Responses of Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) to Removal of Introduced Pacific Rats from Islands

Abstract:  Invasive mammalian predators such as rats are now widespread on islands, but hypotheses about their effects have rarely been tested. Circumstantial evidence from New Zealand indicates that, when introduced to islands, Pacific rats ( Rattus exulans ) have negative effects on endemic plants, invertebrates, birds, and reptiles, including the tuatara ( Sphenodon punctatus ). We tested the effects of Pacific rats on tuatara by comparing the demographic structure and body condition of tuatara populations on three islands before and after removal of rats and on a fourth island where rats remained. In the presence of rats, juvenile tuatara constituted on average 0–5% of the sample tuatara populations. When Pacific rats were removed after at least 200 years' occupancy, the proportion of juvenile tuatara increased 3.5- to 17-fold and body condition of adult males and females also improved (sometimes dramatically). We predict that, unless Pacific rats are removed from Taranga Island, the tuatara population will collapse because of low population density and the lack of juvenile recruitment. Our results demonstrate that when invasive species exert subtle effects on recruitment and body condition, the effects on populations of long-lived endemic species may only become apparent long after the invasion.