and highly threatened by invasive rats. Specifically, we illustrate how the combination of scientific research and communication, knowledge exchange, and stakeholder workshops, can address some of the barriers of decision-making, helping to bridge the research-management gap, and enable the timely expansion of existing rat management for the benefit of this highly threatened bird.