A review on the effects of alien rodents in the Balearic (Western Mediterranean Sea) and Canary Islands (Eastern Atlantic Ocean) |
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Authors: | A Traveset M Nogales J A Alcover J D Delgado M López-Darias D Godoy J M Igual P Bover |
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Institution: | 1. Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avan?ats (CSIC-UIB), Miguel Marqués no 21, 07190, Esporles, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain 2. Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group (CSIC-IPNA), Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez no 3, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain 3. Department of Ecology, University of La Laguna, Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez no 3, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain 4. Department of Applied Biology, Estación Biológica de Do?ana (CSIC), Pabellón del Perú, Avda. Ma Luisa s/n, 41013, Seville, Spain 5. Ayagaures Medioambiente, Perdomo 5, 35002, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain 6. Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, 79th Street, Central Park West, New York, NY, USA
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Abstract: | Invasions of alien rodents have shown to have devastating effects on insular ecosystems. Here we review the ecological impacts
of these species on the biodiversity of the Balearic and the Canary Islands. A total of seven species of introduced rodents
(two rats, three mice, one dormouse, and one squirrel) have been recorded (six in the Balearics and four in the Canaries).
Some of them can occasionally be important predators of nesting seabirds, contributing to the decline of endangered populations
in both archipelagos. Rats are also known to prey upon terrestrial birds, such as the two endemic Canarian pigeons. Furthermore,
rats actively consume both vegetative and reproductive tissues of a high number of plants, with potential relevant indirect
effects on vegetation by increasing erosion and favoring the establishment of alien plants. In the Balearics, rats and mice
are important seed predators of endemic species and of some plants with a restricted distribution. In the Canaries, rats intensively
prey upon about half of the fleshy-fruited tree species of the laurel forest, including some endemics. In both archipelagos,
alien rodents disrupt native plant–seed dispersal mutualisms, potentially reducing the chances of plant recruitment at the
same time that they modify the structure of plant communities. We further suggest that alien rodents played (and play) a key
role in the past and present transformation of Balearic and Canarian native ecosystems. |
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Keywords: | Balearic Islands Canary Islands Predation Rodents Western Mediterranean Sea |
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