Thirty years of vegetation dynamics in response to a fluctuating rabbit population on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island

Introduced species and extreme weather as key drivers of reproductive output in three sympatric albatrosses

Invasive species present a major conservation threat globally and nowhere are their affects more pronounced than in island ecosystems. Determining how native island populations respond demographically to invasive species can provide information to mitigate the negative effects of invasive species. Using 20 years of mark-recapture data from three sympatric species of albatrosses (black-browed Thalassarche melanophris, grey-headed T. chrysostoma, and light-mantled albatrosses Phoebetria palpebrata), we quantified the influence of invasive European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus and extreme weather patterns on breeding probability and success. Temporal variability in rabbit density explained 33–76% of the variability in breeding probability for all three species, with severe decreases in breeding probability observed after a lag period following highest rabbit numbers. For black-browed albatrosses, the combination of extreme rainfall and high rabbit density explained 33% of total trait variability and dramatically reduced breeding success. We showed that invasive rabbits and extreme weather events reduce reproductive output in albatrosses and that eliminating rabbits had a positive effect on albatross reproduction. This illustrates how active animal management at a local breeding site can result in positive population outcomes even for wide ranging animals like albatrosses where influencing vital rates during their at-sea migrations is more challenging.

Implications of shared predation for space use in two sympatric leporids

Spatial variation in habitat riskiness has a major influence on the predator-prey space race. However, the outcome of this race can be modulated if prey shares enemies with fellow prey (i.e., another prey species). Sharing of natural enemies may result in apparent competition, and its implications for prey space use remain poorly studied. Our objective was to test how prey species spend time among habitats that differ in riskiness, and how shared predation modulates the space use by prey species. We studied a one-predator, two-prey system in a coastal dune landscape in the Netherlands with the European hare (Lepus europaeus) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as sympatric prey species and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as their main predator. The fine-scale space use by each species was quantified using camera traps. We quantified residence time as an index of space use. Hares and rabbits spent time differently among habitats that differ in riskiness. Space use by predators and habitat riskiness affected space use by hares more strongly than space use by rabbits. Residence time of hare was shorter in habitats in which the predator was efficient in searching or capturing prey species. However, hares spent more time in edge habitat when foxes were present, even though foxes are considered ambush predators. Shared predation affected the predator-prey space race for hares positively, and more strongly than the predator-prey space race for rabbits, which were not affected. Shared predation reversed the predator-prey space race between foxes and hares, whereas shared predation possibly also released a negative association and promoted a positive association between our two sympatric prey species. Habitat riskiness, species presence, and prey species' escape mode and foraging mode (i.e., central-place vs. noncentral-place forager) affected the prey space race under shared predation.

Managing invasive plants on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island

The Antarctic region is one of the most inhospitable frontiers on earth for weed invasion. On Australia’s world heritage sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island only three species of invasive weeds are well established (Poa annua L., Stellaria media (L.) Vill. and Cerastium fontanum Baumg.), although isolated occurrences of other species have been found and removed. These weed species are believed to have initially been introduced through human activity, a threat which is likely to increase, although strict biosecurity is in place. All three weeds are palatable and may have been suppressed to some extent by pest herbivore (rabbit) grazing. Given the high conservation value of Macquarie Island and threats to ecosystem structure and function from weed proliferation following rabbit eradication, well targeted invasive plant control management strategies are vital. We propose that a successful restoration program for Australia’s most southerly rangeland ecosystem should integrate both control of non-native plants as well as non-native herbivores. Of the non-native plants, S. media may most easily be managed, if not eradicated, because of its more limited distribution. Little, however, is known about the soil seed bank or population dynamics after rabbit eradication, nor the effect of herbicides and non-chemical control methods in cold conditions. A current research project on this non-grass species is helping to fill these knowledge gaps, complementing and building on data collected in an earlier project on the ecology and control of the more widespread invasive grass, P. annua. With an interest in off-target herbicide impacts, our work also includes a study of the movement and fate of herbicides in the cold climate Macquarie Island soils. Research in such a remote, cold, wet and windy place presents a range of logistical challenges. Nevertheless, outcomes are informing the development of effective, low-impact control or eradication options for sub-Antarctic weeds.