Rabbits, landslips and vegetation change on the coastal slopes of subantarctic Macquarie Island, 1980–2007: implications for management

Subantarctic tall tussock grassland and megaherb vegetation has been massively affected by feral herbivores on islands where both occur. The effects of rabbits in this vegetation on Macquarie Island were monitored using 66 permanent quadrats and numerous photo-points on the steep coastal slopes of the island from 1980 to 2007. Vegetation change after landslips was also monitored. At the start of this period rabbit numbers plummeted due to the introduction of myxoma virus, but then increased from the late 1990s. Over the years of reduced rabbit numbers, some recovery of tall tussock grassland took place. With the resurgence in rabbit numbers, successional patterns converged towards a uniform pattern of degraded vegetation with more bare ground. The patterns of vegetation change indicate that recovery of the vegetation, after eradication of rabbits, rats and mice, is likely to be rapid where degradation is recent and where seed sources are in close proximity. The exotic plant species currently on the island are unlikely to present a problem.

[1]  J. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Changes in Subantarctic Heard Island Vegetation at Sites Occupied by Poa annua, 1987–2000 , 2005 .

[2]  R. Hnatiuk Census of Australian vascular plants , 1990 .

[3]  K. Mccue,et al.  The seismicity and tectonics of the Macquarie Ridge , 1988 .

[4]  Macquarie Island Change in Undisturbed Vegetation on the Coastal Slopes of Subantarctic , 2002 .

[5]  J. W. Dewey Seismicity and Tectonics , 2003 .

[6]  J. Shaw,et al.  Restricted plant species on sub-Antarctic Macquarie and Heard Islands , 2006, Polar Biology.

[7]  A. Lucas,et al.  Potential use of myxoma virus and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus to control feral rabbits in the Kerguelen Archipelago , 2004 .

[8]  G. Copson,et al.  Response of Vegetation on Subantarctic Macquarie Island to Reduced Rabbit Grazing , 1998 .

[9]  G. Copson Macquarie Island flora and fauna management interpreting progress and predictions for the future , 1988 .

[10]  J. Scott Changes in vegetation on Macquarie Island coastal slopes, 1980-1990 , 1995 .

[11]  M. Lebouvier,et al.  Recovery of native plant communities after eradication of rabbits from the subantarctic Kerguelen Islands, and influence of climate change , 2004 .

[12]  G. Copson,et al.  Review of ecological restoration programme on subantarctic Macquarie Island: Pest management progress and future directions , 2001 .

[13]  Manaaki Whenua Invasive Species Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission ALIENS , 2002 .

[14]  G. Copson,et al.  Sphagnum moss: an indicator of climate change in the sub-Antarctic , 2006, Polar Record.

[15]  T. Rosswall,et al.  Structure and function of tundra ecosystems , 1976 .

[16]  S. Chown,et al.  Life at the front: history, ecology and change on southern ocean islands. , 1999, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[17]  J. Priscu,et al.  Antarctic Communities: Species, Structure and Survival , 1998 .

[18]  J. Scott Rabbit Distribution History and Related Land Disturbance, Macquarie Island , 1988 .

[19]  V. Smith Climate Change in the Sub-Antarctic: An Illustration from Marion Island , 2002 .

[20]  J. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Change in Undisturbed Vegetation on the Coastal Slopes of Subantarctic Macquarie Island, 1980-1995 , 2002 .

[21]  G. Copson,et al.  DIstribution and Abundance of the Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), at Subantarctic Maqaurie Island , 1981 .

[22]  Peter Convey,et al.  Biological invasions in the Antarctic: extent, impacts and implications , 2005, Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

[23]  D. M. Moore,et al.  The effects of rabbit grazing on the grasslands of Macquarie Island. , 1960 .