Killing Rats Could Save Coral Reefs (bbc.co.uk)

The much maligned rat is not a creature many would associate with coral reefs. But scientists studying reefs on tropical islands say the animals directly threaten the survival of these ecosystems. From a report: A team working on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean found that invasive rats on the islands are a "big problem" for coral reefs. Rats decimate seabird populations, in turn decimating the volume of bird droppings -- a natural coral fertiliser. The findings are published in Nature. Scientists now advocate eradicating rats from all of the islands to protect these delicate marine habitats.

Comments

Is "fertilizer" the problem

[Joce640k]

If "fertilizer" is the problem for coral reefs then why can't we fertilize them ourselves?

good news for us

[Greytak]

I'm relieved, I thought humans were responsible for the damage done to the coral reef.

Re:Is it not the really big rats?

[Nidi62]

Not all of the islands threatened by rats are populated, or at least populated heavy enough/industrialized enough for people to be a problem for the reefs. But all it takes to infest an island with rats is a nearby shipwreck 200-300 years ago where some rats survived and washed ashore. The rats would have no or few natural predators (as neither did the birds who lived there until the rats showed up) allowing them to thrive and threaten native species.