First Recorded Evidence of Invasive Rodent Predation on a Critically Endangered Galápagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) Nestling in the Galápagos Islands
Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
3.1. Initial Approaches and Parental Defense
3.2. Parental Absence and Nest Vulnerability
3.3. Predation Event
3.4. Parental Return and Nest Fidelity
4. Discussion
Key Conservation Recommendations
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Date | Parent 1 Activity * (In/Out) | Parent 2 Activity (In/Out) | Nest Left Unattended (# Hours) | Rodent Visit (Time) | Observational Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial Approaches | 29 June | In (entire day) | – | 0 h | 20:33 | The juvenile rat approached the nest and was immediately deterred by the attending parent. |
24 July | In (entire day) | 0 h | 22:47 | The adult rat approached the nest and retreated after detecting the parent. | ||
Nest Vulnerability | 25 July | Out 00:32 | In (00:21–19:19) | 0 h | – | Both parents remained inside for 11 min before one departed to forage. Parent 2 left after 18 h and 47 min. |
26 July | In 02:31 | – | 7 h 12 min | – | ||
27 July | Out 02:26 | In 04:30 | 2 h 4 min | Parent 1 left after 23 h and 55 min. | ||
28 July | Out 03:21 | Parent 2 left after ~24 h. | ||||
29 July | In 21:54 Out 23:35 | – | 42 h 33 min | – | Brief return, then departure. | |
Predation Event | 31 July | – | – | 46 h 49 min | 22:24 | The nestling was left unattended for the longest period. Nestling killed and removed by an adult rat. |
Nest Fidelity | 2 August | In 04:43 Out 05:05 | – | 21:28 | Parent searched 22 min for nestling. An adult rat visited the nest and stayed for 2 min. | |
3 August | – | – | 01:55 | An adult rat visited the nest and stayed for 1 min. | ||
4 August | – | – | 21:19 | Adul rat visited the nest and stayed for 1 min. | ||
5 August | – | In 03:45 Out 04:23 | 70 h 40 min | 02:27 | The presumed second parent returned and searched the nestling for 38 min. | |
5 August–30 October | Periodic visits every~2 days | – | – | Nest inspections and vocalizations from visiting parents searching for the nestling. Frequent visits from rats were recorded. |
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Tapia-Jaramillo, I.; Arica, J.; Espín, A.; Carrión, V.; Mayorga, J.P.; Sevilla, C.; Cruz, E.; Sangolquí, P. First Recorded Evidence of Invasive Rodent Predation on a Critically Endangered Galápagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) Nestling in the Galápagos Islands. Birds 2025, 6, 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6030033
Tapia-Jaramillo I, Arica J, Espín A, Carrión V, Mayorga JP, Sevilla C, Cruz E, Sangolquí P. First Recorded Evidence of Invasive Rodent Predation on a Critically Endangered Galápagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) Nestling in the Galápagos Islands. Birds. 2025; 6(3):33. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6030033
Chicago/Turabian StyleTapia-Jaramillo, Isabela, Joel Arica, Alejandra Espín, Víctor Carrión, Juan Pablo Mayorga, Christian Sevilla, Eliécer Cruz, and Paola Sangolquí. 2025. "First Recorded Evidence of Invasive Rodent Predation on a Critically Endangered Galápagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) Nestling in the Galápagos Islands" Birds 6, no. 3: 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6030033
APA StyleTapia-Jaramillo, I., Arica, J., Espín, A., Carrión, V., Mayorga, J. P., Sevilla, C., Cruz, E., & Sangolquí, P. (2025). First Recorded Evidence of Invasive Rodent Predation on a Critically Endangered Galápagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) Nestling in the Galápagos Islands. Birds, 6(3), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6030033