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The restoration of the Islands of Nuutele and Nuulua is a priority of the Government of Samoa and the communities of Aleipata District. Planning is well advanced on a key element of this, the eradication of Pacific Rats (Rattus exulans) by aerial spreading of toxic baits in mid-2006. The Friendly Ground Dove has been identified as a non-target species that may be at risk of taking the baits and one for which the Nuutele and Nuulua populations are significant. Several approaches for safeguarding these have been discussed and this expedition was designed to test the feasibility of the preferred approach, namely the capture and holding of birds in a safe situation on Nuutele during the aerial operation and their release once the baits are non-toxic.

The islands of Nu'utele and Nu'ulua have been identified as highly significant sites for conservation in Samoa. They hold large populations of species currently found nowhere else in the country' including threatened land-birds, seabirds and nesting turtles. They also are the only offshore islands large enough and far enough offshore to be considered as refuges for several of the nation's species threatened on the larger islands by introduced mammalian pests. Such refuges have assumed greater importance as recent severe cyclones (Ofa - 1990, Val - 1991 & Heta - 2004) have reduced bird and bat numbers.

For one of the species potentially at some risk of poisoning under the proposed rat eradication regime, the Friendly Ground Dove, Nuutele and Nuulua hold populations that are nationally significant. The complete loss of these populations would threaten the survival of the taxon in Samoa. Some authors consider the Samoan doves to be a separate race (Gallicolumba s. stairi) from those in Fiji and Tonga (Watling, 2001). Outside Samoa, the race is only found on the small island of Ofu, American Samoa where it is threatened. So the loss of Nu’utele and Nu'ulua birds could threaten the race with extinction.

In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the 10 rarest bird species in the world, with a declining population of just 29 birds. During each breeding season since then, rats have been poisoned within the 155 ha of forested hill country they occupy in the Takitumu Conservation Area in southeastern Rarotonga. As a result, the kakerori population has rebounded, with a minimum of 292 birds found on Rarotonga in August 2003. In 2001/02, the emphasis of management shifted from the .recovery. of kakerori to a programme aimed at .sustaining. the population at 250.300 individuals. The major changes were an experimental reduction in rat poisoning effort to a level where recruitment of kakerori balances annual mortality, and a series of transfers to establish an insurance population on the island of Atiu. In 2003/04, all bait stations were filled fortnightly, rather than the previous mix of weekly and fortnightly refills. This reduced labour costs by 30% to 32 person days, and used a total of 39 kg of Talon® (active ingredient brodifacoum), which was only 13% of the maximum annual poison use over the same area during the .recovery. phase of the programme. Breeding success was high (0.91 fledglings/ breeding territory), even in the unpoisoned areas, and a record total of 80 fledglings was detected. The fortnightly poisoning regime offers promise as an effective, cheaper and less toxin-intensive method than that used previously, and so we recommend maintaining this regime in 2004/05, so that the longerterm effects can be assessed. A third and final batch of 10 young kakerori was transferred to Atiu Island in August 2003. This .insurance. population is becoming well established; the five breeding pairs monitored in 2003/04 each raised two fledglings, and a minimum of 15 birds was found in May.June 2004 in the small part of the island that was searched.