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# Eradicating invasive mammals did not quickly restore the nutrient pathway seabirds once supplied
- URL: https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/2026-09-21-island-seabird-nutrient-recovery/
- Published: 2026-09-21T14:03:08.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-21T14:03:08.000Z
- Description: A 169-year isotope record from Rangitāhua and nearby mammal-free Meyer Islands suggests ecosystem function can lag predator eradication by decades.
- Author: Benjamin Worlund
- Tags: island restoration, seabirds, invasive mammals, nutrient cycling, Rangitahua, Wildlife, Islands, restoration, invasive species, #ecological-intelligence, #brief-2026-09-21, #priority-read, #peer-reviewed

Evidence

Peer-reviewed

Geography

Rangitāhua/Raoul Island and Meyer Islands, Kermadec Islands, Aotearoa New Zealand

System

Oceanic islands, seabird colonies, terrestrial and nearshore food webs

## WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

Using 408 contemporary and historical specimens spanning 169 years, researchers compared Rangitāhua with nearby mammal-free Meyer Islands. Dense seabird colonies on the Meyer Islands were associated with stronger marine-derived nutrient signatures, higher soil phosphorus and lower pH. On Rangitāhua, seabird recovery remained slow more than two decades after predatory-mammal eradication, and terrestrial and nearshore isotope patterns did not simply return to the seabird-driven reference condition.

## WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

Removing the original pressure can be only the first step in ecological recovery. When a lost species once moved nutrients across ecosystem boundaries, restoration may need to consider the return of that ecological function—not just the absence of the invader that disrupted it.

## CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

The islands are not perfect historical analogues, and stable-isotope trajectories can be affected by volcanic activity, sampling differences and other environmental change. The study does not show that active seabird translocation is always required; it shows that functional recovery can lag eradication and deserves direct measurement.

## SOURCE

Ecosphere  
[View original evidence ↗](https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.70758?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

From the Morning Brief · 2026-09-21

[Read the full Morning Brief →](https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/morning-brief-2026-09-21/)