Turning the tide: the eradication of invasive species

All abstracts (of presentations for which complete papers were not included) Removing a diverse suite of invasive threats to recover an endangered Hawaiian bird speciesand its dry forest habitat (p. 406)P. C. Banko, S. Dougill, L. Gold, D. Goltz, L. Johnson, P. Oboyski, and J. Slotterback Introduced Neotropical tree frogs in the Hawaiian Islands: Control technique development andpopulation status (p. 406)E. W. Campbell, F. Kraus, S. Joe, L. Oberhofer, R. Sugihara, D. Lease, and P. Krushelnycky Tackling tussock moths: strategies, timelines and outcomes of two programmes for eradicatingtussock moths from suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand (p. 407)J. R. Clearwater Recovery of invertebrate populations on Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand following http://www.hear.org/articles/turningthetide/ (6 of 8) [9/21/2004 11:35:05 AM] Turning the tide: the eradication of invasive species eradication of Pacific rats (Rattus exulans) (p. 407)C. J. Green Restoration of tree weta (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) to a modified island (p. 407)C. J. Green Control of cats on mountain "islands", Stewart Island, New Zealand (p. 408)G. A. Harper and M. Dobbins The status of invasive ant control in the conservation of island systems (p. 408)P. D. Krushelnycky, E. Van Gelder, L. L. Loope, and R. Gillespie The effectiveness of weeded and fenced ‘Conservation Management Areas’ as a means ofmaintaining the threatened biodiversity of mainland Mauritius (p. 408)J. R. Mauremootoo, C. G. Jones, W. A. Strahm, M. E. Dulloo, and Y. Mungroo Preparation for the eradication of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from Campbell Island, NewZealand (p. 409)P. J. McClelland Island quarantine – prevention is better than cure (p. 409)P. J. McClelland The role of parasitoids in eradication or area-wide control of tephritid fruit flies in the HawaiianIslands (p. 410)R. H. Messing Response of forest birds to rat eradication on Kapiti Island, New Zealand (p. 410)C. Miskelly and H. Robertson Sustained control of feral goats in Egmont National Park, New Zealand (p. 410)D. M. Forsyth, J. P. Parkes, D. Choquenot, G. Reid, and D. Stronge Pacific rats: their impacts on two small seabird species in the Hen and Chickens Islands, NewZealand (p. 411)R. J. Pierce Seabird re-colonisation after cat eradication on equatorial Jarvis, Howland, and Baker Islands,USA, Central Pacific (p. 411)M. J. Rauzon, D. J. Forsell, and E. N. Flint Direct and indirect effects of house mice on declining populations of a small seabird, the ashy http://www.hear.org/articles/turningthetide/ (7 of 8) [9/21/2004 11:35:05 AM] Turning the tide: the eradication of invasive species storm-petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa), on Southeast Farallon Island, California, USA(p. 412)K. L. Mills, P. Pyle, W. J. Sydeman, J. Buffa, and M. J. Rauzon Managing pest mammals at near-zero densities at sites on the New Zealand mainland (p. 412)A. Saunders Control of feral goats (Capra hircus) on Santa Catalina Island, California, USA (p. 412)P. T. Schuyler, D. Garcelon and S. Escover Control of the invasive exotic yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) on Christmas Island,Indian Ocean (p. 413)D. J. Slip Preventing rat introductions to the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA (p. 413)A. L. Sowls and G. V. Byrd) Ecological restoration of islands in Breaksea Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand (p. 414)B. W. Thomas [ HEAR ] [ IUCN ] [ SSC ] [ ISSG ] Comments? Questions? Send e-mail to: [email protected] This page was created on 08 September 2004 by PT, and was last updated on 09 September 2004 by PT. http://www.hear.org/articles/turningthetide/ (8 of 8) [9/21/2004 11:35:05 AM] The effects of alien invasive species on biodiversity havebeen described as “immense, insidious and usually irre-versible” (IUCN 2000). There is no doubt that invasive species can cause severeeconomic and ecological damage (Mack et al. 2000). Theymay soon surpass habitat loss as the main cause of eco-logical disintegration globally (Vitousek et al. 1997,Chapin et al. 2000) and are probably already the main causeof extinctions in island ecosystems. The breaching ofbiogeographic boundaries by the widespread, recent hu-man transport of species has caused rapid and radicalchange in biological communities, including multipleextinctions. To minimise further extinctions and other eco-logical changes, the most important priority is to reducethe risks of new invasions. After prevention, the next pri-ority is to eradicate existing invasive species, where this ispossible. These aims are embodied in the United NationsConvention on Biological Diversity, which states that par-ties to this convention should “ prevent the introductionof, control or eradicate, those alien species which threatenecosystems, habitats or species”. Extinction is irreversible, but there is a growing realisa-tion that biological invasions themselves can sometimesbe reversed. With good planning, adequate techniques andsustained effort, it is now possible to eradicate many typesof invasive species, especially in the early stages of aninvasion, or where a population is confined to an island orlimited habitat. Turning the tide of biological invasion by eradicating in-vasive species can yield substantial benefits for biodiversityconservation, by raising opportunities for ecological res-toration and the re-introduction of threatened species. Itcan also yield major economic benefits, by permanentlyremoving the cause of damage to crops, livestock or na-tive biodiversity, and obviating the need for costly per-petual control. Where feasible, eradication is typically moreenvironmentally sound and ethically acceptable than long-term control. Sustained control may involve the perpetualuse of toxins, trapping or shooting, and can entail moreenvironmental risks and many more animal deaths than abrief eradication campaign. In this context, the recent suc-cessful action by animal ethicists to prevent the eradica-tion of an incipient population of grey squirrels (Sciuruscarolinensis) in Italy is a particularly sad example(Genovesi and Bertolino 2001). Many more squirrels willundoubtedly die in control attempts in the years to comethan would have been killed in eradication of the initialpopulation. Likely consequences of this invasion (as withso many others) are damage to crops and natural ecosys-tems and the decline of native species. There is a well-accepted set of conditions which must bemet for the eradication of any population (Bomford andO’Brien 1995). These standard conditions for success areproper planning, a commitment to complete, putting theentire population of the target species at risk, removingthem faster than they reproduce, and preventing re-inva-sion. Additional conditions, which are often necessary andalways desirable, are support from local people and anability to demonstrate the benefits of the eradication pro-