Rabbits killing birds revisited.
We formulate and study a three-species population model consisting of an endemic prey (bird), an alien prey (rabbit) and an alien predator (cat). Our model overcomes several model construction problems in existing models. Moreover, our model generates richer, more reasonable and realistic dynamics. We explore the possible control strategies to save or restore the bird by controlling or eliminating the rabbit or the cat when the bird is endangered. We confirm the existence of the hyperpredation phenomenon, which is a big potential threat to most endemic prey. Specifically, we show that, in an endemic prey-alien prey-alien predator system, eradication of introduced predators such as the cat alone is not always the best solution to protect endemic insular prey since predator control may fail to protect the indigenous prey when the control of the introduced prey is not carried out simultaneously.
Zhang
Jimin
J
School of Mathematics and Statistics, and Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun, Jilin 130024, PR China.
Fan
Meng
M
Kuang
Yang
Y
D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000254:growth & development*; D002415:Cats / Q000254:growth & development*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D011817:Rabbits / Q000254:growth & development*