Was the removal of rabbits and house mice from Selvagem Grande beneficial to the breeding of Cory's shearwaters Calonectris diomedea borealis?

Published source details Zino F., Hounsome M.V., Buckle A.P. & Biscoito M. (2008) Was the removal of rabbits and house mice from Selvagem Grande beneficial to the breeding of Cory's shearwaters Calonectris diomedea borealis?. Oryx, 42, 151-154.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Control or remove habitat-altering mammals Action Link
	Control mammalian predators on islands for seabirds Action Link

Control or remove habitat-altering mammals

A before-and-after study on Selvagem Grande (2.45 km²), Madeira Archipelago, Portugal (Zino et al. 2008), found that the breeding success and productivity of Cory’s shearwaters Calonectris diomedia borealis was significantly higher in 2002-6 (54-56% of 2,075 nests producing fledglings), following the eradication of European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus and house mice Mus musculus (a potential predator) than in 13 years during 1982-2001, before eradication (36-45% of 4,952 nests producing fledglings). Eradications were simultaneous, through the application of brodifacoum in July-September 2002 and it was not, therefore, possible to determine which species was constraining the shearwater population. The authors argue that because of the timing of the eradications and the instantaneous impact on productivity, the two species must have been impacting on chick, rather than egg survival.
Control mammalian predators on islands for seabirds

A before-and-after study on Selvagem Grande (245 ha), Madeira Archipelago, Portugal (Zino et al. 2008), found that breeding success and productivity of Cory’s shearwaters Calonectris diomedia borealis was significantly higher, following the eradication of rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus and house mice Mus musculus from the island. This paper is discussed in detail in ‘Control or remove habitat-altering mammals’.