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Biogeography of Alien Vertebrates in the Galapagos Islands : Patterns, Processes, and Conservation Implications Reese Brand Phillips

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Biogeography of Alien Vertebrates in the Galapagos Islands : Patterns, Processes, and Conservation Implications Reese Brand Phillips University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Biology ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-1-2010 Biogeography of alien vertebrates in the Galapagos Islands : patterns, processes, and conservation implications Reese Brand Phillips Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/biol_etds Recommended Citation Phillips, Reese Brand. "Biogeography of alien vertebrates in the Galapagos Islands : patterns, processes, and conservation implications." (2010). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/biol_etds/93 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biology ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEDICATION In memory of my mother, Evelyn “Pat” Starrak, and father, Jerry Phillips, neither of whom made it to see this milestone. This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Holly Phillips, whose support and encouragement in this endeavor has never flagged, and whose belief in me has helped me attain my greatest academic goal. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to Howard Snell. At various times he has been my boss, advisor, and mentor, and in each role he has provided the right amount of support, patience, cajoling, or criticism. I will be forever thankful to him for his help in attaining this goal and for providing the opportunity to work in the Galápagos Islands, a dream of most biologists. I am grateful to my committee members. Bruce Milne and Jim Brown, provided valuable insight on early research ideas and remained patient when I changed direction. Their encouragement in the last phase was inspirational. I thank Robert Dowler, my outside committee member at Angelo State University, whom I had the pleasure to meet in the Galápagos and whose comments have benefitted this work. Manual Molles served on my committee during my comprehensive exams and his comments were greatly appreciated. I thank my colleagues on this work, Cody Edwards, David Wiedenfeld, and Tom Giermakowski. Tom, also deserves thanks for all the assistance on GIS, with R and many discussions of Galápagos organisms, as well as participating in necessary diversions to “pursue” various species of New Mexico mammals. Heidi Snell deserves a special thanks for generously providing expert advice on all matters Galápagos. I am thankful to the “chicos,” my field crew: Freddie Azuero, Erlin Cadena, Walter Espinosa, Carlos Gaona, Fidelino Gaona, and Roberto Jiménez. Starting with little, they achieved much for the project and the Galápagos. I will not forget the images of them bounding across the lava in pursuit of rats, cats, and “pulpo.” iv Many persons contributed to data collection in various capacities and I am grateful for their assistance. Sussy Chamorro and Maria Augusta Balseca, my Ecuadorian “becarias,” were a pleasure to work with. Thanks to Allison Llerena for enduring my early period of acclimatization. Many international, national, and local volunteers participated on field trips and their help was invaluable and enjoyable: Mike Anderson, Darcy Burger, Carolyn Catt, Charlie Catt, Esther García, Bjoern Hannappel, Alejandro Mieles, Helen Otley, Holly Phillips, Vincente Scotland, Cathy Tsang. I thank Karl Campbell, Victor Carrión, and Felipe Cruz for their help on logistics. Alvaro Nosedal-Sanchez (UNM) advised on statistics. Fieldwork was supported by grants from the United Nations Foundation via the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Center, Frankfurt Zoological Society, the Global Environmental Facility via the World Bank, and Fundación Natura. Support was also provided by the Charles Darwin Foundation and the University of New Mexico. TAME airlines provided discount fares to the islands. And finally thanks to the Galápagos Islands, may you survive us. v BIOGEOGRAPHY OF ALIEN VERTEBRATES IN THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS: PATTERNS, PROCESSES, AND CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS by Reese Brand Phillips B.A., Biology, University of Northern Colorado, 1987 M.Sc., Ecology, Utah State University, 1999 Ph.D., Biology, University of New Mexico, 2010 ABSTRACT Alien species are one of the principal threats to global biodiversity. Insular ecosystems have proven exceptionally susceptible to invasion by aliens and vulnerable to their negative effects. Some of the most destructive alien species are vertebrates, in part due to their having been introduced to islands worldwide. Rodents (Rattus spp. and Mus musculus) are among the most widespread and devastating invasive species for insular flora and fauna. In this research I investigate the biogeographic patterns and processes of alien vertebrates in the Galápagos Islands, focusing on the mechanisms that influence their dispersal and colonization within the archipelago. In the first study, I review and synthesize the available literature on alien vertebrates in the Galápagos. I investigate the vii impacts to the native flora and fauna from alien vertebrates and the spatial and temporal patterns of colonization in the archipelago. I summarize management efforts directed at alien vertebrates and assess the potential future impacts to the Galápagos from alien vertebrates. In the second study, I examine the distribution of the three alien rodents from a biogeographic perspective. Island area and isolation from a source population are examined to determine the influence of these landscape features on the incidence of a rodent species on an island. In the third study, I conduct a multivariate analysis of the biotic and abiotic factors influencing intra-archipelago dispersal and colonization of two alien rodents. Using this analysis the probability of an alien rodent occurring on an island is determined and the risk of invasion to other islands is estimated. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................................1 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................2 The Galápagos Islands ................................................................................4 METHODS ..............................................................................................................5 RESULTS ...............................................................................................................6 Fish ...............................................................................................................8 Amphibians ..................................................................................................9 Reptiles ........................................................................................................9 Birds ...........................................................................................................13 Mammals....................................................................................................18 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................29 Conclusions and recommendations ...........................................................31 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................32 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................47 CHAPTER 2 ......................................................................................................................56 ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................56 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................57 METHODS ............................................................................................................60 Study area...................................................................................................60 Source island rodent invasion history ........................................................61 Rodent presence/absence data collection ...................................................62 Statistical analysis ......................................................................................62 RESULTS ..............................................................................................................65 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................68 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................73 CHAPTER 3 ......................................................................................................................88 ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................88 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................89 METHODS ............................................................................................................92
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