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Estimating burdens of neglected tropical zoonotic diseases on islands with introduced mammals

Available Online

Croll, Donald A.

Holmes, Nick D.

Kilpatrick, A. Marm.

Newton, Kelly M.

Spatz, Dena R.

Tershy, Bernie.

de Wit, Luz A.

Many neglected tropical zoonotic pathogens are maintained by introduced mammals, and on islands the most common introduced species are rodents, cats, and dogs. Management of introduced mammals, including control or eradication of feral populations, which is frequently done for ecological restoration, could also reduce or eliminate the pathogens these animals carry. Understanding the burden of these zoonotic diseases is crucial for quantifying the potential public health benefits of introduced mammal management. However, epidemiological data are only available from a small subset of islands where these introduced mammals co-occur with people. We examined socioeconomic and climatic variables as predictors for disease burdens of angiostrongyliasis, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, toxocariasis, and rabies from 57 islands or island countries. We found strong correlates of disease burden for leptospirosis, Toxoplasma gondii infection, angiostrongyliasis, and toxocariasis with more than 50% of the variance explained, and an average of 57% (range = 3295%) predictive accuracy on out-of-sample data. We used these relationships to provide estimates of leptospirosis incidence and T. gondii seroprevalence infection on islands where nonnative rodents and cats are present. These predicted estimates of disease burden could be used in an initial assessment of whether the costs of managing introduced mammal reservoirs might be less than the costs of perpetual treatment of these diseases on islands.

Invasive Alien Species and Climate Change - International Union for Conservation of Nature Issues Brief November 2017

Available Online

Invasive alien species (IAS) are animals, plants or other organisms that are introduced into places outside their natural range, negatively impacting native biodiveristy, ecosystem services or human well-being. IAS are one of the biggest causes of biodiversity loss and species extinctions and are also a global threat to food security and livelihoods. IAS are compounded by climate change. Climate change facilitates the spread and establishement of many alien species and creates new opportunities for them to become invasive. IAS can reduce the resilience of natural habitats, agricultural systems and urban areas to climate change. Conversely, climate change reduces the resilience of habitats to biological invasions. It is essential that IAS be incorporated in to climate change policies. This includes biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction of IAS to new regions as a result of climate change, and rapid response measures to monitor and eradicate alien species that may become invasive due to climate change.

An overview of introduced predator management in inhabited landscapes

Available Online

Russell, James C.

Stanley, Margaret C.

Predators play a critical role in ecosystems; however, when overly abundant, they can disrupt natural processes and cause extinctions of species. In particular, oceanic islands have endured many impacts of introduced mammalian predators. Whereas knowledge and management of introduced mammalian predators on islands is well advanced in natural landscapes, in inhabited landscapes, spanning rural and urban environments, comparatively less is known. We summarise key issues from the natural and social sciences in the management of introduced mammalian predators in inhabited landscapes of AotearoaNew Zealand. We describe the shift in focus over the past few decades from management of introduced mammalian herbivores to predators in rural environments, and the growth in management of introduced mammalian predators in urban environments, both seeking to emulate conservation gains made in forested landscapes. We discuss the circumstances around companion animal management at the interface of the natural and social sciences. We summarise surveys of attitudes towards introduced mammalian predators, the role of biodiversity comanagement between Ma¯ori and Pakeha, and the importance of also considering non-biodiversity benefits from introduced predator management. We describe the rise of community predator control and large landscape projects aspiring for a Predator Free New Zealand, and how such an aspiration must be concurrent with habitat restoration. We make recommendations for further research on the basic population biology of predators in inhabited landscapes, and more long-term studies. Such studies should be integrated with examination of the motivations for predator management, as well as the biodiversity and social outcomes of such management. We conclude by remarking that introduced predator management is only one component of a robust national strategy for conservation of native biodiversity in New Zealand.

Social assessment of inhabited islands for wildlife management and eradication

Available Online

Aley, Joanne P.

Russell, James C.

Taylor, Nicholas C.

Eradication of introduced species from inhabited islands requires consideration of both technical and social feasibility. Historically, biologists have struggled to engage successfully in the social components of eradication planning. Island communities have unique features that require consideration in eradication planning. Social impact assessment is a powerful planning tool used widely outside of wildlife management. We outline the core components of a social impact assessment as it could be applied to eradication planning on inhabited islands. We summarise previous experience in social impact assessment and community engagement for introduced predator eradication on inhabited islands, and as an example develop a social profile for inhabited islands of the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. We conclude that social impact assessment has great potential to improve eradication feasibility assessment, and should be applied routinely in eradication scoping on inhabited islands.

Potential public health benefits from eradicating rts in New Zealand cities and a tentative research agenda.

Available Online

Baker, Michael G.

Blaschke, Paul.

Mansoor, Osman D.

McIntyre, Mary.

Muellner, Petra.

Wilson, Nick. ? Mary McIntyre ? Paul Blaschke ? Petra Muellner ? Osman D Mansoor ? Michael G Baker

The eradication of some introduced pests such as rats, stoats and possums in New Zealand seems increasingly feasible with successful action to date in various cities (e.g. Wellington City) and with the governments national 2050 predator-free goal. Here we specifically detail the potential benefits of urban rat eradication and find these cover a wide range of topics including a potentially reduced risk of infection from at least seven zoonotic diseases (e.g. leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, trichinellosis, murine typhus; and three enteric diseases). Other potential benefits include: psychological benefits from increased native bird life in cities; reduced damage to food supplies; reduced rat damage to building insulation and to building walls and roofing; and reduced fires in buildings associated with rat damage. However, there is considerable uncertainty on the size of such impacts and so we outline a tentative research agenda as a first step towards quantification of the likely key public health benefits of rat eradication.

Invasive alien species on islands: impacts, distribution, interactions and management

Available Online

Holmes, Nick D

Meyer, Jean-Yves

Pagad, Shyama

Russell, James C.

Invasive alien species (IASs) on islands have broad impacts across biodiversity, agriculture, economy, health and culture, which tend to be stronger than on continents. Across small-island developing states (SIDSs), although only a small number of IASs are widely distributed, many more, including those with greatest impact, are found on only a small number of islands. Patterns of island invasion are not consistent across SIDS geographic regions, with differences attributable to correlated patterns in island biogeography and human development. We identify 15 of the most globally prevalent IASs on islands. IAS impacts on islands are exacerbated through interactions with a number of other global change threats, including over-exploitation, agricultural intensification, urban development and climate change. Biosecurity is critical in preventing IAS invasion of islands. Eradication of IASs on islands is possible at early stages of invasion, but otherwise is largely restricted to invasive mammals, or otherwise control is the only option. Future directions in IAS management and research on islands must consider IASs within a broader portfolio of threats to species, ecosystems and peoples livelihoods on islands. We advocate for stronger collaborations among island countries and territories faced with the same IASs in similar socio-ecological environments.

Globally threatened vertebrates on islands with invasive species.

Available Online

Butchart, Stuart H M

Ceballos, Gerardo

Croll Donald A.

Genovesi, Piero Genovesi

Holmes, Nick D.

Spatz, Dena

Tershy, Bernie R

Zilliacus, Kelly M.

Global biodiversity loss is disproportionately rapid on islands, where invasive species are a major driver of extinctions. To inform conservation planning aimed at preventing extinctions, we identify the distribution and biogeographic patterns of highly threatened terrestrial vertebrates (classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature) and invasive vertebrates on ~465,000 islands worldwide by conducting a comprehensive literature review and interviews with more than 500 experts. We found that 1189 highly threatened vertebrate species (319 amphibians, 282 reptiles, 296 birds, and 292 mammals) breed on 1288 islands. These taxa represent only 5% of Earth's terrestrial vertebrates and 41% of all highly threatened terrestrial vertebrates, which occur in 1% of islands worldwide. Information about invasive vertebrates was available for 1030 islands (80% of islands with highly threatened vertebrates). Invasive vertebrates were absent from 24% of these islands, where biosecurity to prevent invasions is a critical management tool. On the 76% of islands where invasive vertebrates were present, management could benefit 39% of Earths highly threatened vertebrates. Invasive mammals occurred in 97% of these islands, with Rattus as the most common invasive vertebrate (78%; 609 islands). Our results provide an important baseline for identifying islands for invasive species eradication and other island conservation actions that reduce biodiversity loss.

Feral hog disturbance alters carbon dynamics in Southeastern US salt marshes

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Angelini, Christine

Persico, Emily P.

Sharp, Sean J

Disturbances that remove primary producers and alter substrate chemistry commonly influence ecosystem carbon dynamics. Because coastal wetlands are especially effective in sequestering carbon, quantifying how disturbances may alter their ability to perform this climate-regulating function is important for assessing their carbon storage potential. Here, we quantified soil respiration, litter decomposition, and soil organic carbon (SOC), as a proxy for carbon storage, in areas disturbed by invasive feral hogs Sus scrofa and in adjacent, undisturbed areas within 3 southeastern US salt marshes. Contrary to our hypothesis that hog overturning of soils would stimulate soil respiration, this metric was lower and both surface and subsurface litter decomposition rates were similar in disturbed relative to undisturbed areas across all sites. SOC was lower in disturbed versus undisturbed areas at 2 sites as hypothesized, but higher at 1 site. Surveys and analyses reveal that lower and less variable infauna, plant, and benthic algae densities likely suppressed soil respiration in hog-disturbed versus undisturbed areas, while the offsetting effects of lower invertebrate densities and higher soil temperature likely caused decomposition to be consistent within and outside of disturbed areas. . These findings suggest that hog removal of plants and disruption of soils can cause tracts of marsh to transition from carbon sinks to sources where these disturbances are intense enough to prohibit rapid plant recovery and promote the gradual respiration of carbon stocks from denuded soils.

Tuvalu : biosecurity act 2017

Available Online

An act to establish the bio-security administration for the safe importation and monitoring of animals, plants, ants and their products into Tuvalu

Marine pollution (Amendment) Act : 2017 Tuvalu

Waste Management and Pollution Control, BRB

Available Online

An act to amend the marine pollution Act 1992 to update the Act and to ensure that there is compliance with current marine pollution related convention, and for related purposes

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