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Observations of mice predation on dark-mantled sooty albatross and Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross chicks at Gough Island

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2013

R.J. Cuthbert ,
H. Louw ,
G. Parker ,
K. Rexer-Huber  and
P. Visser
R.J. Cuthbert*
Affiliation:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK
H. Louw
Affiliation:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
G. Parker
Affiliation:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
K. Rexer-Huber
Affiliation:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
P. Visser
Affiliation:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
*
richard_cuthbert@yahoo.co.uk
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Abstract

Introduced house mice Mus musculus L. have been discovered to be major predators of chicks of the Tristan albatross Diomedea dabbenena L. and Atlantic petrel Pterodroma incerta Schlegel and to also predate great shearwater Puffinus gravis O'Reilly chicks at Gough Island, and similar predatory behaviour has been reported for house mice on Marion Island. Observations on Gough Island over three breeding seasons of nesting Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses Thalassarche chlororhynchos Gmelin and dark-mantled sooty albatross Phoebetria fusca Hilsenberg indicate that house mice are also preying on these two species: the first records of mice preying upon summer-breeding albatross species on Gough Island. Predation on these two albatross species appears to be relatively rare (∼2% for the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses) and ongoing monitoring is required to ascertain if the impact of mice is increasing. Conservation actions to eradicate mice from Gough Island will be of benefit to these species and other species that are being impacted by this invasive species.

Keywords

conservationinvasive speciesMus musculusPhoebetria fuscaThalassarche chlororhynchos
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 25 , Issue 6 , December 2013 , pp. 763 - 766
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013 

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