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Introduced rats (Rattus spp.) can affect island vegetation structure and ecosystem functioning, both directly and indirectly (through the reduction of seabird populations). The extent to which structure and function of islands where rats have been eradicated will converge on uninvaded islands remains unclear. We compared three groups of islands in New Zealand: islands never invaded by rats, islands with rats, and islands on which rats have been controlled. Differences between island groups in soil and leaf chemistry and leaf production were largely explained by burrow densities. Community structure of woody seedlings differed by rat history and burrow density. Plots on islands with high seabird densities had themost non-native plant species. Sincemost impacts of rats were mediated through seabird density, the removal of rats without seabird recolonization is unlikely to result in a reversal of these processes. Even if seabirds return, a novel plant community may emerge.

New Zealand, an archipelago of more than 2000 islands, has a terrestrial fauna especially depauperate in native land mammals. Kiore (Rattus exulans) was the first of four rodent species introduced by people. A project to eradicate invasive rats from Kapiti Island in 1996, represented a turning point in the technology, complexity and scale at which managers of natural heritage on New Zealand islands could operate. This paper includes case studies of some significant projects targeting rodents, sometimes with other introduced mammals, undertaken in the 12 years following Kapiti. Details of the methods, costs, results and outcomes are provided for Kapiti, Whenua Hou, Tuhua, Campbell, Raoul, Hauturu, Taukihepa, and Pomona islands, collectively representing a total of over 23,000 ha of habitat cleared of introduced mammals. Research and trials undertaken in the Kapiti project provided the basis for future environmental risk assessments, allowing other projects to focus on knowledge gaps. New trends in invasive species eradication in New Zealand include more challenging multi-species eradication projects, some of which are undertaken by self- funded community groups. To summarise the lessons of the New Zealand experience: a programmatic approach is recommended which will fit each eradication within a context or framework of goals for those islands; address biosecurity issues at the outset; build capability to attempt the most challenging and rewarding projects; facilitate investment in monitoring and manage expectations of stakeholders to ensure their ongoing support. Success breeds success but is never guaranteed.

New Zealand’s offshore and outlying islands have long been a focus of conservation biology as sites of local endemism and as last refuges for many species. During the c. 730 years since New Zealand has been settled by people, mammalian predators have invaded many islands and caused local and global extinctions. New Zealand has led international efforts in island restoration. By the late 1980s, translocations of threatened birds to predator-free islands were well under way to safeguard against extinction. Non-native herbivores and predators, such as goats and cats, had been eradicated from some islands. A significant development in island restoration in the mid-1980s was the eradication of rats from small forested islands. This eradication technology has been refined and currently at least 65 islands, including large and remote Campbell (11 216 ha) and Raoul (2938 ha) Islands, have been successfully cleared of rats. Many of New Zealand’s offshore islands, especially those without predatory mammals, are home to large numbers of breeding seabirds. Seabirds influence ecosystem processes on islands by enhancing soil fertility and through soil disturbance by burrowing. Predators, especially rats, alter ecosystem processes and cause population reductions or extinctions of native animals and plants. Islands have been promoted as touchstones of a primaeval New Zealand, but we are now increasingly aware that most islands have been substantially modified since human settlement of New Zealand. Archaeological and palaeoecological investigations, together with the acknowledgement that many islands have been important mahinga kai (sources of food) for M?ori, have all led to a better understanding of how people have modified these islands. Restoration technology may have vaulted ahead of our ability to predict the ecosystem consequences of its application on islands. However, research is now being directed to help make better decisions about restoration and management of islands, decisions that take account of island history and key drivers of island ecosystem functioning.

Nations of the world have committed to a number of goals and targets to address the global environmental challenges humanity faces. Protected areas have for centuries been a key strategy in conservation and play a major role in addressing current challenges. The most important tool used to track progress on protected area commitments is the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). Periodic assessments of the world’s protected area estate show steady growth over the last two decades. However, the current method, which uses the latest version of the WDPA, does not show the true dynamic nature of protected areas over time, nor does it provide information on sites removed from the WDPA. In reality, this methodology can only show growth or remain stable. This paper presents a novel approach to assess protected area change over time using twelve temporally distinct versions of the WDPA that quantify area added, and removed, from the WDPA annually from 2004 to 2016. Results show that both the narrative of continual protected area growth and the counter-narrative of protected area removal are overly simplistic. The former because growth has been almost entirely marine and the latter because we demonstrate that some areas removed are re-protected in later years. Analysis indicates that, on average, 2.5 million km2 is added to the WDPA annually and 1.1 million km2 is removed. Reasons for the inclusion and removal of protected areas in the WDPA database are explored and discussed. To meet the 17% land coverage component of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 by 2020, which stands at 14.7% in 2016, the world will either need to reduce the rate of protected area removal or increase the rate of protected area designation and addition to the WDPA.

Fiji’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Planencourages re nementstoconservation priorities based on analyses of new information. Here we propose a network of Priority Forests for Conservation based on a synthesis of new studies and data that have become available since legislation of the Action Plan in 2001. For selection of Priority Forests we considered minimum-area requirements for some native species, representation goals for Fiji’s habitats and species assemblages, key ecological processes and the practical realities of conservation areas in Fiji. Forty Priority Forests that cover 23% of Fiji’s total land area and 58% of Fiji’s remaining native forest were identi ed. The analysis con rms the majority of conservation priority areas previously identi ed, recommends several new areas, and supports the Government of Fiji’s policy goal of protecting 40% of remaining natural forests to achieve the goals of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and sustain ecosystem services for Fijian communities and economies.

Polymetallic nodules were discovered at the end of the 19th century in the Kara Sea, in the Arctic Ocean off Siberia (1868). During the scientific expeditions of the H.M.S. Challenger (1872–76), they were found to occur in most oceans of the world.

The coral reefs of Samoa are limited and fringing in nature due to past volcanic activities and subsequent sea level rise. The near-shore reef fisheries are degraded, however, they continue to provide for the well being of the people. The coral reef systems have recovered considerably since the cyclones in the early 1990s, with healthy and lush coral diversity seen in many reef front areas. The current knowledge of the marine biodiversity is inadequate with past studies largely undertaken by foreign scientists. The marine flora is better known that the fauna, however the fishes of Samoa have been thoroughly documented. Of the known species, the fishes consist of 991 species, benthic algae 287 species, coastal littoral plants 76, 3 mangrove communities, 2 seagrass species and 3 marine turtles. A number of target species for fisheries have declined over the years which include marine turtles, giant clams, giant triton, grey mullets, milkfish, and mangrove crabs. There are no known endemic or rare organisms, which may be partly attributed to the lack of knowledge on the marine biodiversity. There is only one extinct species known, the giant clam Hippopus hippopus, with shell s and shell fragments found in some parts of Samoa.

Tropical cyclones are important for generating extreme river floods in Samoa and Fiji. In the Vaisigano and Rewa rivers, floods are large, brief, isolated events. Large floods are the result of torrential TC precipitation intensities coupled with the environmental characteristics of mountainous volcanic island river basins which promote hydrological short-circuiting and rapid runoff. Flood discharge is augmented when TCs travel along the length of a watershed. Peak flows produced during TCs are inversely correlated with the SOI. The log Pearson Type III distribution provided good fits to measured data of maximum discharges, but the popular generalized Pareto distribution performed poorly. This work continues to increase our knowledge of hydrology in tropical Pacific island environments, where the behaviour of fluvial systems remains poorly understood.

On February 3, 1999, the president of the United States signed an Executive Order 13112 on invasive species. Each federal agency was directed to detect and respond rapidly to control populations of invasive species, monitor invasive species populations, provide for restoration of native species and habitat conditions, conduct research on invasive species and develop technologies to prevent their introduction, and promote public education on invasive species and the means to address them. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services Program fulfills a federal responsibility for helping solve problems which occur when human activity and wildlife, including invasive species, are in conflict with one another. This is accomplished through the recommendation and/or implementation of integrated pest management strategies (IPM). IPM strategies often involve both technical assistance and direct management. This paper provides a summary of 8 years of Wildlife Services involvement in the resolution of invasive species conflicts with agricultural resources, property, human health and safety, and natural resources.

Evidence of breeding during the dry season is given for 31 species of lowland birds in montane and semi-montane areas in western Cameroon. At least 17 of these species are shown to breed in the wet season at lower altitudes in West Africa. This reversal of breeding season may be due to the unusually heavy rainfall and high humidities which cause temperatures to decrease more rapidly with altitude than on mountains with drier climates. Low temperatures and heavy rainfall during the wet season prevent almost all montane species from breeding then, and affect similarly the lowland birds whose ranges overlap with those of montane birds. Breeding season of some lowland species in Cameroon have previously been considered prolonged, but separation of breeding records by altitude reveals clear seasonality.