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The Pacific's Future: It's either Rats or Reefs

SPREP Publications, Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Nawadra, Sefanaia

While some people might remember it for its Hollywood association, the small uninhabited islands has other claims to fame. In 2011 the island's Indigenous owners - the village of Yanuya and a consortium of partners led by the National Trust of Fiji and a local NGO, Maregeti Viti successfully removed invasive rats and goats from Monuriki to protect its critically endangered endemic Fijian crested iguana.

Seabirds subsidize terrestrial food webs and coral reefs in a tropical rat-invaded archipelago

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Bugoni, Leandro

Linhares, Bruno de Andrade

Allochthonous resource fluxes mediated by organisms crossing ecosystem boundaries may be essential for supporting the structure and function of resource-limited environments, such as tropical islands and surrounding coral reefs. However, invasive species, such as black rats, thrive on tropical islands and disrupt the natural pathways of nutrient subsidies by reducing seabird colonies. Here, we used stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon to examine the role of seabirds in subsidizing the terrestrial food webs and adjacent coral reefs in the Abrolhos archipelago, southwest Atlantic Ocean.

Plan de biosécurité pour la restauration des îlots du lagon d'Uvea, Wallis et Futuna

SPREP Publications, Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Baudouin des Monstiers (Island Conservation)

Marie Monrolin (Service Territorial de l'Environnement)

Le plan de Biosécurité des îlots de Wallis pose les standards par lesquels les risques de réintroductions de rongeurs ou d’introduction de nouvelles espèces seront minimisés. Il tend à atteindre ce standard de protection pour Wallis via des mesures volontaires ou rendues obligatoires sur le territoire. Les mesures permettant de viser ces standards sont présentées dans ce plan et les rôles et responsabilités y sont identifiés. L’acceptation et l’approbation de ce plan sont portés par le Service Territorial de l’Environnement de Wallis en consultation étroite avec la population locale.

Rats, Reef and Resilience

SPREP Publications, Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

SPREP Webinar Series - Join in the Battler Lounge to learn about the link between rats, seabirds, ecosystem and reef resilience in the Pacific on the 03 December 2021 at 2: 00pm NZT.

Rats impact on the islands of Wallis and Futuna

SPREP Publications, Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Pacific Region Invasive Species Management Support Services (PRISMSS)

The project PROTEGE aims to remove the rats from islets in the lagoon of Wallis and prevent the spread of the black rat to Alofi, close to Futuna. These actions are a key part of the strategy of Wallis and Futuna against invasive alien species as the rats cause significant damage to native species. They are also a risk for the health of communities, as they spread leptospirosis - a disease that can have serious consequences.

Conservation gains and missed opportunities 15 years after rodent eradications in the Seychelles

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Accouche, W.

Appoo, J.

Bristol, R.M.

Havemann, C.P.

Millett, J.E.

Retief, T.A.

de Groene, A.

van Dinther, M.A.J.A.

van de Crommenacker, J.

The Seychelles was one of the ?rst tropical island nations to implement island restoration resulting in biodiversity gain. In the 2000s a series of rat eradication attempts was undertaken in the inner Seychelles islands which had mixed results. Three private islands with tourist resorts successfully eradicated rats: Frégate (2000), Denis Island (2003) and North Island (2005). Frégate Island was successful with the ?rst eradication attempt whereas North and Denis Islands were initially unsuccessful, and both required second eradication operations. All three islands have developed conservation programmes including biosecurity, habitat rehabilitation, and species reintroductions, and have integrated nature into the tourism experience. Conservation actions, including rat and other invasive species eradications, on these three islands resulted in the creation of 560 ha of mammalian predator-free land, the reintroduction of seven populations of ?ve globally threatened birds (GTB) and the safeguarding of two existing GTB populations and several reptile and invertebrate species. However, on these and many other islands in the Seychelles, the potential of this conservation model, where island owners implement conservation programmes largely funded by the tourism businesses in collaboration with NGOs (Non-Government Organisations), has not been fully realised. We review the rehabilitation on Frégate, Denis and North Islands from inception to the present, and assess factors that have facilitated the subsequent development of conservation programmes, the presence of receptive businesses and governmental/NGO/donor support and explore limitations on business-led island rehabilitation.

No detection of brodifacoum residues in the marine and terrestrial food web three years after rat eradication at Palmyra Atoll, Central Pacific

Available Online

Holmes, N.

Howald, G.

Shiels, A.

Wegmann, A.

Invasive alien species represent one of the greatest threats to native plants and animals on islands. Rats (Rattus spp.) have invaded most of the worlds oceanic islands, causing lasting or irreversible damage to ecosystems and biodiversity. To counter this threat, techniques to eradicate invasive rats from islands have been developed and applied across the globe. Eradication of alien rats from large or complex island ecosystems has only been successful with the use of bait containing a rodenticide. While effective at eradicating rats from islands, rodenticide can persist in the ecosystem longer than the time required to eradicate the target rat population and can potentially harm non-target species. However, the persistence of rodenticides in ecosystems following rat eradication campaigns is poorly understood, though predictions can be made based on the chemical properties of the rodenticide and the environment it is applied in. Brodifacoum, a relatively persistent second-generation anticoagulant, was used to successfully eradicate rats from Palmyra Atoll. With this study, we evaluated the persistence of brodifacoum residues in terrestrial and marine species at Palmyra Atoll (Northern Line Islands) three years after rat eradication. We collected 44 pooled samples containing 121 individuals of the following: mullet (Moolgarda engeli), cockroaches (Periplaneta sp.), geckos (Lepidodactylus lugubris), hermit crabs (Coenobita perlatus), and fiddler crabs (Uca tetragonon). Despite detection of brodifacoum residue in all five of the species sampled in this study 60 days after the application of bait to Palmyra Atoll in 2011, brodifacoum residue was not found in any of the pooled samples collected three years after bait application. Our study demonstrates how brodifacoum residues are unlikely to persist in the marine and terrestrial food web, in a wet tropical environment, three years after rat eradication.

The history of the aerial application of rodenticide in New Zealand

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Broome, K.

Garden, P.

McClelland, P.

Following the incursion of rats (Rattus rattus) on Taukihepa (Big South Cape Island; 93.9 km²) off southern New Zealand in 1963, and the subsequent extirpation of several endemic species, the New Zealand Wildlife Service realised that, contrary to general belief at the time, introduced predators do not reach a natural balance with native species and that a safe breeding habitat for an increasing number of at risk species was urgently needed. Off shore islands offered the best option for providing predator free habitat but there was a limited number of predator-free islands available and most were very small. Eradicating rodents on larger islands to provide a wider range and greater area of habitats was required and hand treating these larger areas using trapping and hand application of toxicants, the only methods available at the time, proved problematic and often impossible. Helicopters had been used to distribute bait for the control of rabbits and brushtail possums in the past but eradication of any particular predator species was considered not feasible. The development of a GPS-based aircraft guidance system, a suitable bait product, specialised bait delivery systems and second-generation anti-coagulant toxicants changed that. Now islands as large as South Georgia (3,900 km²) have been treated using this method

Successes and failures of rat eradications on tropical islands: a comparative review of eight recent projects

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Brown, D.

Cranwell, S.

Cuthbert, R.J.

Griffiths, R.

Howald, G.

Keitt, B.

Pitt, W.C.

Tershy, B.

Wegmann, A.

Rat eradication is a highly effective tool for conserving biodiversity, but one that requires considerable planning eff ort, a high level of precision during implementation and carries no guarantee of success. Overall, rates of success are generally high but lower for tropical islands where most biodiversity is at risk. We completed a qualitative comparative review on four successful and four unsuccessful tropical rat eradication projects to better understand the factors influencing the success of tropical rat eradications and shed light on how the risk of future failures can be minimised. Observations of juvenile rats surviving more than four weeks after bait application on two islands validate the previously considered theoretical risk that unweaned rats can remain isolated from exposure to rodent bait for a period. Juvenile rats emerging after bait was no longer readily available may have been the cause of some or all the project failures. The elevated availability of natural resources (primarily fruiting or seeding plants) generated by rainfall prior to project implementation(documented for three of the unsuccessful projects) may also have contributed to project failure by reducing the likelihood that all rats would consume sufficient rodent bait or compounding other factors such as rodent breeding. Our analysis highlights that rat eradication can be achieved on tropical islands but suggests that events that cannot be predicted with certainty in some tropical regions can act individually or in concert to reduce the likelihood of project success. We recommend research to determine the relative importance of these factors in the fate of future tropical projects and suggest that existing practices be re-evaluated for tropical island rodent eradications.

Scaling down (cliffs) to meet the challenge: the Shiants black rat eradication

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Bambini, L.

Bell, E.

Campbell, G.

Churchyard, T.

Douse, A.

Floyd, K.

Ibbotson, J.

Main, C.E.

Nicolson, T.

Reid, R.

Taylor, P.R.

Tayton, J.

Varnham, K.

Whittington, W.

A successful ground-based eradication of black rats (Rattus rattus) was undertaken on the remote, uninhabited Shiant Isles of north-west Scotland over winter (14 October28 March) 201516. The rat eradication was carried out as part of the Shiants Seabird Recovery Project, which aims to secure long-term breeding habitat for protected seabirds and to attract European storm petrels and Manx shearwaters to nest on the Shiants. Throughout the eradication operation, teams were stationed on two of the three main Shiant islands (Eilean an Tighe, Eilean Mhuire), with access to the third (Garbh Eilean) via a boulder causeway from Eilean an Tighe. Bait (Contrac® blocks containing the anticoagulant bromadiolone 0.005% w/w), was deployed in a grid of 1,183 bait stations covering all areas of the islands and sea stacks. Bait stations were set 50 m apart, with intervals reduced to 25 m in coastal areas of predicted high rat density. Difficult areas were accessed by boat and cliff s of ~120 m in height were accessed by abseiling down ropes made safe using either bolted anchors or ground stakes. The team of staff and volunteers worked through difficult conditions, deploying bait and monitoring intensively for any surviving rats using a combination of tools. The islands were declared rat free in March 2018. This ambitious and challenging project has greatly enhanced UK capacity in rodent eradications for the purposes of conservation.

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