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Documenting an existing invasion to prevent future introductions of non-indigenous species in the island-like marine lakes, Koror, Palau
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Patris, Sharon ... [et al.]

2011
This document is part of a technical report series on conservation projects funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the Conservation International Pacific Islands Program (CI-Pacific). The main purpose of this series is to disseminate project findings and successes to a broader audience of conservation professionals in the Pacific, along with interested members of the public and students. The reports are being prepared on an ad-hoc basis as projects are completed and written up. In most cases the reports are composed of two parts, the first part is a detailed technical report on the project which gives details on the methodology used, the results and any recommendations. The second part is a brief project completion report written for the donor and focused on conservation impacts and lessons learned. The CEPF fund in the Polynesia-Micronesia region was launched in September 2008 and will be active until 2013. It is being managed as a partnership between CI Pacific and CEPF. The purpose of the fund is to engage and build the capacity of non-governmental organizations to achieve terrestrial conservation. The total grant envelope is approximately US$6 million, and focuses on three main elements: the prevention, control and eradication of invasive species in key biodiversity areas (KBAs); strengthening the conservation status and management of a prioritized set of 60 KBAs and building the awareness and participation of local leaders and community members in the implementation of threatened species recovery plans.
Invasive species, climate change and ecosystem-based adaptation: addressing multiple drivers of global change
Climate Change Resilience, BRB
Available Online

Burglele Stanley W.

,

Muir Adrianna A

2010
This report is targeted at policy-makers, particularly those responsible for developing climate mitigation and adaption strategies that address issues like conservation, ecosystem services, agriculture and sustainable livelihoods. It focuses on the primary linkages between invasive species and climate change, as well as the secondary and tertiary interactions of their corresponding impacts. Finally, the enclosed recommendations are intended to provide guidance on the best ways to integrate invasive species prevention and management into the consideration of climate change responses across a range of sectors. Building on a review of existing scientific and conservation literature (which is frequently centered on well-studied invasive species in developed countries), our research has reaffirmed that there are significant gaps and questions about the intersection of these two major drivers of change. The case studies included below highlight key relationships and questions related to invasive species, climate change and the role of ecosystem-based adaptation. The three key messages that can be distilled from this report are: 1. Climate change will have direct and second order impacts that facilitate the introduction, establishment and/or spread of invasive species. 2.Invasive species can increase the vulnerability of ecosystems to other climate-related stressors and also reduce their potential to sequester greenhouse gasses. 3.Using an ecosystem-based adaptation approach, these pressures on ecosystems and their ability to provide important services can be offset by preventing the introduction of new invasive species and by eradicating or controlling those damaging species already present.
Quantifying the dominance of little fire ant (wasmannia auropunctata) and its effect on crops in the Solomon islands
BRB
Available Online

Fasi, John

2009
Introduced most probably intentionally, as a biological control against nut fall bugs (Amblypelta sp) in coconut and cocoa, the Little Fire Ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) has for more than 30 years continued to spread and colonies a number of different environments in the Solomon Islands. To date, no studies have investigated the ecological impact of these ants. The impact of Little Fire Ants was measured on (1) the overall ant fauna within subsistence gardens, (2) the prevalence of additional insect pests in subsistence gardens, and (3) the significant pest Tarophagus sp. of one crop - taro and its natural predator Cyrtohinus fulvous. Ant fauna was surveyed on two study areas in garden sites of four common subsistence crops: potato, cassava, taro and yam; a total of 36 gardens per study area with three trials per garden, using baiting and hand collecting. The existence of insect pests that form a relationship with W. auropunctata was measured in the same gardens by standardized visual searches, plus some identification and collecting from randomly selected crop within the gardens. The impact of W. auropunctata on the significant taro pest Tarophagus sp. and its natural predator Cyrtohinus fulvous was measured in 56 taro gardens with half of the gardens infested with Little Fire Ants. Twenty five taro plants were randomly selected in each taro garden and sampled using standardized visual identification. Sites with W. auropunctata had significantly lower mean abundance of other ant species than gardens free of W. auropunctata. A number of hemipteran insects (most of them pests) were also observed to have developed relationships with W. auropunctata. Although there was no significant difference in the mean population density of C. fulvous per taro plant between taro plants infested and free of W. auropunctata, significantly more Tarophagus were found on taro plants in the presence of W. auropunctata than in the absence of W. auropunctata. Three conclusions are drawn here, (1) the presence of W. auropunctata leads to a reduction in the ant fauna at a site, and is likely to lead to ecological damage to other invertebrates and vertebrates, (2) the presence of W. auropunctata in the subsistence crops may have lead to the development of harmful relationships between hemipteran pests and W. auropunctata, and (3) the presence and dominance of W. auropunctata on subsistence crops may provide an environment that i allows insect pests to thrive. Little Fire Ants therefore pose an economic as well as an ecological risk in subsistence gardens in the Solomon Islands
The catastrophic impact of invasive mammalian predators on birds of the UK overseas territories: a review and synthesis
BRB
Available Online

Cuthbert, Richard J.

,

Hilton, Geoff M

2010
The UK has sovereignty over 16 Overseas Territories, which hold some of the world's great seabird colonies and collectively support more endemic and globally threatened bird species than the whole of mainland Europe. Invasive alien mammalian predators have spread throughout most of the Territories, primarily since European expansion in the 16th century. Here we review and synthesize the scale of their impacts, historical and current, actions to reduce and reverse these impacts, and priorities for conservation. Mammalian predators have caused a catastrophic wave of extinctions and reductions in seabird colony size that mark the UKOTs as a major centre of global extinction. Mammal-induced declines of threatened endemics and seabird colonies continue, with four Critically Endangered endemics on Gough Island (Tristan da Cunha), St Helena and Montserrat directly threatened by invasive alien House Mice Mus musculus, Feral Cats Felis catus and rats Rattus spp. Action to reduce these threats and restore islands has been modest in comparison with other developed countries, although some notable successes have occurred and a large number of ambitious eradication and conservation plans are in preparation. Priority islands for cosnervation action against mammalian predators include Gough (which according to one published prioritization scheme is the highest-ranked island in the world for mammal eradication), St Helena and Montserrat, but also on Tristan da Cunha, Pitcairn and the Falkland Island. Technical, financial and political will is required to push forward and fund the eradication of invasive mammalian predators on these islands, which would significantly reduce extinction risk for a number of globally threatened species.