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

2001; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 99; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.012422499

1091-6490

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

Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

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.