A Talk by Dr Joanna Bagniewska to the Berkshire Mammal Group
6th October 2016
write-up courtesy of Edwin AR Trout, Berkshire Mammal Group
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| Dr Joanna Bagniewska, University of Reading |
Opening
the meeting Amanda Lloyd introduced Joanna as a zoologist
specialising in behavioural ecology and invasive species research,
gaining her MSc and PhD from Oxford University. Over the years she
has undertaken research in five countries, having studied foxes and
jackals in South Africa, wombats and wallabies in Australia,
mole-rats in the USA, and both bees and mink in Britain. (Joanna
observed that in view of mink’s past fortunes, she was one of few
researchers able to wear her study species!) Currently Joanna works
as a teaching fellow for the School of Biological Sciences at the
University of Reading and has won awards as a science communicator.
She
started by suggesting she was one of a minority in this country to
admire the otherwise widely denigrated American mink, perhaps because
she approached the subject from the point of ecology rather than
conservation and control (where mink are considered pests). She
defined them as mustelids and took a few moments to outline their
ecology.
Mink Ecology
The
American mink is native to North America, at least north of the
south-western arid zone up to and including Alaska, but south of the
high Arctic. Mink are to be found in areas of high water quality.
They are small bodied – at 15-18” the males are twice the length
of the females – and sexually dimorphic. In some areas males have
shown a preference for eating rabbits (for which they have
proportionately bigger jaws and teeth) and females – water voles.
They are opportunistic feeders and both sexes will eat insects, fish
and birds.
While
native to North America, they have been introduced into Europe, Asia
(especially Siberia) and South America (Patagonia in particular),
largely
as a result of the former demand for their fur. In the 1920s and
‘30s they were farmed, but later, in the 1950s, many escaped or
were released. They are now regarded an invasive species.
They
have, in many ways, become too successful for their own good. Why?
They are generalist foragers, with a broad diet: birds, amphibians,
reptiles, rodents, insects, and crustaceans. They can hunt like
foxes, climb like cats and swim like an otter. They are semi aquatic
and very adaptable.
An Invasive Species
As an
invasive species, what has been their impact? Traditionally,
successful incoming species upset the balance of nature by:
- Increased predation
- Resource competition
- Hybridisation
- Disease transmission
Of these
the first two are of most relevance, though there have been some
recorded cases of interbreeding between wild and released mink in
North America.
The
problem of increased predation is exacerbated by the higher
proportion of carnivores among invasive species. Carnivores make up
5% of mammalian species, but when invasive mammals are examined, that
proportion rises to19%.
Direct
predation by mink is most notable in the UK in the case of water
voles. Female mink are the right size to enter voles’ underwater
holes and the water vole population is declining fast. This is,
admittedly, for various reasons, but the presence of mink is not
helping. There is no problem with water voles in Europe,
incidentally, but rather the Pyrenean Desman instead is vulnerable
and declining.
“The Landscape of Fear”
Other
vulnerable species are ground-nesting sea birds, for which the
security of islands and rocky
outcrops
are no protection against the semi-aquatic mink. On arrival in a
colony mink will behave like ‘a kid in a candy store’ and take as
many as 100 chicks per night, with no sense of forward planning or
restraint. Indirect consequences follow, as birds leave their nests
– in fear or to protect their young by attacking predators – and
the chicks or eggs succumb to the cold or neglect. The very presence
of fear can have further negative effects on the predated population.
“Over-sized, Over-sexed and Over here”
A notable
impact of resource competition has been on the European mink, which
is now limited to Estonia and the Pyrenees, as the American mink is
sufficiently well equipped to out-compete.
American European
1310.2 g v. 976.6 g
size of female = size of male
litter of 6 v. litter of 2.5
The
American mink is voracious and adaptable, and its European cousin is
unable to keep up.
Another
measure of its success lies in the competition with polecats and
otters. When these species were declining in the 1920s-50s, mink
expanded into their vacated niches, on both land and water.
Horrible – but Interesting
American
mink are semi-aquatic BUT …
- They are small, with a large surface area, and so loose heat quickly
- Their fur is neither buoyant nor insulative
- Their propulsion is inefficient – they swim like dogs rather than otters
- Their paws have little webbing (more than polecats, but less than otters)
- They have poor eyesight, especially underwater.
Is
swimming innate and instinctive? It seems the young have to be
taught, as indicated by trials on captive mink. Other tests suggest
mink will work harder to get to water than even to obtain food! And
mink spend much of their time in the water, diving for food.
Diving Behaviour
How do we
study diving animals? It has been difficult until now. Research has
focussed onterrestrial behaviour, which is more readily observable
and can be indicated by footprints, scat and camera traps. For wild
mink only ‘surface events’ have been traceable in the water, and
underwater behaviour monitored only in captivity. Joanna’s
research was the first monitoring of mink diving in the wild.
Indeed, the only previous study of mammals was one of the platypus in
Australia. Since then there have been studies of water rats and
beavers as new data-logging technology becomes available. Devices
small enough to be attached to mink can measure time spans,
temperatures, pressure and acceleration.
Such data
logging was first developed in the 1950s, weighing as much as 1.5 kg,
based on ‘egg timer’ technology and recording output on paper.
The first devices were used on Weddell seals. They were accurate to
about 20 m and therefore only useful for extensive depths at sea.
Now devices are digital, weigh 1g and are accurate to 3 cm, so may be
used effectively in the shallow water of British rivers.
Monitoring Programme
Joanna’s
project monitored 16 distinct animals on the rivers Thames and
Cherwell in Oxfordshire, generating 20 datasets, with a mix of males
(six) and females. The programme was conducted over three seasons,
spring being excepted on animal welfare grounds.
The
method made use of mink rafts, by which an enticing ‘home’ or
tunnel was placed on a floating platform away from the bank. Pliable
clay would be spread on the base of the raft to receive the
impression of foot prints should a mink investigate the tunnel. With
the presence of mink thus established, the tunnel would be fitted
with a trap and bait, and, if caught, the mink fitted with a collar
and data-logger.
Quantitative Results
The
collective results of the study indicated great variety in depth and
duration, with a total range of 1 to 189 dives per day, with the
greatest individual range between 5 and 143. It became notable that
the smaller females were the more energetic divers, performing over
100 dives per day (as explained below). The time spent diving wasn’t
long: a total of just 38.4 minutes per day on average, with 57.9
seconds the maximum individual dive-length recorded. Median depth
times varied between 7.4 and 18.0 seconds.
(Previous
studies had suggested even shorter times.) Diving was undertaken
throughout the year, not just in summer as had been postulated, and
83% of dives took place in daylight – presumably in consequence of
minks’ poor eyesight. The maximum depth of around 3 m was more an
indication of river depth than diving ability.
Dive Clustering
The
pattern of surfacing suggested that dives were clustered in bouts of
activity and so was analysed according to the Hidden Markov Model
(HMM). Three types of diving frequency were identified:
- A “cluster” of multiple dives
- Loosely aggregated: an “activity session”
- Single or terminal dives
Temperature and Persistence
Mink
experience a temperature range of 5-35 oC, in which
temperature falls during activity. The body cools in water, and
warms through when basking on the bank; it is typically 35 oC
when sleeping, in the 20s when on land, and drops when diving. It is
noticeable that dive effort is higher in females; female
‘persistence’ may extend to performing 80 dives in a row. Is
this because they are excellent divers, or ineffective hunters who
have to repeat dives to eat?
Either
way, the smaller the mink the greater the persistence and this may be
expressed as a negative relationship between temperature and
bodyweight. Persistence is greater during the day, when temperatures
are higher, and become more concentrated the shorter the day. That
said, mink tend to be inactive 80% of the time, spending only 50
minutes or so in the water per day. Males are more nocturnal –
perhaps, because of their size, they are less afraid of meeting
otters?
Competition with Otters
Behaviour
has altered over time, with the evidence of scat declining since the
otter’s resurgence in the 1990. However, if other evidence such as
footprints is taken into account, it appears that mink remain, but
are no longer deliberately marking their territory. Otters are
bigger, and may weigh 8 kg, so while the feisty mink might be
prepared to fight, it wouldn’t,
wish to
make a habit of it. So what seems to be happening is that when the
nocturnal otter returns, mink behaviour adapts to the new
circumstances and becomes diurnal, thus avoiding confrontation.
Conclusion
The
survey testifies to the success of new TDR (Time Depth Recorder)
technology and HMM techniques in monitoring the behaviour of
otherwise difficult to observe species.
QUESTIONS
Have there been studies of the American mink in its natural
habitat, North America?
Yes, in
the 1940s and 50s, but mainly of terrestrial behaviour. There have
been diving studies elsewhere, in Tierra Del Fuego for instance,
where mink are diving in the sea, and of feeding in Sweden.
How long did the mink wear collars?
Joanna
aimed to collect collars after three weeks, but if missed, they were
designed to be readily biogradeable, rather than made of more durable
leather.
Where do mink live?
They
don’t excavate, but occupy existing holes. Sometimes these are in
trees, but mink are particularly fond of rabbit warrens.
Are males and females mutually antagonisic?
Yes,
males and females join only to mate. Mink of each sex maintain their
own, linear, territories. The males occupy about 5 km, overlapping
two of the smaller females’ 3km territories. Males will not
tolerate each other. Mink are not social; apart from mothers and
kits they do not share.
How related are they to the European mink?
Less so
than previously thought; they are of a different genera. Indeed
there is no knowledge of hybridisation. European mink used to be
found in the Baltic states, Poland, Belarus and Russia south to
northern Ukraine. No population is known to have existed in the
British Isles.
Has the return of the otters in recent times deterred the mink?
It
appears not, though it has affected the mink’s behaviour.
