The Relationships 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

10.2307/4593 ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. King
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Mustela Erminea

Secondary poisoning of stoats (Mustela erminea) at low mouse (Mus musculus) abundance in a New Zealand Nothofagus forest

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 419 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. P. Brown ◽  
N. Alterio ◽  
H. Moller
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Secondary Poisoning ◽  
Mustela Erminea ◽  
Nothofagus Forest ◽  
Tracking Tunnels

Two different brodifacoum (Talon 20 P™) poisoning regimes effectively killed 100% of resident radio-tagged stoats (Mustela erminea) by secondary poisoning in a New Zealand Nothofagus forest when mice (Mus musculus) were scarce. Resident possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and ship rats (Rattus rattus) were also killed. The relative importance of different prey species as sources of poison for stoats has not been clearly identified but availability of poisoned prey will determine the efficacy of secondary poisoning in years of low prey abundance. Tracking tunnels did not accurately measure the decline in the stoat population and were probably influenced by immigrant stoats that were kill-trapped and contained high levels of poison. This study corroborates the findings of several other similar studies that secondary poisoning using brodifacoum effectively kills stoats.

Functional responses of an invasive top predator Mustela erminea to invasive meso-predators Rattus rattus and Mus musculus, in New Zealand forests

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Jones ◽  
Roger Pech ◽  
Guy Forrester ◽  
Carolyn M. King ◽  
Elaine C. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Mustela Erminea ◽  
Rodent Prey

Context Management of suites of invasive mammal species can lead to perverse outcomes, such as meso-predator release, or can achieve desirable reductions in the abundance of top-order predators by controlling their prey. Predictive models for predator–prey systems require estimates of predator functional responses, i.e. predation rates as functions of prey density. Aims In New Zealand, estimates of the functional responses of stoats (Mustela erminea) to mice (Mus musculus) and ship (black) rats (Rattus rattus) are required to improve management models for these invasive species. Methods We derived fitted relationships between the presence or absence of mouse or ship-rat remains in stoat guts and corresponding indices of prey abundance in beech and podocarp forests, respectively. To convert field data on stoat-gut contents to minimum kill rates, we used data on feeding activity and estimates of gut-passage time, observed in captive stoats. Key results The most parsimonious fitted curves were Type II functional responses, with a steeper stoat–mouse curve for autumn–winter, indicating a more specialist feeding habit than that in spring–summer. Estimated kill rates of mice per stoat per day reached an asymptote of 1.13 during autumn–winter. Our maximum observed kill rate for spring–summer was 11% less than the extrapolated upper limit of 1.04 mice per stoat per day for New Zealand ecosystems. No asymptote was reached within the limits of the data for the stoat–rat relationship. Conclusions Recent models for trophic interactions between stoats and the primary rodent prey have overestimated kill rates by stoats in forested ecosystems, particularly at very low and very high densities of mice. We show how data on stoat-gut contents can be rescaled to estimate minimum kill rates of rodent prey. Implications The functional-response relationships we have derived can be used to improve modelled predictions of the effects of natural or management-driven perturbations of invasive stoats and their primary rodent-prey populations.

Secondary poisoning of stoats (Mustela erminea) in a South Island podocarp forest, New Zealand: implications for conservation

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 501 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Alterio ◽  
H. Moller
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Secondary Poisoning ◽  
Mustela Erminea ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Bait Stations

This study tested the efficacy of secondary poisoning using Talon 20 P™ (20 ppm brodifacoum) in bait stations for killing predators in a New Zealand podocarp forest. Nine of 10 resident radio-tagged stoats (Mustela erminea) were killed after poisoning operations that killed mice (Mus musculus), ship rats (Rattus rattus) and brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Possums were an important source of the poison, with six stoats dying 1–2 weeks after scavenging on poisoned carcasses. New male stoats rapidly invaded the poisoned areas, but few were killed because poisoned carcasses were scarce. Most resident stoats died before possums were poisoned in other New Zealand trials when Talon 20 P was hand-broadcast. Prey abundance is potentially an important determinant of efficacy of the method, so pulse baiting is likely to be more successful than press (sustained) baiting operations for controlling stoats. Use of bait stations delayed indirect poisoning of stoats, but reduced risks to non-target native species compared with hand-broadcast operations. Talon 20 P poisoning operations using bait stations could be an especially useful way of restoring New Zealand’s mainland communities of native biota because several species of predators are killed in the same operation, but potential risks to non-target native wildlife and humans should be intensively researched before the method is routinely used. This research also demonstrates the potential hazards of the new anticoagulant poisons like brodifacoum to conservation of small native predators elsewhere.

What can the geographic distribution of mtDNA haplotypes tell us about the invasion of New Zealand by house mice Mus musculus?

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1551-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn King ◽  
Alana Alexander ◽  
Tanya Chubb ◽  
Ray Cursons ◽  
Jamie MacKay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Mtdna Haplotypes
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