Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Have the Harmful Effects of Introduced Rats on Islands been Exaggerated?

  • Published:
Biological Invasions Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduced rats are now being eradicated from many islands. Increasingly, these eradications are contested by activists claiming moral, legal, cultural, historic or scientific reasons and poorly documented evidence of effects. We reviewed the global literature on the effects of rats on island flora and fauna. We then used New Zealand as a case study because of its four-decade history of rat eradications and many detailed and innovative studies of how rats affect native species. These include use of exclosures, local manipulations of rat populations, video surveillance, and measurements of responses following eradications. The most intensive studies have been on the Pacific rat (Rattus exulans), a small South-East Asian species spread by Polynesians throughout the Pacific. These and the more recently introduced Norway rat (R. norvegicus) and ship (roof) rat (R. rattus) suppress some forest plants, and are associated with extinctions or declines of flightless invertebrates, ground-dwelling reptiles, land birds, and burrowing seabirds. On islands off France, Norway rats are also implicated in declines of shrews. Globally, ship rats were associated with declines or extinctions of the largest number of indigenous vertebrate species (60), including small mammals such as deer mice and bats. Effects of rats on forest trees and seabird populations are sufficiently pervasive to affect ecosystem structure and function. However, the data are patchy. Deficiencies in our knowledge would be reduced by documenting distribution and abundance of indigenous species before and after eradications. Comprehensive measurements of the responses of indigenous species to rat eradications would enable the development of testable models of rat invasion effects.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • AA (2002) Lundy rat slaughter sparks outcry. Animal Aid Press Release, 11 December 2002

  • RB Allen, WG Lee and BD Rance, Regeneration in indigenous forest after eradication of Norway rats, Breaksea Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 32 (1994) 429-439

    Google Scholar 

  • Anon, Anacapa Island Restoration Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Channel Islands National Park, Ventura Country, California: USDI National Park Service (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  • Appleton D, Booker H, Bullock D, Cordrey L, Sampson B and Cole L (2002) Lundy seabird recovery project. Unpublished report to English Nature

  • JS Athens, HD Tuggle, JV Ward and DJ Welch, Avifaunal extinctions, vegetation change, and Polynesian impacts in prehistoric Hawai’i. Archaeology Oceania 37 (2002) 57-78

    Google Scholar 

  • IAE Atkinson, Spread of the ship rat (Rattus r. rattus L.) in New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 3 (1973) 457-472

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson IAE (1985) The spread of commensal species of Rattus to oceanic islands and their effects on island avifaunas. In: Moors PJ (ed) Conservation of island birds, pp 35--81. ICBP Technical Publication No. 3

  • IAE Atkinson, Rodents on New Zealand’s offshore islands: distribution, effects and precautions against further spread. In: AE Wright and RE Beever (eds.) The Offshore Islands of Northern New Zealand. Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey Information Series 16 (1986) pp. 13-40

    Google Scholar 

  • IAE Atkinson, Introduced animals and extinctions. In: DC Western and MC Pearl (eds.) Conservation for the Twenty-first Century. New York: Oxford University Press (1989) pp. 54-75

    Google Scholar 

  • IAE Atkinson and RH Taylor, Distribution of Alien Animals on New Zealand Islands. Wellington: DSIR Land Resources Contract Report 92/59 (1992).

    Google Scholar 

  • IAE Atkinson and DR Towns, Kiore, Pacific rat. In: CM King (ed.) Handbook of New Zealand Mammals. Melbourne: Oxford University Press (in press) pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • M Aviss, Post-eradication recovery of Chetwode Island: an update. Ecological Management 5 (1997) 75-77

    Google Scholar 

  • BD Bell, The Big South Cape islands rat irruption. In: PR Dingwall, IAE Atkinson and C Hay (eds.) The Ecology and Control of Rodents in New Zealand Nature Reserves. Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey Information Series 4 (1978) pp. 33-40

    Google Scholar 

  • BD Bell, The eradication of alien mammals from five offshore islands, Mauritius, Indian Ocean. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: The Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 40-45

    Google Scholar 

  • BirdLife International (2003) BirdLife’s Online World Bird Database: The Site for Bird Conservation, Version 2.0. BirdLife International, Cambridge UK. Available http://www.birdlife.org http://www.birdlife.org (accessed 26/9/2004)

  • AM Booth, EO Minot, RA Fordham and JG. Innes, Kiore (Rattus exulans) predation on the eggs of the little shearwater (Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis). Notornis 43 (1996) 147-153

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth W (2003) On California islets, a clear case of rat and wrong? Washington Post 5 January

  • AG Bremner, CF Butcher and GB Patterson, The density of indigenous invertebrates on three islands in Breaksea Sound, Fiordland, in relation to the distribution of introduced mammals. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 14 (1984) 379-386

    Google Scholar 

  • FJ Brook, Changes in the landsnail fauna of Lady Alice Island, northeastern New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 29 (1999) 135-157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FJ Brook, Prehistoric predation of the landsnail Placostylus ambagiosus Suter (Stylommatophora: Bulimidae) and evidence for the timing of establishment of rats in northernmost New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 30 (2000) 227-241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D Brown, Chetwode Island kiore and weka eradication project. Ecological Management 5 (1997) 11-20

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown D, Chadderton L and Brown K (2001) Report on the Falklands Conservation rat project. Unpublished report to Falklands Conservation

  • KP Brown, Predation at nests of two New Zealand endemic passerines; implications for bird community restoration. Pacific Conservation Biology 3 (1997) 91-98

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger J and Gochfeld M (1994) Predation and effects of humans on island-nesting seabirds. In: Nettleship DN, Burger J and Gochfeld M (eds) Seabirds on Islands, Threats, Case Studies and Action Plans, Vol 1, pp 39–67. Birdlife Conservation Series

  • DJ Campbell, The effects of rats on vegetation. In: PR Dingwall, IAE Atkinson and C Hay (eds.) The Ecology and Control of Rodents in New Zealand Nature Reserves. Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey Information Series 4 (1978) pp. 99-120

    Google Scholar 

  • DJ Campbell and IAE Atkinson, Effects of kiore (Rattus exulans) on recruitment of indigenous coastal trees on northern offshore islands of New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 29 (1999) 265-290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DJ Campbell and IAE Atkinson, Depression of tree recruitment by the Pacific rat (Rattus exulans Peale) on New Zealand’s northern offshore islands. Biological Conservation 107 (2002) 19-35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G Caughley and A Gunn, Conservation Biology in Theory and Practice. Cambridge, US: Blackwell Science (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  • MN Clout, Pests or treasures. Forest & Bird 307 (2003) 3

    Google Scholar 

  • MN Clout and CR Veitch, Turning the tide of biological invasion: the potential for eradicating invasive species. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: The Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 1-3

    Google Scholar 

  • JL Craig, The effects of kiore on other fauna. In: AE Wright and RE Beever (eds.) The Offshore Islands of Northern New Zealand. Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey Information Series 16 (1986) pp. 75-83

    Google Scholar 

  • JL Craig, Eradicating kiore. Forest & Bird 304 (2002) 3

    Google Scholar 

  • A Cree, CH Daugherty and JM Hay, Reproduction of a rare reptile, the tuatara Sphenodon punctatus, on rat-free and rat-inhabited islands in New Zealand. Conservation Biology 9 (1995) 373-383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IG Crook, The tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus Gray, on islands with and without populations of the Polynesian rat, Rattus exulans (Peale). Proceedings of the New Zealand Ecological Society 20 (1973) 115-120

    Google Scholar 

  • F Courchamp, J-L Chapuis and M Pascal, Mammal invaders on islands: impact, control and control impact. Biological Reviews 78 (2003) 347-383

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • F Courchamp, M Langlais and G Sugihara, Rabbits killing birds: modelling the hyperpredation process. Journal of Animal Ecology 69 (2000) 154-164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MJ Daniel, Greater short-tailed bat. In: CM King (ed.) The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals. Auckland: Oxford University Press (1990) pp. 131-136

    Google Scholar 

  • MJ Daniel and GR Williams, A survey of the distribution, seasonal activity and roost sites of New Zealand bats. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 7 (1984) 9-25

    Google Scholar 

  • JC Daltry, Q Bloxham, G Cooper, ML Day, J Hartely, M Henry, K Lindsay and BE Smith, Five years of conserving the ‘world’s rarest snake’, the Antiguan racer Alsophis antigue. Oryx 35 (2001) 119-127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JC Daltry, M Morton, BE Smith and I Sylvester, Antiguan racer census and re-introduction. St John’s, Antigua & Barbuda: Antiguan Racer Conservation Project (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  • Davison A (2003) Seabirds’ numbers growing in rats’ absence. Santa Barbara News-Press, 5 December

  • JD Delagado García, Selection and treatment of fleshy fruits by the ship rat (Rattus rattus L.) in the Canarian laurel forest. Mammalia 64 (2000) 11-18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JD Delagado García, Interaction between introduced rats and a frugivore bird-plant system in a relict island forest. Journal of Natural History 36 (2002) 1247-1258

    Google Scholar 

  • CR Dickman, Rodent–ecosystem relationships: a review. In: GR Singleton, LA Hinds, H Leirs and Z Zhang (eds.) Ecologically-based Management of Rodent Pests. Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (1999) pp. 113-133

    Google Scholar 

  • P Dilks, M Willans, M Pryde and I Fraser, Large scale stoat control to protect mohua (Mohua ochrocephala) and kaka (Nestor meridionalis) in the Eglington Valley, Fiordland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 27 (2003) 1-9

    Google Scholar 

  • Assessment of Environmental Effects for the Eradication of Kiore (Rattus exulans) from Little Barrier Island (Hauturu). Auckland: New Zealand Department of Conservation (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  • D Donahue, A test of animal conservation and conflicting legal demands: kiore on Little Barrier Island. Animal Rights Legal Advisory Network Newsletter 1 (2002) 1-4

    Google Scholar 

  • CJ Donlan, BR Tershey, K Campbell and F. Cruz, Research for requiems: the need for more collaborative action in eradication of invasive species. Conservation Biology 17 (2003a) 1850-1851

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CJ Donlan, GR Howald, BR Tershey and DA Croll, Evaluating alternative rodenticides for island conservation: roof rat eradication from the San Jorge Islands, Mexico. Biological Conservation 114 (2003b) 29-34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C Eckroyd, The ecology of Dactylanthus taylorii and threats to its survival. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 20 (1996) 81-100

    Google Scholar 

  • C Feare, Ants take over from rats on Bird Island, Seychelles. Bird Conservation International 9 (1999) 95-96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JR Flowerdew, Advances in the conservation of British mammals, 1954–2004: 50 years of progress with The Mammal Society. Mammal Review 34 (2004) 169-210

    Google Scholar 

  • C Fraser, Beyond the Roaring Forties New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands. Wellington: Government Printing Office (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  • P Gaze, The response of a colony of sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus) and flesh-footed shearwater (P. carneipes) to the cessation of harvesting and the eradication of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 27 (2000) 375-379

    Google Scholar 

  • P Gaze, Tuatara Recovery Plan 2001–2011. Threatened Species Recovery Plan 47. Wellington: Department of Conservation (2001).

    Google Scholar 

  • R Gerlach, Editorial. Birdwatch 35 (2000) 1

    Google Scholar 

  • G Gibbs, Insects at risk. Forest & Bird 294 (1999) 32-35

    Google Scholar 

  • MF Graham and CR Veitch, Changes in bird numbers on Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand, over the period of rat eradication. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 120-123

    Google Scholar 

  • C Green, Recovery of invertebrate populations on Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand following eradication of Pacific rats (Rattus exulans). In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 407

    Google Scholar 

  • WH Guthrie-Smith, Sorrows and Joys of A New Zealand Naturalist. Wellington, New Zealand: A.H. & A.W. Reed (1936).

    Google Scholar 

  • JR Hall, RW Woods, MdeL Brooke and GM Hilton, Factors affecting the distribution of landbirds on the Falkland Islands. Bird Conservation International 12 (2002) 151-167

    Google Scholar 

  • BJTM Haami, The kiore rat in Aotearoa: a Maori perspective. In: J Morrison, P Geraghty and L Crowl (eds.) Science of Pacific Island Peoples (3) Flora, Fauna, Food and Medicine. Suva: University of South Pacific (1994) pp. 65-76

    Google Scholar 

  • MA Hernández, A Martín and M Nogales, Breeding success and predation on artificial nests of the endemic pigeons Bolle’s laurel pigeon Columba bollii and white-tailed laurel pigeon C. junoniae in the laurel forest of Tenerife (Canary Islands). Ibis 141 (1999) 52-59

    Google Scholar 

  • GRF Hicks, HP McColl, MJ Meads, GS Hardy and RJ Roser, An ecological reconnaissance of Korapuki Island, Mercury Islands. Notornis 22 (1975) 195-220

    Google Scholar 

  • R Holdaway, Arrival of rats in New Zealand. Nature 384 (1996) 225-384

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • RN Holdaway, Introduced predators and avifaunal extinctions in New Zealand. In: RDE MacPhee (ed.) Extinctions in Near Time Kluwer. New York: Academic/Plenum Publishers (1999) pp. 189-238

    Google Scholar 

  • MJ Imber, The effects of rats on breeding success of petrels. In: PR Dingwall, IAE Atkinson and C Hay (eds.) The Ecology and Control of Rodents in New Zealand Nature Reserves. Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey Information Series 4 (1978) pp. 67-71

    Google Scholar 

  • M Imber, M Harrison and J Harrison, Interactions between petrels, rats and rabbits on Whale Island, and effects of rat and rabbit eradication. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 24 (2000) 153-160

    Google Scholar 

  • MJ Imber, JA West and WJ Cooper, Breeding biology of Cook’s petrel (Pterodroma cookii) on Hauturu (Little Barrier Island) and Whenua Hou (Codfish Island). Notornis 50 (2003) 221-230

    Google Scholar 

  • J Innes, Ship rat. In: CM King (ed.) The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals. Auckland: Oxford University Press (1990) pp. 206-225

    Google Scholar 

  • J Innes and JR Hay, The nesting of the North Island kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni)-review of accounts from 1880 to 1989. Notornis 42 (1995) 79-93

    Google Scholar 

  • J Innes, R Hay, I Flux, P Bradfield, H Speed and P Jansen, Successful recovery of North island kokako Callaeas cinerea wilsoni populations, by adaptive management. Biological Conservation 87 (1999) 201-214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • John CL (1999) Population and habitat of the St. Lucia whiptail lizard (Cnemidophorus vanzoi) on Praslin Island, St Lucia (West Indies). Available http://www.slumaffe.org http://www.slumaffe.org (accessed 19/10/04)

  • P Jouventin, J Bried and T Micol, Insular bird populations can be saved from rats: a long-term experimental study of white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis on Ile de la Possession (Crozet archipelago). Polar Biology 26 (2003) 371-378

    Google Scholar 

  • D Kapa, The eradication of kiore and the fulfilment of kaitiakitanga obligations. Auckland University Law Review 9 (2003) 1326-1352

    Google Scholar 

  • C Kerbiriou, M Pascal, I leViol and J. Garoche, Conséquences sur l’avifaune terrestre de L’Île de Trielen (Réserve naturelle d’Iroise, Bretagne) de l’éradication du rat surmulot (Rattus norvegicus). Revue d’ Écologie (Terre & Vie) 59 (2004) 319-329

    Google Scholar 

  • Kettman M (2003) Death for life on Anacapa Island. The Santa Barbara Independent, 29 April

  • G Keey, Orange-fronted parakeet. Forest & Bird 311 (2004) 16-18

    Google Scholar 

  • G Key, A Feilding, MJ Goulding, RS Holm and B Stevens-Woods, Ship rats Rattus rattus on the Shiant Islands, Hebrides, Scotland. Journal of Zoology London 245 (1998) 228-233

    Google Scholar 

  • Kidson J (1992) The rat pack. North and South, April 17

  • CM King, The relationship between beech (Nothofagus sp.) seedfall and populations of mice (Mus musculus), and the demographic and dietary responses of stoats (Mustela erminea) in three New Zealand forests. Journal of Animal Ecology 52 (1983) 414-466

    Google Scholar 

  • King CM (in press) Handbook of New Zealand Mammals, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Melbourne

  • G Kuschel and TH Worthy, Past distribution of large weevils (Coleoptera:Curculionidae) in the South Island, New Zealand, based on Holocene fossil remains. New Zealand Entomologist 19 (1996) 15-22

    Google Scholar 

  • JH Lawton, The science and non-science of conservation biology. Oikos 79 (1997) 3-5

    Google Scholar 

  • M Lee, Pacific rats – wildlife pests and cultural treasures. Forest & Bird 306 (2002) 11

    Google Scholar 

  • H Leirs, Why do some rodents become a pest, while others barely survive?. Lutra 45 (2002) 75-82

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorvelec O and Pascal M (in press) French attempts to eradicate non-indigenous mammals and their consequences for flora and fauna. Biological Invasions

  • TG Lovegrove, A comparison of the effects of predation by Norway (Rattus norvegicus) and Polynesian rats (R. exulans) on the saddleback (Philesturnus carunculatus). Notornis 43 (1996) 91-112

    Google Scholar 

  • J McCallum, Evidence of predation by kiore upon lizards from the Mokohinau Islands. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 9 (1986) 83-87

    Google Scholar 

  • GJ McChesney and BR Tershy, History and status of introduced mammals and impacts to breeding seabirds on the California Channel and Northwestern Baja California islands. Colonial Waterbirds 21 (1998) 335-347

    Google Scholar 

  • RA McDonald, MR Hutchings and JGM Keeling, The status of ship rats Rattus rattus on the Shiant Islands, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Biological Conservation 82 (1997) 113-117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McIntosh E and Walton DWH (2000) Environmental management plan for South Georgia. British Antarctic Survey. 103 p

  • M McIntyre, The ecology of some large weta species in New Zealand. In: LH Field (ed.) The Biology of Wetas, King Crickets and their Allies. Wallingford, UK: CAB International (2001) pp. 225-242

    Google Scholar 

  • B Mansfield and D Towns, Lesson of the islands. Restoration & Management Notes 15 (1997) 138-146

    Google Scholar 

  • T Markwell and CH Daugherty, Invertebrate and lizard abundance is greater of seabird-inhabited islands than on seabird-free islands in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. Écoscience 9 (2002) 293-299

    Google Scholar 

  • T Markwell and CH Daugherty, Variability in δ15N, δ13C and Kjeldahl nitrogen of soils from islands with and without seabirds in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 27 (2003) 25-30

    Google Scholar 

  • J-L Martin, J-C Thibault and V Bretagnolle, Black rats, island characteristics, and colonial nesting birds in the Mediterranean: consequences of an ancient introduction. Conservation Biology 14 (2000) 1452-1466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D Merton, G Climo, V Laboudallon, S Robert and C Mander, Alien mammal eradication and quarantine on inhabited islands in the Seychelles. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 182-198

    Google Scholar 

  • T Micol and P Jouventin, Eradication of rats and rabbits from Saint-Paul Island, French Southern Territories. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 199-205

    Google Scholar 

  • CM Miskelly, The identity of the hakawai. Notornis 34 (1987) 95-116

    Google Scholar 

  • C Miskelly and H Robertson, Response of forest birds to rat eradication on Kapiti Island (abstract). In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 410

    Google Scholar 

  • H. Moller and JL Craig, The population ecology of Rattus exulans on Tiritiri Matangi Island, and a model of comparative population dynamics in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 14 (1987) 305-328

    Google Scholar 

  • PJ Moors, Norway rat. In: CM King (ed.) The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals. Auckland: Oxford University Press (1990) pp. 192-206

    Google Scholar 

  • RJ Moorhouse, Annual variation in productivity of North Island kaka on Kapiti Island, New Zealand. Acta Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici 2 (1990) 690-696

    Google Scholar 

  • KD Morris, The eradication of the black rat (Rattus rattus) on Barrow and adjacent islands off the north-west coast of Western Australia. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 219-225

    Google Scholar 

  • CPH Mulder and SN Keall, Burrowing seabirds and reptiles: impacts on seeds, seedlings and soils in an island forest in New Zealand. Oecologia 127 (2001) 350-360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JH Myers, D Simberloff, AM Kuris and JR Carey, Eradication revisited: dealing with exotic species. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 15 (2000) 316-320

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Newman DG (1986) Can tuatara and mice co-exist? The status of tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus (Reptilia: Rhynchocephalia), on the Whangamata Islands. In: Wright AE and Beever RE (eds) The Offshore Islands of Northern New Zealand, pp 175–95. New Zealand Department of Lands and Survey Information Series 16

  • DG Newman, Evidence of predation on a young tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, by kiore, Rattus exulans, on Lady Alice Island. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 15 (1988) 443-446

    Google Scholar 

  • DG Newman and I McFadden, Seasonal fluctuation of numbers, breeding, and food of kiore (Rattus exulans) on Lady Alice Island (Hen and Chickens group), with a consideration of kiore: tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) relationships in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 17 (1990) 55-63

    Google Scholar 

  • DG Newman, PR Watson and I McFadden, Egg production by tuatara on Lady Alice and Stephens Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 21 (1994) 387-398

    Google Scholar 

  • NPS (2003) Rat interactions with native wildlife. National Parks Service website http://www.nps.gov/chis/naturalresources http://www.nps.gov/chis/naturalresources (accessed 27 January 2004)

  • DA Norton, PJ deLange, PJ Garnock-Jones and DR Given, The role of seabirds and seals in the survival of coastal plants: lessons from New Zealand Lepidium (Brassicaceae). Biodiversity and Conservation 6 (1997) 765-785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CFJ O’Donnell, PJ Dilks and GP Elliott, Control of a stoat (Mustela erminea) population irruption to enhance mohua (yellowhead) (Mohoua ochrocephala) breeding success in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 23 (1996) 279-286

    Google Scholar 

  • M Palmer and GX Pons, Diversity in western Mediterranean islets: effects of rat presence on a beetle guild. Acta Œcologica 17 (1996) 297-305

    Google Scholar 

  • M Palmer and GX Pons, Predicting rat presence on small islands. Ecography 24 (2001) 121-126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M Pascal, R Brithmer, O Lorvelec and N Vénumière, Conséquences sur l’avifaune nicheuse de la Réserve Naturelle des Îlets de Sainte-Anne (Martinique) de la récente invasion du rat noir (Rattus rattus), établies à I’issue d’une tentative d’éradication. Revue d’ Écologie (Terre & Vie) 59 (2004) 309-318

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascal M, Siorat F, Lorvelec O, Yésou P and Simberloff D (in press) A pleasing Norway rat eradication consequence: two shrew species recover. Diversity and Distributions

  • A Penloup, JL Martin, G Gory, D Brunstein and V Bretagnolle, Distribution and breeding success of Pallid Swifts, Apus pallidus, on Mediterranean islands: nest predation by the roof rat, Rattus rattus, and nest site quality. Oikos 80 (1997) 78-88

    Google Scholar 

  • ORW Pergams, RC Lacy and MV Ashley, Conservation and management of Anacapa deer mice. Conservation Biology 14 (2000) 819-832

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • RJ Pierce, Kiore (Rattus exulans) Impact on Breeding Success of Pycroft’s Petrels and Little Shearwaters. Wellington: Department of Conservation (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  • D Priddel, N Carlile, M Humphrey, S Fellenberg and D Hiscox, Rediscovery of the ‘extinct’ Lord Howe Island stick-insect (Dryococelus australis (Montrouzier)) (Phasmatodea) and recommendations for its conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation 12 (2003) 1391-1403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M Roberts, A pakeha view of the kiore rat in New Zealand. In: J Morrison, P Geraghty and L Crowl (eds.) Science of Pacific Island Peoples (3) Flora, Fauna, Food and Medicine. Suva: University of South Pacific (1994) pp. 124-141

    Google Scholar 

  • HA Roberson and EK Saul, Conservation of Kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) on the Cook Islands in 2002/03. Wellington New Zealand: Department of Conservation (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  • HA Robertson, RM Colbourne and F Nieuwland, Survival of little spotted kiwi and other forest birds exposed to brodifacoum rat poison on Red Mercury Island. Notornis 40 (1993) 253-262

    Google Scholar 

  • HA Robertson, JR Hay, EK Saul and GV McCormack, Recovery of the kakerori: an endangered forest bird of the Cook Islands. Conservation Biology 8 (1994) 1078-1086

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T Ross, Antiguan Racer Population Census 2000. Antiguan Racer Conservation Project, Report No. 7. Cambridge: Fauna & Flora International (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudman B (2003) Latest twist in rat saga right up kiore’s alley. The New Zealand Herald, 9 May

  • Sappenfield M (2002) Off the California coast, it’s alien rats versus native birds. The Christian Science Monitor, 31 October

  • EM Schauber, P Turchin, C Simon, D Kelly, WG Lee, RB Allen, IJ Payton, PR Wilson, PE Cowan and RE Brockie, Masting by eighteen New Zealand plant species: the role of temperature as a synchronising cue. Ecology 83 (2002) 1214-1225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NJ Shah, Eradication of alien predators in the Seychelles: an example of conservation action on tropical islands. Biodiversity and Conservation 10 (2001) 1219-1220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D Simberloff, Eradication of island invasives: practical actions and results achieved. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16 (2001) 273-274

    Google Scholar 

  • D Simberloff, Today Tiritiri Matangi, tomorrow the world! Are we aiming too low in invasives control?. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 4-12

    Google Scholar 

  • D Simberloff, Confronting introduced species: a form of xenophobia?. Biological Invasions 5 (2003) 179-192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P Stapp, Stable isotopes reveal evidence of predation by ship rats on seabirds on the Shiant Islands, Scotland. Journal of Applied Ecology 39 (2002) 831-840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • RH Taylor, Influence of man on the vegetation and wildlife of Enderby and Rose islands, Auckland Island Group. New Zealand Journal of Botany 9 (1971) 225-268

    Google Scholar 

  • RH Taylor, What limits kiore (Rattus exulans) distribution in New Zealand?. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 2 (1975) 473-477

    Google Scholar 

  • RH Taylor, How the Macquarie Island parakeet became extinct. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 2 (1979) 42-45

    Google Scholar 

  • SA Temple, The nasty necessity: eradicating exotics. Conservation Biology 4 (1990) 113-115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BW Thomas and RH Taylor, A history of ground-based rodent eradication techniques developed in New Zealand, 1959–1993. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002) pp. 301-310

    Google Scholar 

  • BW Thomas and AH Whitaker, Translocation of the Fiordland skink Leiolopisma acrinasum to Hawea Island, Breaksea Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand. In: M Serena (ed.) Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand fauna. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty and Sons (1995) pp. 91-95

    Google Scholar 

  • M Thorsen, R Shorten, R Lucking and V Lucking, Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) on Frégate Island, Seychelles: the invasion; subsequent eradication attempts and implications for the island’s fauna. Biological Conservation 96 (2000) 133-138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DR Towns, The role of ecological restoration in conservation of Whitaker’s skink (Cyclodina whitakeri), a rare New Zealand lizard (Lacertilia: Scincidae). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 21 (1994) 457-71

    Google Scholar 

  • DR Towns, Interactions between geckos, honeydew scale insects and host plants revealed on islands in northern New Zealand, following eradication of introduced rats and rabbits. In: CR Veitch and MN Clout (eds.) Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species. Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (2002a) pp. 329-335

    Google Scholar 

  • DR Towns, Korapuki Island as a case study for restoration of insular ecosystems in New Zealand. Journal of Biogeography 29 (2002b) 593-607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DR Towns and IAE Atkinson, Restoration Plan for Korapuki Island (Mercury Islands) 2004–2024. Wellington: Department of Conservation (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  • DR Towns and WJ Ballantine, Conservation and restoration of New Zealand island ecosystems. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8 (1993) 452-457

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DR Towns and KG Broome, From small Maria to massive Campbell: forty years of rat eradications from New Zealand islands. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 30 (2003) 377-398

    Google Scholar 

  • DR Towns, D Simberloff and IAE Atkinson, Restoration of New Zealand islands: redressing the effects of introduced species. Pacific Conservation Biology 3 (1997) 99-124

    Google Scholar 

  • DR Towns, GR Parrish and I Westbrooke, Inferring vulnerability to introduced predators without experimental demonstration: case study of Suter’s skink in New Zealand. Conservation Biology 17 (2003) 1361-1371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyrrell CL, Cree A and Towns DR (2000) Variation in reproduction and condition of northern tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus punctatus) in the presence and absence of kiore., Science for Conservation 153, pp 42. New Zealand Department of Conservation, Wellington

  • GT Ussher, Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) feeding ecology in the presence of kiore (Rattus exulans). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 26 (1999) 117-125

    Google Scholar 

  • EA VanderWerf and DG Smith, Effects of alien rodent control on demography of the O’ahu ‘Elepaio, an endangered Hawaiian forest bird. Pacific Conservation Biology 8 (2002) 73-81

    Google Scholar 

  • K Varnham, Restoration of Green Island, Antigua, West Indies. Cambridge: Interim Report to Fauna & Flora International (2001).

    Google Scholar 

  • C Veltman, Investigating causes of population decline in New Zealand plants and animals: introduction to a symposium. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 20 (1996) 1-5

    Google Scholar 

  • AH Whitaker, The effects of rodents on reptiles and amphibians. In: PR Dingwall, IAE Atkinson and C Hay (eds.) The ecology and control of rodents in New Zealand nature reserves. Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey Information Series 4 (1978) pp. 75-86

    Google Scholar 

  • JM Wilmshurst and TFG Higham, Using rat-gnawed seeds to independently date the arrival of Pacific rats and humans in New Zealand. The Holocene 14 (2004) 801-806

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • RW Woods, Update on Cobb’s wren. The Warrah 17 (2000) 11

    Google Scholar 

  • TH Worthy, Osteology of Leiopelma (Amphibia: Leiopelmatidae) and descriptions of three new subfossil Leiopelma species. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 17 (1987) 201-251

    Google Scholar 

  • TH Worthy and RN Holdaway, The Lost World of the Moa. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zonfrillo B (2000) Ailsa Craig before and after the eradication of rats in 1991. Ayrshire Bird Report

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Development and Improvement Division, Department of Conservation, Terrestrial Conservation Unit, Private Bag 68-908, Newton, Auckland, New Zealand

    David R. Towns

  2. School of Biological Sciences, Victoria, University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand

    David R. Towns & Charles H. Daugherty

  3. Ecological Research Associates, P.O. Box 48-147, Silverstream, Upper Hutt, New Zealand

    Ian A. E. Atkinson

Authors
  1. David R. Towns
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ian A. E. Atkinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Charles H. Daugherty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David R. Towns.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Towns, D.R., Atkinson, I.A.E. & Daugherty, C.H. Have the Harmful Effects of Introduced Rats on Islands been Exaggerated?. Biol Invasions 8, 863–891 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-005-0421-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-005-0421-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation