Cat catched on camera at a Black Parrot nest site

from www.sif.sc/ 

A cat captured on camera at a Black Parrot nest site © SIF

Predation by invasive alien species has again proven to be a major problem for the black parrot during this breeding season. Through camera traps set up at a nest in Fond Peper, the team have observed cats climbing trunks and removing chicks from a nest. Eggs have also disappeared or been found broken in the nest which is probably due to rat predation. The team will keep monitoring the nests and the birds until the end of the season in March, and we look forward to reporting our first Black Parrot fledgling!

Alien mammal eradication and quarantine on inhabited islands in the Seychelles

Mertori, D., Climo, G., Laboudallon, V., Robert, S., & Mander, C. (2002). Alien mammal eradication and quarantine on inhabited islands in the Seychelles. In Veitch, C. R., & Clout, M. N. (2002). Turning the Tide: The Eradication of Invasive Species: Proceedings of the International Conference on Eradication of Island Invasives,[University of Auckland, 19 to 23 February 2001] (No. 27). IUCN, 182-198.

During the period 1996-2000, eradication of five introduced mammal species (feral cat (Felis catus), rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), ship rat (Rattus rattus), Norway rat (R. norvegicus) and house mouse (Mus domesticus)), was attempted on four inhabited islands, including three resort islands, ranging in size from 101–286 ha in the Seychelles group, Indian Ocean. Objectives were to avert extinctions of, and restore urgently-needed habitat for, localised threatened endemic animals and to facilitate ecological restoration in line with a national biodiversity strategy. Local political, economic and biological constraints meant that adaptations were necessary to traditional poisoning and trapping methods and regimes. Furthermore, since no rat-free island was available to which native animals at risk from primary and/or secondary poisoning might be transferred, it was necessary to maintain approx. 590 individuals of three threatened animal species in captivity for the three months of the eradication programme. Strategies and techniques developed, and some of the many challenges encountered in conducting eradication and quarantine programmes on inhabited, tropical islands are outlined, together with progress to date. One island (Bird) has been maintained free of rats and rabbits since their eradication in 1996. Two others (Denis and Curieuse) are now free of feral cats but have been recolonised by Rattus rattus since eradication attempts in 2000. The fourth (Frégate), was successfully cleared of R. norvegicus and mice in 2000, in time to avert extinctions of localised threatened endemic animals. These positive results will, we hope, inspire similar effort on other inhabited islands with high biological values or potential.

Eradication of alien predators in the Seychelles

Shah, N. (2001). Eradication of alien predators in the Seychelles: an example of conservation action on tropical islands. Biodiversity and Conservation, 10(7), 1219-1220.
(No summary available)

Cat threat forces translocation of flightless rail.

Wanless, R. M., Cunningham, J., Hockey, P. A., Wanless, J., White, R. W., & Wiseman, R. (2002). The success of a soft-release reintroduction of the flightless Aldabra rail (Dryolimnas [cuvieri] aldabranus) on Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles. Biological Conservation, 107(2), 203-210.

Humans and introduced mammalian predators have caused local extinctions and range reductions in the rallid genus Dryolimnas (endemic to western Indian Ocean islands); today two subspecies survive, one on Madagascar and one on three islands (ca. 8000 birds) of Aldabra Atoll. Domestic cats (Felis catus) still occur on Aldabra and their presence poses a significant potential threat to the rails. Reintroduction to cat-free islands would significantly improve their conservation status. In 1999, 20 rails were captured and brought to now cat-free Picard Island (the third largest island of Aldabra Atoll). Two rails died in captivity but all 18 remaining birds were released and survived beyond the first breeding season. Eight pairs had bonded and bred successfully within 2 months of release, producing a minimum of 13 chicks. Eleven monitored pairs produced 20 chicks in 2000/2001, with 1-year-old birds breeding successfully. Average chick production was significantly higher in the reintroduced population than in the source population in

both breeding seasons. The reintroduced population at the end of the 2001 breeding season was at least 51, an increase of 283% in 18 months. Around 20 pairs are expected to attempt breeding on Picard in the third season after reintroduction, with excellent prospects for continued, exponential population growth in the medium-term. The soft-release reintroduction protocol allowed monitoring of individual birds’ health before release into the wild. This is believed to have played a crucial role in the success of the reintroduction by allowing individuals to acclimatise and providing additional energetic reserves for the period between release and self-sufficiency. A soft-release is recommended as the conservative and precautionary method of choice for avian reintroductions and translocations.

Eradication of feral cats leads to partial Seychelles magpie robin population recovery

Watson J., Warman C., Todd D. & Laboudallon V. (1992) The Seychelles magpie robin Copsychus sechellarum: ecology and conservation of an endangered species. Biological Conservation, 61, 93-106.

In 1977–1978 some 40 Seychelles magpie robins Copsychus sechellarum, the entire world population, survived on Frégate island. These lived in 12 territorial groups of up to six individuals. Their range on Frégate was limited by the amount of feeding habitat, specifically bare earth and leaf litter which occurred under mature shady woodland and in cultivated vegetable gardens. Two attempts were made to reintroduce the species to Aride Island in 1978 and 1979. These were unsuccessful and the translocations had to be abandoned when a new threat impinged on the parent population of Frégate in 1980.
By 1981 numbers there had declined to 18, with virtually no recruitment, and an increase in the feral cat population was implicated. A successful cat eradication programme by trapping and poisoning was carried out in 1981–1982. By 1983–1984 the population showed a recovery with recruitment again healthy, although the abandonment of agriculture on Frégate between 1979 and 1983 had caused a reduction in the amount of feeding habitat and in the carrying capacity of the island to around 25 individuals in eight territorial groups. A range of management options is discussed.

See also here.

Cat predation on turtle hatchlings

Seabrook, W. 1989. Feral cats (Felis catus) as predators of hatchling green turtles (Chelonia mydas). J. Zool., Lond., 219: 83-88

In many parts of the world feral animals have been reported to have severe effects on marine turtle hatchling production. In this study, green turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchlings were shown to be an important component of the diet of the feral cat (Felis catus) on Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, and feral cat activity in the coastal areas was found to be concentrated on the beaches used most intensively by turtles for nesting. The impact of the feral cat's predation on green turtle recruitment could not be determined. However, despite cat predation, the size of the Aldabran green turtle nesting population has increased considerably since human exploitation ceased.