Invasive Predator Eradication Programme Yields Recovery of an Endangered Native Mammal

ABSTRACT Removal of invasive predators is widely used to mitigate their impacts on native species, yet the conservation outcomes are rarely quantified, limiting evidence‐based assessments of these conservation actions. We evaluated the outcomes of a coordinated, landscape‐scale American mink ( Neogale vison ) eradication programme encompassing 18,500 km 2 in eastern England, UK. Over 4 years, more than 1500 remotely monitored traps recorded captures of invasive mink and native water voles ( Arvicola amphibius ), enabling robust evaluation of prey responses to invasive predator removal. Water vole distribution and relative abundance increased with sustained removal efforts, facilitated by water vole presence in neighbouring regions, but declined with mink presence. By the end of the study, no mink captures occurred within the core eradication region, whereas water vole captures nearly doubled. These findings show that the sustained, systematic predator removal promoted region‐wide recovery of a native prey even before total eradication was achieved. Additionally, our results highlight the importance of eradication efforts to operate within and surrounding native prey populations. In doing so, this study provides rare, landscape‐scale empirical evidence of the ecological benefits of invasive predator removal during eradication, supporting its role as an effective conservation strategy to promote the recovery of native species.