Publications

feeding habits of introduced black rats, rattus rattus, in nesting colonies of galapagos petrel on san cristóbal island, galapagos.	introduced rodents are responsible for ecosystem changes in islands around the world. in the galapagos archipelago, their effects on the native flora and fauna are adverse, including the extinction of endemic rodents in some islands and the reduction in the reproductive success of the galapagos petrel (pterodroma phaeopygia) in its nesting zones. understanding the feeding behavior of introduced rodents and their trophic interactions with native and non-native species on islands, can assist in th ...	2015	25984724
some laelapine mites (acari: laelapidae) ectoparasitic on small mammals in the galapagos islands, including a new species of gigantolaelaps from aegialomys galapagoensis.	abstract abstract: a collection of laelapine mites from small mammals in the galapagos islands is identified and their host distributions reviewed. two species of native rodents, aegialomys galapagoensis and nesoryzomys narboroughii, were infested only with laelapine species typical of neotropical oryzomyine rodents; rattus rattus was infested with laelaps nuttalli, a host-specific ectoparasite endemic to old world rattus. a synopsis of gigantolaelaps fonseca is provided and we describe a new la ...	2011	21506821
prickly coexistence or blunt competition? opuntia refugia in an invaded rodent community.	endemic nesoryzomys swarthi and invasive rattus rattus exist in unlikely sympatry in galápagos as female n. swarthi suffer from competition with r. rattus. this study evaluates the role of feeding habits in facilitating their co-occurrence. spool-and-line tracking of 85 n. swarthi and 33 r. rattus was used to quantify their selected diets, foods of which were used in captive trials of 46 n. swarthi and 34 r. rattus to quantify their preferred diets. selected diets were compared between species a ...	2009	18998171
interference competition between introduced black rats and endemic galápagos rice rats.	replicated field experiments were used to quantify and to describe the mechanism of competition between the introduced black rat rattus rattus and the endemic santiago rice rat nesoryzomys swarthi on santiago island, galápagos islands, ecuador. the removal of r. rattus significantly slowed the rate of seasonal population decline in n. swarthi. this effect was particularly evident for female, relative to male, n. swarthi and appeared to be driven solely by enhanced immigration; no other fitness o ...	2007	17918410
space invaders? a search for patterns underlying the coexistence of alien black rats and galápagos rice rats.	the introduction and spread of the black rat rattus rattus is believed to have caused the worst decline of any vertebrate taxon in galápagos. however, the "extinct" santiago rice rat nesoryzomys swarthi has recently been rediscovered in sympatry with r. rattus providing the first exception to this general pattern of displacement. we carried out an exploratory investigation of this novel system with the aim of identifying patterns that may facilitate the apparent coexistence of the two species. w ...	2006	16761142
chromosomal identity of black rats (rattus rattus) from the galápagos islands, ecuador.		1974	4435115