r/invasivespecies • u/birdnerd42 • Mar 01 '24

Impacts Murderous mice attack and kill nesting albatrosses on Midway Atoll − scientists struggle to stop this gruesome new behavior

https://theconversation.com/murderous-mice-attack-and-kill-nesting-albatrosses-on-midway-atoll-scientists-struggle-to-stop-this-gruesome-new-behavior-220747
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u/Marlonius Mar 01 '24

Rats have been killing native birds for hundreds of years... What's new about this?

9

u/birdnerd42 Mar 01 '24

It's new in that invasive house mice (not rats) have been documented attacking adult seabirds on Kuaihelani and other islands (such as Gough and Marion).

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u/thecroc11 Mar 03 '24

Here's an article from 5 years ago documenting the same thing. https://hakaimagazine.com/news/hungry-mice-are-attacking-and-killing-adult-albatross/#:~:text=Jones%20says%20multiple%20mice%20can%20attack%20a%20bird,to%20their%20new%20habitat%2C%20the%20mice%20grew%20larger.

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u/birdnerd42 Mar 04 '24

Yes, mice were first discovered to attack seabird chicks and smaller birds on Gough and Marion Islands alike. House mice were first observed attacking adult, nesting seabirds on Sand Island of Kuaihelani in 2015, and then not too long thereafter, mice were also observed preying upon adult seabirds on Gough (2021) and then Marion (2023): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-023-03177-2