Ecosystem engineering actions of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus pacificus on Rottnest Island, Western Australia

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus) is an ecosystem engineer: it physically modifies habitat, by burrow nesting, in a manner that modulates resource flows and other species within nesting colony ecosystems. My work explores the ecosystem engineering actions of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters on Rottnest Island, Western Australia. I have approached this by (1) describing and quantifying the physical impact of these engineers (soil displacement), and (2) describing and quantifying the effects that these actions have on three major ecosystem components: the soil, the vascular plants, and the vertebrate fauna. Significant differences between colony and adjacent, non-colony areas were recorded in all areas of the study.