SciencePhoto: HT WorldBlue Petrels on Macquarie Island Grow 14% Annually After Predator Removal
Macquarie Island, located between Tasmania and Antarctica, has seen a significant recovery of blue petrels after the eradication of invasive predators. Cats were removed by 2000, and rabbits and rodents by 2014. A 2024 study in Conservation Biology found blue petrel populations increased by about 14% annually, from 500-600 pairs in 1999 to 5,588 breeding pairs in 2018. Researchers studied four seabird species to assess the impact of invasive animal removal on their populations.
HT World·




