ADVANCED CONSERVATION STRATEGIES Maximizing Return on Investments for Island Restoration with a Focus on Seabird Conservation

Seabirds are among the most threatened groups of species. Seabirds are an important component of both marine and island ecosystems, and thus their conservation is inextricably linked with marine and island conservation. Invasive mammals are the major drivers of extinction and ecosystem change on islands and are the primary threat to seabirds. Three types of evidence suggest that the removal of invasive mammals from islands is an effective strategy of seabird conservation. First, impacts on seabirds by invasive mammals are pervasive and well documented, particularly for rats and cats. Second, over the past two decades, techniques have been developed and honed to safely, swiftly, and cost-effectively remove invasive mammals from islands. Emerging innovations in the removal of invasive mammals support the notion that island size will soon no longer be a limiting factor. Third, while seabird responses to invasive mammal removal campaigns are less well documented, available evidence demonstrates those responses to be consistently positive. In sum, evidence suggests that invasive mammal removal from islands can be a low-risk investment that routinely results in substantial seabird conservation gains. Integrating invasive mammal removal campaigns with other seabird restoration programs, such as seabird social attraction and translocation techniques, would likely increase conservation benefits. As conservation practitioners target larger and more biologically complex islands, they will face three main challenges: 1) minimizing impacts on non-target native species during invasive mammal removal campaigns; 2) increasing the cost-effectiveness of those campaigns; and 3) securing necessary social and economic capital. A research program targeted to address the first two points that is integrated into an active invasive mammal removal program will enhance conservation gains for a global or regional island restoration program. Island restoration, like other sub-disciplines of biodiversity conservation, is in the early stages of adopting approaches such as return on investment (ROI) analysis. Doing so will increase effectiveness. A ROI analytical framework is a decision-support tool not a decision-making tool—it aims to help planners make decisions, not exempt them from applying judgment. A ROI approach to planning provides transparent guidance on how to allocate funds across a portfolio of potential actions over any span of time, and can serve as a foundation for a seabird conservation program that is flexible, modular, and scalable. While many aspects of seabird conservation are well known relative to other conservation scenarios, significant information gaps mean that estimates of both impacts and the benefits from abating those impacts will …