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Pacific Conservation Biology Pacific Conservation Biology Society
A journal dedicated to conservation and wildlife management in the Pacific region.
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Predation on green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, hatchlings by invasive rats

Markus Gronwald https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2521-9765 A C , Quentin Genet B and Margaux Touron B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand.

B Te mana o te moana, BP 1374 Papetoai, 98729 Moorea, French Polynesia.

C Corresponding author. Email: markus.gronwald@auckland.ac.nz

Pacific Conservation Biology 25(4) 423-424 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC18087
Submitted: 12 November 2018  Accepted: 20 January 2019   Published: 14 February 2019

Abstract

We used camera traps to identify invasive Rattus rattus as predators at a green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, nest in French Polynesia. The footage shows that the hatchlings are a familiar food source for rats and that the control of invasive rats has to be considered for the protection of endangered green sea turtles.


References

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Harper, G. A., and Bunbury, N. (2015). Invasive rats on tropical islands: their population biology and impacts on native species. Global Ecology and Conservation 3, 607–627.
Invasive rats on tropical islands: their population biology and impacts on native species.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Hendrickson, J. R. (1958). The green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas (Linn.) in Malaya and Sarawak. Journal of Zoology 130, 455–535.