The effect of Norway rats on coastal waterbirds of the Falkland Islands: a preliminary analysis

Résumé

The Falkland Islands have been affected by anthropogenic-induced habitat modifi cation including introduction of invasive species and grazing by livestock. Introduced Norway rats are known to have a large effect on native Falklands passerines but their effect on other native birds has not been explored. We investigated the effects of several environmental variables, including the presence of Norway rats and chronic grazing by livestock, on an assemblage of 22 species of coastal waterbirds by comparing species richness and relative abundance of birds among 65 rat-infested islands, 29 rat eradicated islands and 76 historically rat-free islands. Bird count data from 299 km of coastline were used to estimate relative bird abundance, expressed as the number of individuals per kilometre of coastline for each species. Our study provided three key results. First, coastal waterbird abundance on islands historically without rats was twice as high as that on islands where rats were present. Second, bird abundance on rat-eradicated islands was intermediate between that of historically rat-free and rat-infested islands. Third, habitat modification by grazing appeared to reduce bird abundance in both rat-free and rat-infested habitats. From a conservation perspective, this study suggests that rat eradication programmes in the Falkland Islands are effective at restoring coastal waterbird abundance and would be even more so if carried out in conjunction with restoration of native coastal plant communities.