

Search the SPREP Catalogue

46022 result(s) found.

Sort by

Publication Year
Sort results by
Created
Sort results by
Updated
Sort results by

SPREP-Tok : Issue 56. July, 2019.

SPREP Publications

Available Online

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

SPREP-Tok: Issue 56 July 2019.

A practical guide to the effective design and management of MPAs for sharks and rays.

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Cornish, A

Simpendorfer, C

Shark and ray numbers are declining globally, and a quarter of all species are believed to be threatened with extinction.

Rapid assessment toolkit for sharks and rays.

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Rigby, C L

White, W T

Concerns for the future of sharks and rays have been growing for some time. In 1999, an International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (IPOA) was adopted.

SPREP-Tok : Issue 54. May, 2019.

SPREP Publications

Available Online

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

A monthly e-bulletin of activities and assistance from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme to its member countries.

SPREP-Tok : Issue 55. June, 2019.

SPREP Publications

Available Online

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

A monthly e-bulletin of activities and assistance from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme to its member countries.

Greening of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games.

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.

The increase of visitors to Samoa during the XVI Pacific Games means an increase in waste resulting in added stress on waste management infrastructure and services in Samoa.

Life-history comparisons between the native range and an invasive island population of a colubrid snake

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Alcaraz, S.E.

Fisher, R.N.

Fisher, S.R.

Gallo-Barneto, R.

López Jurado, L.F.

Patino-Martinez, C.

Rochester, C.J.

Invasive snakes can lead to the rapid extinction of endemic vertebrates on insular ecosystems, usually because snakes are an efficient and novel predator. There have been no successful (i.e. complete) eradications to date of invasive snakes on islands. In this study we assess a novel invasion on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The invader, the California king snake (Lampropeltis californiae), arrived from California via several generations in the pet trade. King snakes are captive bred for various phenotypes, and first were detected in the wild on Gran Canaria in the 1990s. Because very little natural history data exist from within their native range, we focused on developing datasets from native habitats to compare with similar data for the introduced snakes in the Canary Islands. We found that most aspects of the snakes life history have not changed since invasion, except that there appears to be a lower level of juvenile recruitment along with an increase in the length and body mass of adult snakes on Gran Canaria. We identified environmental parameters for when capture/trapping could be completed to reduce eff ort and maximize success. Additionally, we show different trap success on the various life stages of the snakes. Risk assessments could be required prior to permitting pet trade or allowing captive bred snakes into regions where they are not native.

Control of the ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris) on Formentera using experimental live-traps

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Colomar, V.

Fernández, M.J.

Moreno, J.E.

Pico, G.

The ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris) is a recent alien invasive species found on Formentera (83 km2), in the Balearic Archipelago (4,492 km2). It has been introduced in the last decade as cargo stowaway hidden within ornamental olive trees from the Iberian Peninsula, causing negative impacts on native fauna. This paper describes the methodology used to reduce the ladder snake population as a fi rst attempt since it was detected in 2006. For this purpose, an experimental live-trap was designed by the wildlife management team of the Consorci per a la Recuperació de la Fauna de les Illes Balears (COFIB) during the 2016 campaign. As a result, 314 R. scalaris were trapped in an area of 472 ha, achieving an effi ciency of up to 0.167 captures per trap and night, and 0.040 captures per unit eff ort on average. This outcome encourages the use of the live-trap as a cost-eff ective method for reducing the snake population in Formentera. Nonetheless, this method should be considered a starting point toward R. scalaris control.

Spatial dynamics of invasion and distribution of alien frogs in a biodiversity hotspot archipelago

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Diesmos, A.C.

Diesmos, M.L.L.

Pili, A.N.

Supsup, C.E.

Sy, E.Y.

The endemic-rich amphibian fauna of the Philippine Archipelago (ca. 350,000 km2) includes six alien frogs: the American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), Asiatic painted toad (Kaloula pulchra), cane toad (Rhinella marina), Chinese bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus), green paddy frog (Hylarana erythraea), and greenhouse frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris). The chronological history of their invasion across the Philippines was reconstructed based on historical and geographic data. Subsequently, we estimated their current and potential distribution through species distribution modelling and Gaussian kernel density smoothing species distribution data. Seven known and potential pathways of introduction into and spread throughout the Philippines were identifi ed, namely, intentional introduction as a (1) biocontrol agent and (2) food source; contamination of (3) agriculture trade, (4) aquaculture trade, and (5) ornamental plant trade; (6) stowaway of cargo; and (7) through the exotic pet trade. Spatio-temporal patterns of distribution showed a stratifi ed diff usion process of spread wherein human-mediated jum dispersal is the primary mode followed by diff usion dispersal. The status of the American bullfrog in the Philippines is unresolved, whether it has successfully established. Meanwhile, the other five alien frogs have established populations in the wild, typically the dominant species in both artificial and disturbed habitats, and are continuously spreading throughout the Philippines. Estimates of current and potential distribution indicate that none of the alien frogs has realised its full potential distribution and that the cane toad is the most widespread, occurring in almost all major islands of the Philippines (ca. 85%), while the greenhouse frog is the least distributed, being found so far in eight provinces and on seven islands. In light of these findings, we provide policy and management recommendations for responding to current and future alien frog invasions.

In situ evaluation of an automated aerial bait delivery system for landscape-scale control of invasive brown treesnakes on Guam

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Clark, C.S.

Clark, L.

Eisemann, J.D.

Gosnell, R.J.

Messaros, M.C.

Pitt, W.C.

Shiels, A.B.

Siers, S.R.

After decades of biodiversity loss and economic burden caused by the brown treesnake invasion on the Pacific island of Guam, relief hovers on the horizon. Previous work by USDA Wildlife Services (WS) and its National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) demonstrated that brown treesnake numbers in forested habitats can be dramatically suppressed by aerial delivery of dead newborn mouse (DNM) baits treated with 80 mg of acetaminophen. However, manual bait preparation and application is impractical for landscape-scale treatment. WS, NWRC, and the US Department of the Interior have collaborated with Applied Design Corporation to engineer an automated bait manufacturing and delivery system. The core technology is an aerially delivered biodegradable bait cartridge designed to tangle in the tree canopy, making the acetaminophen bait available to treesnakes and out of reach of terrestrial non-target organisms. When mounted on a rotary- or fixed-wing airframe, the automated dispensing module (ADM) unit can broadcast 3,600 bait cartridges at a rate of four per second and can treat 30 hectares of forest at a density of 120 acetaminophen baits per hectare within 15 minutes of fi ring time. We conducted the first in situ evaluation of the ADM in July 2016. Initial acetaminophen bait deployment rates (proper opening of the bait cartridge for canopy entanglement) were low, and mechanism jams were frequent due to internal friction and wind forces; on-site remedial engineering improved these performance measures. Bait cartridge placement and spacing were accurate (average 8.9 m along 9 m swaths) under various flight heights and speeds. Canopy entanglement of properly-deployed acetaminophen baits was high (66.6%). Although only a small proportion (5.9%) of radio transmitter-equipped acetaminophen baits were confirmed to have been taken by brown treesnakes, the baiting density was high enough to make it likely that a significant proportion of brown treesnakes in the area had taken acetaminophen baits. With subsequent improvements in system reliability, the automated bait cartridge manufacturing and delivery system is poised to transition from research and development to operational field implementation. Applications include reduction of brown treesnake numbers around transportation infrastructure and within core habitats for the reintroduction of native birds extirpated by this troublesome invasive predator.

www.sprep.org © 2021 - 2026. All rights reserved