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Rocamora, G.

In recent decades Seychelles has accumulated extensive experience in the management of invasive species and other island restoration practices. Non-government organisations (NGOs), governmental, parastatal and private stakeholders have conducted successful programmes to control and eradicate invasive animals and plants, particularly on small islands of high biodiversity value. Biosecurity protocols have been implemented to prevent (re)infestations. With at least 50 vertebrate populations (33 mammal, 16 bird and one reptile) from 14 different species successfully eradicated, Seychelles is the third country in the world after Australia and the USA for invasive vertebrate eradications from tropical islands, and the seventh when considering all countries. Twenty-four islands have bene?ted from invasive vertebrate eradications and other ecosystem restoration processes to create refuges for native biodiversity. About 470 ha of woodland have been rehabilitated through replanting and recovery of native vegetation, and at least 36 successful island translocations of native birds and reptiles have been conducted. This includes 16 conservation introductions or reintroductions of six endemic land birds (all but one threatened), two of a terrapin species and 18 of Aldabra giant tortoises. Recovery of native species and natural recolonisations have occurred on islands where invasive predators have been removed. As a result, four globally threatened endemic land birds have been down-listed in the IUCN Red List and dozens of other native species including seabirds, land birds, reptiles, invertebrates and plants have also bene?ted. Future challenges include increasing the proportion of the countrys land area free of rats and cats from 3.9% to potentially 15.4%, mainly in the outer islands, and 50% in the long term if Aldabra and Cosmoledo are considered. Factors limiting future eradications and translocations are discussed. Alternative conservation approaches such as mainland-islands are recommended for large islands, and the development of partnerships with nature-based tourism is encouraged to help fund further restoration.

Restoring plant-pollinator communities: using a network approach to monitor pollination function

Kaiser-Bunbury, C.N.

Ecological restoration is a common tool to mitigate the loss of species and habitats, ultimately aiming to restore ecosystem functioning. Large-scale experimental evidence is lacking, however, on whether standard management techniques, e.g. the removal of invasive alien plants, indeed restore ecosystem functions at the community level. One key ecosystem function is animal mediated pollination. Based on ?ndings from an experimental network study on rocky outcrops (inselbergs) on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles, I present recommendations for conservation practitioners about how to incorporate a network approach into an evaluation of management effectiveness. Responses to restoration actions by plant-pollinator communities and pollination functions lead to several conclusions regarding the resilience of native fauna and ?ora and ecosystem functioning. Pollination network structure appears to be directly related to the quality and resilience of pollination services, which suggests that network analysis can be used to monitor management efficacy. I provide recommendations and advice to encourage the uptake of a network approach by conservation practitioners seeking to restore ecosystem functions.

Ten years after feral goat eradication: the active restoration of plant communities on Guadalupe Island, Mexico

Aguirre-Muñoz, A.

Cárdenas-Tapia, A.

García-Carreón, J.S.

Hernández-Montoya, J.C.

Luna-Mendoza, L.

Luvianos-Colín, S.

Méndez-Sánchez, F.

Puebla-Hernández, O.

Torres-Aguilar, M.

As the ?rst step towards the ecological restoration of its islands, Mexico has completed 60 eradications of invasive mammals thanks to a strong partnership between Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C. (GECI), the federal government, local ?shing communities, academia, and private donors. The removal of invasive mammals has led to the dramatic recovery of the islands ecosystems. On Guadalupe Island, after completing the goat eradication in 2007, the native vegetation started to recover. Plants considered extinct or extirpated have been rediscovered, and plant species new to the island have been recorded. However, in order to achieve the islands full recovery, the active restoration of degraded soils and vegetation are needed. To date, GECI, in collaboration with the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) and the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), is implementing a 700 ha project to accelerate the restoration of the native vegetation communities. The project involves reforestation, erosion control, and ? re prevention actions on different plant communities: forests and sage scrub. An on-site nursery has been established, seedlingsmostly from endemic treesare being grown, and on-site reforestation planting has started. Up to June 2018, we have planted almost 40,000 trees, and will produce 160,000 seedlings during this year. Mechanical methods to control and prevent erosion have been used as we have installed more than 2,400 m of contour barriers, 57 m3 of dams, and rehabilitated ?rebreaks. The actions will continue: the long-term goal being the comprehensive restoration of the vegetation communities devastated by feral goats. The Guadalupe Island experience will be useful to inform the restoration of other Mexican islands.

Conservation gains and missed opportunities 15 years after rodent eradications in the Seychelles

Accouche, W.

Appoo, J.

Bristol, R.M.

Havemann, C.P.

Millett, J.E.

Retief, T.A.

de Groene, A.

van Dinther, M.A.J.A.

van de Crommenacker, J.

The Seychelles was one of the ?rst tropical island nations to implement island restoration resulting in biodiversity gain. In the 2000s a series of rat eradication attempts was undertaken in the inner Seychelles islands which had mixed results. Three private islands with tourist resorts successfully eradicated rats: Frégate (2000), Denis Island (2003) and North Island (2005). Frégate Island was successful with the ?rst eradication attempt whereas North and Denis Islands were initially unsuccessful, and both required second eradication operations. All three islands have developed conservation programmes including biosecurity, habitat rehabilitation, and species reintroductions, and have integrated nature into the tourism experience. Conservation actions, including rat and other invasive species eradications, on these three islands resulted in the creation of 560 ha of mammalian predator-free land, the reintroduction of seven populations of ?ve globally threatened birds (GTB) and the safeguarding of two existing GTB populations and several reptile and invertebrate species. However, on these and many other islands in the Seychelles, the potential of this conservation model, where island owners implement conservation programmes largely funded by the tourism businesses in collaboration with NGOs (Non-Government Organisations), has not been fully realised. We review the rehabilitation on Frégate, Denis and North Islands from inception to the present, and assess factors that have facilitated the subsequent development of conservation programmes, the presence of receptive businesses and governmental/NGO/donor support and explore limitations on business-led island rehabilitation.

The recovery of seabird populations on Ramsey Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales, following the 1999/2000 rat eradication

Bell, E.A.

Bell, M.D.

Morgan, G.

Morgan, L.

Ramsey Island, 259 ha, is ca. 1 km off the Pembrokeshire coast, south-west Wales. The eradication of brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) was successfully completed in the winter 1999/2000 using a ground-based bait station operation. The pre-eradication survey using tape playback estimated the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) population to be 849 pairs. These surveys were repeated in 2007, 2012 and 2016. Each survey showed the Manx shearwater population had increased, reaching 4,796 pairs in 2016 with birds spreading from previously known breeding locations. European storm petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus) were ?rst recorded breeding on Ramsey Island in 2008 with up to 12 pairs in 2016 (a minimum estimate based on accessible survey areas). Other species have also shown improvements to population estimates and range since the rat eradication. This evidence shows that there can be little doubt that the presence of brown rats on Ramsey played a signi?cant role in suppressing breeding numbers and limiting the breeding range of seabirds on the island and the positive results following the successful eradication are now being seen.

A Community-Based Mangrove Planting Handbook for Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), many coastal communities depend on mangroves for their livelihood.

Archipelago-wide island restoration in the Galapagos Islands: Reducing costs of invaisve mammal eradication programs and reinvasion risk

BRB

Invasive alien mammals are the major driver of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation on islands. Over the past three decades, invasive mammal eradication from islands has become one of society's most powerful tools for preventing extinction of insular endemics and restoring insular ecosystems. As practitioners tackle larger islands for restoration, three factors will heavily influence success and outcomes: the degree of local support, the ability to mitigate for non-target impacts, and the ability to eradicate non-native species more cost-effectively. Investments in removing invasive species, however, must be weighed against the risk of reintroduction. One way to reduce reintroduction risks is to eradicate the target invasive species from an entire archipelago, and thus eliminate readily available sources. We illustrate the costs and benefits of this approach with the efforts to remove invasive goats from the Galápagos Islands. Project Isabela, the world's largest island restoration effort to date, removed > 140,000 goats from > 500,000 ha for a cost of US$10.5 million. Leveraging the capacity built during Project Isabela, and given that goat reintroductions have been common over the past decade, we implemented an archipelago-wide goat eradication strategy. Feral goats remain on three islands in the archipelago, and removal efforts are underway. Efforts on the Galápagos Islands demonstrate that for some species, island size is no longer the limiting factor with respect to eradication. Rather, bureaucratic processes, financing, political will, and stakeholder approval appear to be the new challenges. Eradication efforts have delivered a suite of biodiversity benefits that are in the process of revealing themselves. The costs of rectifying intentional reintroductions are high in terms of financial and human resources. Reducing the archipelago-wide goat density to low levels is a technical approach to reducing reintroduction risk in the short-term, and is being complemented with a longer-term social approach focused on education and governance.

Campbell, Karl J.

Carrion, Victor

Cruz, Felipe

Donian, C. Josh

Lavoie, Christian

2011

New Zealand island restoration: seabirds, predators, and the importance of history

BRB

New Zealands offshore and outlying islands have long been a focus of conservation biology as sites of local endemism and as last refuges for many species. During the c. 730 years since New Zealand has been settled by people, mammalian predators have invaded many islands and caused local and global extinctions. New Zealand has led international efforts in island restoration. By the late 1980s, translocations of threatened birds to predator-free islands were well under way to safeguard against extinction. Non-native herbivores and predators, such as goats and cats, had been eradicated from some islands. A significant development in island restoration in the mid-1980s was the eradication of rats from small forested islands. This eradication technology has been refined and currently at least 65 islands, including large and remote Campbell (11 216 ha) and Raoul (2938 ha) Islands, have been successfully cleared of rats. Many of New Zealands offshore islands, especially those without predatory mammals, are home to large numbers of breeding seabirds. Seabirds influence ecosystem processes on islands by enhancing soil fertility and through soil disturbance by burrowing. Predators, especially rats, alter ecosystem processes and cause population reductions or extinctions of native animals and plants. Islands have been promoted as touchstones of a primaeval New Zealand, but we are now increasingly aware that most islands have been substantially modified since human settlement of New Zealand. Archaeological and palaeoecological investigations, together with the acknowledgement that many islands have been important mahinga kai (sources of food) for M?ori, have all led to a better understanding of how people have modified these islands. Restoration technology may have vaulted ahead of our ability to predict the ecosystem consequences of its application on islands. However, research is now being directed to help make better decisions about restoration and management of islands, decisions that take account of island history and key drivers of island ecosystem functioning.

Peter J Bellingham ? David R Towns ? Ewen K Cameron ? Joe J Davis ? David A Wardle ? Janet M Wilmshurst ? Christa P H Mulder

Rapid recovery of damaged ecosystems