Rats and Seabirds Project
Welcome to the 'RASP' web site
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| Archway, a rat-free island (D. Wardle) |
Initiated in 2003, this project is using 20 islands in northern New Zealand as outdoor laboratories to investigate effects of alien organisms on ecosystems. We are focusing on the impact of rodents on the activities of seabirds, and the flow-on effect on community structure and ecosystem function. On these islands, seabirds are major drivers of ecosystem function, through their burrowing activity and transport of nutrients from the sea to land. Introduced rats severely reduce seabird population abundance through feeding on eggs and chicks. Several islands in two categories, those where rats have never invaded and those where rats are present, are being assessed in terms of community structure and ecosystem function, both above and below ground. This project will enable us to know the extent to which the wide-ranging influence that seabirds have on island ecosystems may be affected by alien organisms that severely reduce their populations.