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Methods for monitoring invertebrate response to vertebrate eradication

Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Houghton, M.

Shaw, J.

Terauds, A.

Once an island vertebrate eradication is deemed successful, it is typically assumed that ecosystem recovery will follow. To date, most post-eradication monitoring focuses on the recovery of key threatened or charismatic species, such as seabirds. Little attention has been given to monitoring and quantifying the response of invertebrate communities. Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), house mice (Mus musculus), and ship rats (Rattus rattus) impacted sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island for over 140 years, with wide ranging ecosystem impacts. In 2014, the eradication of rabbits and rodents was o?cially declared successful. To determine whether management objectives are being met, we are investigating the response of invertebrate communities to pest eradication, using both historic data and contemporary surveys to track changes over space and time. To achieve this, we have developed a survey strategy that is e?ective and e?cient. Here we report on the merits of utilising a variety of invertebrate trapping methodologies to establish current baselines for future invertebrate monitoring. We identify sampling techniques that are most e?ective for speci?c groups of taxa, particularly those of interest to post-eradication monitoring, and how the implementation of such methods can improve and facilitate e?ective post-eradication monitoring of invertebrates.

The Rangitoto and Motutapu pest eradication - a feasibility study.

Available Online

Griffiths, Richard.

Towns, David.

The eradication of the seven remaining animal pest species remaining on Rangitoto and Motutapu was announced by the Prime Minister and Minister of Conservation in June 2006. With stoats, cats, hedgehogs, rabbits, mice and two species of rats spread across an area of 3842ha, the proposed project is the most challenging and complex island pest eradication the Department of Conservation (DOC) has ever attempted. To better understand the scale and complexity of the project, a feasibility study was undertaken. This study considered the ecological, economic and social context of the project to allow an informed decision to be made on whether or not to commit resources to further eradication planning. This document outlines the findings of the feasibility study and concludes that while a number of contingencies exist within the project, the proposed eradication is not only feasible, but has many significant benefits. No single precedent exists on which this project can be modelled and information from a wide range of sources has been required. Previous eradication and control programmes have been reviewed in conjunction with what is known about the behaviour and biology of the target species. In some cases, where information has not been available and could not be inferred, trials have been undertaken. The document has been reviewed by a number of experts both within New Zealand and overseas including DOCs Island Eradication Advisory Group. Consultation has also been undertaken with all of the islands key stakeholders and communities of interest. Comments from all of these parties have been reflected in the report. Rangitoto is an iconic Scenic Reserve located just 9km from downtown Auckland City. The island is internationally significant both for its ecology and geology and is an extremely popular visitor destination served by regular ferry services. Motutapu, a Recreation Reserve, is connected to and positioned immediately to the east of Rangitoto. The island, currently managed as a pastoral farm, is noted for its extensive archaeological record but retains a diverse range of habitat types and is the focus of a community-led restoration programme. In addressing the question, can it be done? particular attention has been paid to mice, ship rats, hedgehogs and rabbits as eradication of these species on the scale of Rangitoto and Motutapu has never been attempted. Preventing reinvasion on such highly accessible and intensively visited islands is also an enormous undertaking. It is accepted, that of all the target species, mice present the greatest risk of failure. However, while a number of mouse eradications around the world have failed, all ten attempts on islands beyond the swimming range of mice that have followed current Departmental best practice have been successful, providing confidence in the method. Rangitoto and Motutapu are a significant step up from previous operations in terms of scale but are also the logical next step to apply current techniques. Despite the unprecedented elements within the project, it is considered that the key dependencies on which eradication success relies can be met for the species targeted. Preventing reinvasion is perhaps the most important consideration of the feasibility study and the one that will ultimately determine the fate of the project. Achieving an adequate level of protection for the islands hinges heavily on changing the behaviour of all 100,000 visitors that arrive on an annual basis. Without this any investments made in removing pests will be wasted. Bringing these changes about appears possible but is contingent on a number of commitments and actions that must be put in place by both DOC and its key partners. The feasibility study also addresses what the project will take to complete and attempts to identify as many of the planning issues as possible to enable the project to be properly sized. It explores the techniques that must be used, the resources that will be required and the timeframe over which they need to be deployed. While this eradication project is the most challenging and complex to be undertaken by DOC, it also presents a significant opportunity to improve our current understanding of eradication theory and practice. If successful, the project offers outstanding benefits for conservation. The recovery of locally and nationally endangered species, the creation of a stepping stone for wildlife movement between the Hauraki Gulf and the Auckland isthmus, the potential for advocacy and education, and increased recreation and economic opportunities are just some of the likely gains. The study has shown that this project is feasible, but also that there are many significant reasons why it should proceed.

The catastrophic impact of invasive mammalian predators on birds of the UK overseas territories: a review and synthesis

Available Online

Cuthbert, Richard J.

Hilton, Geoff M

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.

What's happening with stoat research? Report on the five-year stoat research programme

Available Online

In the May 1999 budget, the New Zealand Government announced that an extra $6.6 million over five years would be given to the Department of Conservation to fund an integrated stoat control research programme. Stoats, ferrets and weasels were introduced to New Zealand in the 1880s in an attempt to control rabbits. Although stoats were implicated in the decline of some native bird species soon after their introduction, the extent to which they are still contributing to the decline of native species is only now becoming clear. Their impacts on threatened and endangered birds are of particular concern. Stoat control in New Zealand will have to be ongoing if some endemic species are to survive on the mainland. Currently, stoat control relies largely on labour-intensive trapping and the use of poisoned hen eggs. New, more cost-effective and sustainable approaches to controlling stoats are urgently needed. The extra funding means that there is now a real opportunity for finding cost-effective solutions for managing stoats. A Stoat Technical Advisory Group (composed of experts from the Department of Conservation, Lincoln University and Auckland University) has been established to develop and oversee this new research programme. Funding for the first year is $338,000 with funding increasing in 2000/01 to $1.406 million and for the subsequent three years, $1.631 million, each year.

Assessment of the effectiveness of Transonic ESP and Yard Guard ultrasonic devices for repelling stoats (Mustela erminea)

Available Online

Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research

Spurr, E. B.

The Department of Conservation, West Coast, requested Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, Lincoln, to test the effectiveness of two ultrasonic devices, Transonic ESP and Yard Gard, for repelling captive stoats (Mustela erminea) from a food source. If they repelled stoats, ultrasonic devices could be used to protect nesting birds such as kiwi (Apterygiformes), penguins (Sphenisciformes), and petrels (Procellariiformes) and their eggs and chicks from predation.

Control of a stoat population irruption to enhance yellowhead breeding success / by ColinF.J. O'Donnell, Peter J.Dilks and Graeme P. Elliot

O'Donnell, Colin F.J.

The mohua or yellowhead (Mohoua ochrocephala) is an endangered, hole-nesting forest bird endemic to New Zealand. Mohua suffer periodic population crashes due to severe predation by the introduced stoat (Mustela erminea). In 1990, a stoat population irruption provided an opportunity to reassess the impact of stoat predation on mohua and to test two linked hypotheses: that adaquate control of stoats by trapping is possible, and that it is a viable management option to assist mohua recovery. The primary experiment (summer 1990/91) was repeated in the summers of 1991/92 and 1992/93 when stoat numbers were lower. Mohua productivity and adult female mortality were compared in two study areas, one trapped and one untrapped, in the Eglinton Valley, Fiordland. Sixty-two stoats were caught in the 50 ha trapped area during summer 1990/91. The fledging of many first clutches, and the laying of second clutches, coincided closely with the period when high numbers of stoats were being caught in traps. Eighty percent of the nests in the trapped area fledged young, compared with only 36% in the untrapped area. Pairs produced nearly twice as many young in the trapped area. A higher proportion of breeding females disappeared from the untrapped area. In the two subsequent summers, 29 and 14 stoats were caught, and breeding success was higher than previously recorded in both trapped and untrapped areas. We suggest that trapping in the year following a stoat irruption may also be warranted.

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