Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project is leading a vital rescue mission to secure the future of the iconic Wandering Albatross … and an entire ecosystem. Marion Island- nestled in the remote sub-Antarctic – is a vital breeding refuge for millions of seabirds, including nearly one third of the world’s population of the iconic Wandering Albatross. However, the island’s fragile ecosystem is being undermined by an invasive predator.
Accidentally introduced in the early 1800s, House Mice have been adversely impacting the island’s plants and invertebrates and have turned to preying on the island’s threatened seabirds. Left unchecked, mice are predicted to cause the local extinction of 19 of the 29 bird species breeding on the island.
The MFM Project is a carefully planned, once-off eradication intervention to restore the island’s ecosystems and preserve its globally significant biodiversity, bringing hope to species on the brink. Similar eradication efforts on other sub-Antarctic islands have led to remarkable ecological recoveries, with seabird populations rebounding spectacularly and native ecosystems flourishing.
