Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 99, Issue 2, Pages 791-796Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.012422499
Keywords
-
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
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.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available