The islands of Tonga, in Western Polynesia, lacked rodents prior to human colonization. During the past 3000 years, people have
introduced three species of rats (Rattus). Seed predation by rodents structures plant communities in many parts of the world.
Therefore, there is the potential for rats to have a significant impact on the regeneration of plant communities in Tonga. We found
53 husking stations—sheltered sites used by rats to strip inedible protective structures (husks) from the seeds they eat—on eight
islands in Tonga. The stations contained 13,555 empty husks from at least 18 plant species, but only 165 viable seeds and seedlings.
These husking stations provide evidence of seed predation by rats. Determining the extent to which seed predation threatens plant
regeneration will be important for conservation of native forest remnants. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.