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Impact of introduced house mice (Mus musculus) on burrowing seabirds on Steeple Jason and Grand Jason Islands, Falklands, South Atlantic

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Abstract

Whilst there is good evidence for negative impacts of introduced rat species on island ecosystems, the effects of house mice (Mus musculus) are generally less well documented. In some situations, introduced house mice can exert severe impacts, particularly where this is the only introduced mammal. Here, we examine the distribution, relative abundance and breeding success of small burrowing seabirds on Steeple Jason Island, Falklands, in relation to habitat types and the distribution of house mice which is the sole introduced mammal species, and we make comparisons with seabird distribution and densities on the neighbouring island of Grand Jason where mice are absent. Grey-backed storm-petrel (Garrodia nereis) and Wilson’s storm-petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), which due to their extremely small size are likely to be the most vulnerable to mouse predation, were considerably more abundant on mouse-free Grand Jason than on Steeple Jason. Grey-backed storm-petrel, which are typically associated with tussac grass, avoided this habitat on Steeple Jason where it is associated with high levels of house mouse activity (assessed from the proportion of wax baits gnawed overnight), whereas on mouse-free Grand Jason, there was no such avoidance. Wilson’s storm-petrel nesting on Steeple Jason suffered high rates of egg and chick loss. Whilst we found evidence for detrimental impacts of house mice on the two small storm-petrel species, there was no relationship between relative mouse activity levels and the distribution or abundance of the larger thin-billed Prion (Pachyptila belcheri).

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Acknowledgments

Part of this work was funded by the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative Programme under Grant 18-017 “Developing knowledge to eradicate house mice from UK OT islands” and grant-aided by UK Defra. We thank the Wildlife Conservation Society for permission to work on Steeple Jason and for providing accommodation at the Steinhardt Field Station. We thank WCS warden Rob McGill for considerable logistic support in arranging the visit and for hospitality on Carcass Island. We also thank Mike Clarke, skipper of the Condor, for transport to and from the islands. Thanks also to Craig Dockrill and Farrah Peck for logistic support, and Marilou Delignières and Drew Robertson also provided invaluable assistance with fieldwork.

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Author notes

  1. Alastair M. M. Baylis

    Present address: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool, VIC, 3280, Australia

  2. Richard Cuthbert

    Present address: Papua New Guinea Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, PO Box 277, Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea

Authors and Affiliations

  1. RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, UK Headquarters, The Lodge, Sandy, Beds, SG19 2DL, UK

    Mark Bolton, Andrew Stanbury & Richard Cuthbert

  2. Falklands Conservation, PO Box 26, FIQQ 1ZZ, Stanley, Falkland Islands

    Alastair M. M. Baylis

Authors
  1. Mark Bolton
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  2. Andrew Stanbury
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  3. Alastair M. M. Baylis
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  4. Richard Cuthbert
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Correspondence to Mark Bolton.

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Bolton, M., Stanbury, A., Baylis, A.M.M. et al. Impact of introduced house mice (Mus musculus) on burrowing seabirds on Steeple Jason and Grand Jason Islands, Falklands, South Atlantic. Polar Biol 37, 1659–1668 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1554-2

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