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These tables list non-native species introduced to the Kerguelen Islands. Some introductions were intentional, generally to provide food for crews stationed on Kerguelen. Others were accidental (e.g. rats, house mice and most non-native plant species).

Mammals

Several of the larger outlying islands in the archipelago are free of introduced animals. These include Île Foch 206 km2 (80 sq mi), Île Saint-Lanne Gramont 45.8 km2 (17.7 sq mi), Île de l'Ouest 33.0 km2 (12.7 sq mi), and the remote Îles Nuageuses, Îles Leygues and Îles de Boynes.

Scientific and
common name(s) 		Image Origin Method of introduction Grande Terre major islands Golfe du Morbihan nearshore islands Golfe du Morbihan central islands
Île Howe Île du Port Île Haute Île aux Moules Île Stoll Île Australia Île Guillou Île Longue Île du Château Île Inskip Île Verte Île Cimetière Île du Chat Île aux Cochons Île Blakeney
Oryctolagus cuniculus
European rabbit NT IUCN
Alt text here
 Europe (via South Africa) for food 1874–now [a] ???–
now [b] 		???–
now [b] 		???–
now [b] 		???–
1995 [c] 		???–
now [b] 		???–
1994 [d] 		???–
now [b] 		???–
now [b] 		???–
2000 [e]
Mus musculus
house mouse LC IUCN
Mouse
 Europe accidental from ships or cargo 1800s–
now [f] [g] 		before 1992–
??? [h] 		before 1997–
??? [h]
Rattus rattus
black rat LC IUCN
Two dark grey rats with long bald tails and short rounded ears eating a piece of corncob in an artificial habitat strewn with hay
 Europe accidental from ships or cargo 1800s–
now [g] [i] 		1900s–
2003 [i] 		1900s–
2004 [i] 		1900s–
2002 [i]
Mustela lutreola
mink CR IUCN
Mink
 Europe fur farming 1956–before 1985 [j]
Felis catus
domestic/feral cat
Black cat with white chest and feet eating a dead bird
 N. Africa / S. Europe pest control, companion early C19–1900s

1951–now [k] 		1950s–
1994 [l] 		before 1874–
??? [m]
Canis lupus familiaris
Yakutian Laika and other dogs
Yakutian Laika dog with white and black coat, blue eyes and pink tongue.
 Asia, Africa sled dog, companion 1903–
after 1932 [n]
Sus scrofa
pig
Pig
 Europe for food 1900s–
c.1985 [o] [p]
Rangifer tarandus tarandus
reindeer VU IUCN
Reindeer
 Sweden hunting and food 1981–
now [q] 		1955–
1981 [r]
Bos taurus taurus
cattle
Cow
 Asia Minor c. 1985 [p]
Capra aegagrus hircus
feral goat
Goat
 Asia Minor c. 1874 [s]
Ovis aries
sheep
Sheep in long grass
 Europe for food 1908–1932
1949–??? [t] 		after 1912
–??? [u] 		???–
before 2008 [v] 		???–
2014 [w]
Ovis orientalis gmelini/musimon
mouflon VU IUCN
Mouflon ram
 Europe for hunting 1957–
2013? [x] 		1956 [y]
Equus ferus caballus
horse
Two wild horses stand amid knee-high scrub
 c. 1985 [p] [10]
E. asinus × E. caballus
mule
Two mules stand in snow
 ???–before 1985 [p]
Scientific and
common name(s) 		Image Origin Method of introduction Grande Terre Île Howe Île du Port Île Haute Île aux Moules Île Stoll Île Australia Île Guillou Île Longue Île du Château Île Inskip Île Verte Île Cimetière Île du Chat Île aux Cochons Île Blakeney
major islands Golfe du Morbihan nearshore islands Golfe du Morbihan central islands
  1. ^ The British ship HMS Volage, part of an expedition to observe the transit of Venus, reported releasing a few pairs of European rabbits at Observatory Bay north of Île Haute in the Gulf of Morbihan on 5 November 1874. [1] They had been brought from the penal colony at Robben Island in Table Bay, South Africa. [1] The rationale was apparently to provide a fresh food source to sailors who might become shipwrecked. Rabbits were later introduced to nine other islands. [2] Grazing and burrowing by rabbits has had a serious impact on Kerguelen's native flora, reducing the abundance of species such as Azorella selago and Kerguelen cabbage ( Pringlea antiscorbutica) and causing others, such as greater burnet ( Acaena magellanica) to become over-dominant. Erosion and changed soil characteristics caused by rabbits have favored introduced plant species. [3] The problem has been most acute in the eastern half of the main island, where Pringlea antiscorbutica (Kerguelen cabbage) has been stripped from large areas, and on some of the smaller neighboring islands. [4] In particular, the rabbits choose to dig deep warrens in areas of Acaena magellanica. [4] In winter they are reduced to eating seaweed on the shore. [4] Population densities have reached 40+ per acre in some places. To date, the western and northwestern limits of the islands have been spared due to a less hospitable climate, as have areas above about 300 m (1,000 ft). [4] The more distant islands in the archipelago have also been spared. [5] To reduce the population of rabbits, myxoma virus was introduced in 1955–1956, but this succeeded in merely favoring the survival of virus-resistant individuals. [6]
  2. ^ a b c d e f Rabbits are the only introduced species on Île Howe. Rabbits were present on Île Howe, Île du Port, Île du Cimetière, Île du Chat, Île Inskip and Île Stoll in 1992 and do not appear to have been eradicated. [7]
  3. ^ Rabbits were eradicated from Île Guillou during the period 1994–1995. [8] [9] [10] A follow-up study 20 years later showed that biodiversity of fungal communities in Île Guillou's soil had not recovered from the impact of the rabbits. [11] [12]
  4. ^ Rabbits were eradicated from Île Verte during the period 1992–1994. [8] [10] [9] [10]
  5. ^ Rabbits were eradicated from Île aux Cochons during the period 1997–2000. By June 2000, the tracks of only one rabbit were observed in the snow. [8]
  6. ^ Mice are thought to play a role in spreading seeds of non-native plants. [13] Alfred Eaton, the naturalist on the 1874 Transit of Venus expedition, noted that mice were "common along the coast, and have been found by us in various places". [1] J.H. Kidder, visiting the same year, noted that mice abounded everywhere and speculated that they were introduced by sealers. [14]
  7. ^ a b In 1932, Aubert de la Rüe noted the presence of mice and rats around the deserted settlements at Port-Couvreux and Port-Jeanne-d'Arc, but felt the numbers were quite few, and that they had only moved a little way beyond the settlements along the shore and into areas of Acaena magellanica. [15]
  8. ^ a b Mice were present on Île Guillou in 1994 and Île aux Cochons in 1997, before the start of the rabbit-eradication programs on these islands. [16]
  9. ^ a b c d Rats are thought to have reduced the population of petrels by preying on young birds. [13] They were eradicated from Île du Château in 2002, from Île Stoll in 2003, and from Île Australia in 2004. [10]
  10. ^ Aubert de la Rüe speculated in 1932 that Kerguelen could be a suitable habitat to introduce fur-bearing animals. [15] Mink were introduced in 1956 but failed to establish a self-sustaining population and died out. [10] [13]
  11. ^ The islands are home to a population of feral cats, originally brought to control rodents. One theory is that they are descended from ships' cats kept by sailors to control the rat population. They were present in the early 1900s and then went extinct. [10] Cats were reintroduced by scientists or service personnel in 1951 and 1956 to catch mice. [10] The endemic petrels proved easier to hunt than rodents, and the population on Grande Terre was severely affected. Once the cats began to run out of seabirds, they turned to the growing rabbit population. In the 1960s and 1970s, there were unsuccessful attempts to shoot the cats to protect native seabirds. [10] Currently, the cats live mainly on rabbits, mice and seabirds. Biologists have noted a high level of abnormalities among Kerguelen's feral cats, which may be traceable to the small size of the founding population. It also appears that there has been some adaptation to the island's environment, such as thicker fur to better protect against the cold.
  12. ^ Cats were present on Île Guillou in 1994, before the start of the rabbit-eradication program on this island. [16] [10]
  13. ^ In 1874, J.H. Kidder noted that feral cats had lived on Île du Chat "for many years". [14]
  14. ^ When Erich von Drygalski's 1901–1903 Gauss Expedition to the South Pole left the Kerguelen Islands they did not have room for their Kamchatka sled dogs. Most were shot, but several were left behind alive. [17] E. Aubert de la Rüe noted in 1932 that packs of wild dogs roamed the south of Grande Terre, feeding on rabbits and young seabirds, and prowling the abandoned factory at Port-Jeanne-d'Arc during the night. De la Rüe found them also eating seal carcasses on the beaches. He traced their origin to both the Gauss Expedition's Laikas and more recent introduction of dogs from southern Africa by Norwegian hunters. [4] Clark and Dingwall noted in 1985 that the dogs released on Kerguelen had failed to establish a viable population. [13]
  15. ^ In the early 1900s, there were feral pigs on Kerguelen. [10]
  16. ^ a b c d In 1985, horses, pigs and cattle were all kept at the scientific station at Port-aux-Français (and mules had formerly been kept there) but did not form wild populations. [13]
  17. ^ Aubert de la Rüe speculated in 1932 that Kerguelen could be a suitable habitat to introduce reindeer. [15] However, it was another 23 years before they were stocked on Île Haute and 49 years before they made it to Grande Terre. Reindeer are excellent swimmers and in 1981 they found their way from Île Haute to Grande Terre. Today the reindeer number around 1,600–1,800 adults on the central plateau. [18] They have been able to survive due to their ability to extract sufficient nutrients from the islands' supply of lichens and mosses; however, their presence has had a negative impact on the flora of the archipelago. Following the eradication of a similarly introduced reindeer population on South Georgia they form the only such population in the southern hemisphere. [5]
  18. ^ Ten reindeer from Sweden were introduced to Île Haute in 1955–1956, and a further three in 1957. By the late 1960s, the population had reached about 100, but was constrained by competition for browse with the mouflon that had also been introduce on the small island. Reindeer are excellent swimmers and in 1981 they found their way to the main island of La Grande Terre, a short distance away. Shortly afterwards, there were no reindeer remaining on Île Haute.
  19. ^ Alfred Eaton, the naturalist on the 1874 Transit of Venus expedition, noted that "goats are increasing in numbers on the leeward side of the main land". [1]
  20. ^ Albert de la Rüe reported in 1932 that "on the Port-Couvreux and Port-Jeanne-d'Arc side [i.e. east side of Grande Terre], there are a few sheep living in the wild and belonging to herds that the Compagnie des Îles Kerguelen tried to acclimatize a few years ago." He says the company's breeding trials were badly conducted, but encourages future attempts with merino sheep from Patagonia, the Falkland Islands or South Africa. [19] A later survey of conservation on Antarctic islands noted that sheep were reintroduced around 1949 and that the population in 1975 was 800. [20] Convey and Lebouvier report slightly different dates, with the first sheep population being present 1909–1925, and a later introduction in 1952. [10]
  21. ^ It appears that sheep were introduced to Île Howe at some point. Following a visit to Île Howe on 22 December 1912, Baron Pierre Decouz reported that it could support 10,000 sheep. Their former presence is also evidenced by the name of the island's main peak, Mont des Moutons.
  22. ^ Sheep were also raised on Île aux Moules in the Gulf of Morbihan at some point. They were removed before 2008, when the only sheep in the archipelago were on Île Longue. [10] The fences on Île aux Moules were removed in 2012.
  23. ^ Following a visit in 1912, Baron Pierre Decouz reported that Île Longue could support "2,000 animals right now and up to 3,000 at most." Bizet sheep were then introduced to the island as a food source. By the early 21st century, approximately 3,500 semi-wild sheep were living on Île Longue, and the population was culled occasionally to provide meat for the scientific personnel stationed on the islands. The sheep suffered a high mortality rate at birth, approximately 25%, because they have not been able to adjust their reproductive cycle to coincide with the seasons of the southern hemisphere, resulting in mothers giving birth during the southern winters when food is less abundant. An eradication program began in 2008 and by 2012 had reduced the population to 400 rams; the aim was then to butcher these for meat over the following several years. [21] All sheep were removed from the island by the end of the 2014 season. [22] Ironically, the Bizet sheep breed is considered threatened in France and the largest population globally was on Kerguelen.
  24. ^ In 1957 two Corsican mouflons from the Vincennes Zoo in Paris were brought to Île Haute with the aim of breeding a population for hunting. [21] By 1968, there were around 50 mouflon. [20] The population grew quickly and reached an equilibrium of between 300 and 800 animals depending on the year. After a significant hunting effort beginning in 2008, the population was reduced to a single individual in 2012. [21]
  25. ^ Prior to the 1957 introduction on Île Haute, another pair of Corsican mouflons from Vincennes Zoo was released on the 2.5 km2 (0.97 sq mi) Îlot Blakeney in the Gulf of Morbihan in 1956. This pair died soon after.

Birds

Scientific and
common name(s) 		Image Origin Method of introduction Grande Terre Île Foch Île Saint-Lanne Gramont Île du Port Île de l'Ouest Île Longue Île Haute other islands
Anas platyrhynchos
mallard
Female and male mallard
 cosmopolitan ???–present [a]
Gallus gallus domesticus
poultry
Chickens in a yard
 Eurasia food ??? [b]
  1. ^ Mallards were introduced at some point during the 20th century. [23]
  2. ^ Poultry, presumably chickens, were kept to feed crews stationed on the island. [10]

Fish

Scientific and
common name(s) 		Image Origin Method of introduction Grande Terre Île Foch Île Saint-Lanne Gramont Île du Port Île de l'Ouest Île Longue Île Haute other islands
Oncorhynchus kisutch
Coho salmon
Coho salmon
 North Pacific 1978–present [10]
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
 1958–??? [10]
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
 1955–??? [10]
Salmo salar
Atlantic salmon
Atlantic salmon
 North Atlantic 1975–present [a]
Salmo trutta
brown trout
brown trout
 Europe 1958–present [b]
Salvelinus alpinus
Arctic char
Arctic char
 circumpolar 1990–present [10]
Salvelinus fontinalis
brook trout, brook charr
brook trout
 North America 1961–present [10]
Salvelinus namaycush
lake trout
lake trout
 1961–??? [10]
  1. ^ Atlantic salmon were introduced between 1975 and 1980. [10]
  2. ^ Brown trout were introduced in 1958, 1961 and 1979. [10]

Insects

Alfred Eaton's 1879 survey of the natural history of Kerguelen notes one species of introduced insect as well as 26 native species. [24]

Scientific and
common name(s) 		Image Origin Method of introduction Grande Terre Île Foch Île Saint-Lanne Gramont Île du Port Île de l'Ouest Île Longue Île Haute other islands
Genus species
common
Alt text here
 ? ? ?–present ? unknown

Plants

The French Southern and Antarctic Lands administration has identified 69 introduced spermatophyte plant species on the Kerguelen Islands, of which 12 are designated invasive. [25]

Scientific and
common name(s) 		Image Origin Method of introduction Grande Terre Île Howe Île Haute Île aux Moules Île Australia Île Guillou Île Blakeney Île Verte Île Longue other islands
Stellaria media
chickweed
Chickweed
 Europe accidental before 1874–
present [a]
Cerastium fontanum
mouse-ear chickweed
mouse-ear chickweed
 Europe accidental before 1874–
present [a] [27] 		?–present [27] ?–present [27]
Sagina procumbens
procumbent pearlwort
Northern Hemisphere accidental ?–
present [27]
Taraxacum erythrospermum
red-seeded dandelion
Dandelion
 North America accidental ?–present [28]
Taraxacum officinale
common dandelion
Dandelion
 Europe accidental ?–present [b] ?–present [28] ?–present [28]
Sherardia arvensis
field madder
Eurasia and Macaronesia accidental ?–
present [27] 		?–
present [27]
Poa pratensis
common meadow grass
Meadow grass heads and stalks
 Europe accidental before 1874–
present [a]
Poa annua
annual meadow grass
Meadow grass heads
 Europe accidental before 1874–
present [a]
Genus species
common
Alt text here
 ? ? ?–present ? unknown
Scientific and
common name(s) 		Image Origin Method of introduction Grande Terre Île Howe Île Haute Île aux Moules Île Australia Île Guillou Île Blakeney Île Verte Île Longue other islands
  1. ^ a b c d Introduced by sealers. [26]
  2. ^ Eaten by reindeer on central plateau. [18]

Footnotes

References

  1. ^ a b c d Eaton 1875, p. 36.
  2. ^ Chapuis, Frenot & Lebouvier 2004, p. 167.
  3. ^ Pansu et al. 2015, p. 1.
  4. ^ a b c d e de la Rüe 1932, p. 41.
  5. ^ a b TAAF 2013, p. 26.
  6. ^ Chapuis, Frenot & Lebouvier 2004, p. 168.
  7. ^ Chapuis et al. 2001, p. 324.
  8. ^ a b c Chapuis et al. 2001, p. 326.
  9. ^ a b Chapuis, Frenot & Lebouvier 2004.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Convey & Lebouvier 2009, p. 36.
  11. ^ Fessenden 2015.
  12. ^ Pansu et al. 2015, p. 2.
  13. ^ a b c d e Clark & Dingwall 1985, p. 55.
  14. ^ a b Kidder 1876, p. 38.
  15. ^ a b c de la Rüe 1932, p. 42.
  16. ^ a b Chapuis et al. 2001, p. 325.
  17. ^ Mills 2003, p. 191.
  18. ^ a b TAAF 2014, p. 23.
  19. ^ de la Rüe 1932, pp. 41–42.
  20. ^ a b Clark & Dingwall 1985, p. 54.
  21. ^ a b c TAAF 2013, pp. 26, 28.
  22. ^ TAAF 2015, p. 13.
  23. ^ Clark & Dingwall 1985, p. 52.
  24. ^ Hooker 1879a, p. 8.
  25. ^ TAAF 2014, p. 26.
  26. ^ Hooker 1879b, pp. 19, 22.
  27. ^ a b c d e f Pansu et al. 2015, Supplementary material.
  28. ^ a b c Pansu et al. 2015, Supplementary material, p. 3.

Sources

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