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Trialling gene drives to control invasive species: what, where and how?
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Alphey, L.

,

Campbell, K.

,

Edgington, M.

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Harvey-Samuel, T.

2019
The control of invasive species would be enhanced through the addition of novel, more effective and sustainable pest management methods. One control option yet to be trialled in the field is to deploy transgene-based ‘Gene Drives’: technologies which force the inheritance of a genetic construct through the gene pool of a wild population, suppressing it or replacing it with a less harmful form. There is considerable interest in applying gene drives to currently intractable invasives across a broad taxonomic range. However, not all species will make efficient or safe targets for these technologies. Additionally, the safety and efficacy of these systems will vary according to where they are deployed, the specific molecular design chosen, and how these factors interact with the ecology of the target pest. Given the transformative but also controversial nature of gene drives, it is imperative that their first field trials are able to successfully demonstrate that they can be used safely and efficiently. Here, we discuss how to maximise the probability of this outcome through considering three important questions: What types of invasive species should we use to trial gene drives? Where should we be trialling them? and How should these trials be conducted? In particular, we focus on the ecological, genetic and geographic features of small, isolated islands which make them ideal locations for these initial trials. A case study of an island invasive that is deemed highly appropriate for gene drive intervention, and for which gene drive development is currently underway (Mus musculus), is used to further explore these concepts
Current state of knowledge of Cetacean Threats, Diversity and Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region / by Cara Miller
Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems
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Miller, Cara

2007
This report provides an overview of the current state of knowledge of cetacean diversity, habitat and threats in the Pacifi c Islands Region. The boundaries of the Pacifi c Islands Region (Chapter 1), as defi ned by the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Conservation of Cetaceans and their Habitats in the Pacifi c Islands Region (CMS 2006), are the marine areas under the jurisdiction of each Country or Territory of the Pacifi c Islands Region, and extend to the area defi ned by the Noumea Convention, i.e., between the Tropic of Cancer and 60° South latitude, and between 130° East longitude and 120° West longitude. The region stretches over some 10,000 kilometres from east to west and 5,000 kilometres from north to south, with a combined economic exclusion zone (EEZ) of approximately 30 million km². This region contains 22 Pacifi c Island Countries and Territories, as well as a portion of the Australian continent, both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, and a portion of the Hawaiian Islands. The region is purported to hold the most extensive and biologically diverse reefs in the world, the deepest ocean trenches, the world’s largest tuna fi shery, as well as a range of globally threatened species such as sea turtles, dugongs and cetaceans (UNDP 1999)