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Golden eagles, feral pigs, and insular carnivores: How exotic species turn native predators into prey

Year: 2001

Type: article

Abstract: Island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to exotic species. Here we show how an introduced prey has led to the wholesale restructuring of an island food web, including the near extinction of an endemic carnivore. Introduced pigs, by providing abundant food, enabled golden eagles to colonize the California Channel Islands. Eagles preyed heavily on the island fox, whose resulting decline toward extinction released populations of the competitively inferior island skunk. The presence of exotic pigs led to major ecosystem shifts by indirectly causing predation to replace competition as the dominant force shaping these island communities.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.012422499

Authors: Gary W. Roemer, C. Josh Donlan, Franck Courchamp

Institutions: Université Paris-Sud, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of California, Los Angeles, Ecologie, Société, Evolution

Language: English

Topic: Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2072909209

FWCI: 17.96

Cites: 37

Cited by: 441

Related to: 10