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American Samoa invasive species and action plan.
BRB
Available Online
2017
American Samoa invasive species strategy and action plan for the only US territory in the South Pacific being such is faced with unique threats with its location from a national perspective and has a need for both nation al and regional collaborations. The ecological integrity of American Samoa is of utmost importance in the face of invasive species. The cultural identity of American Samoans is also closely tied to the ecological integrity of its natural environment. And given its a highly limited economy, any impact by invasive species on its natural ecosystems that provide goods and services will be almost immediate. The establishment of an invasive species plan, with its clearly articulated priority actions, goals and objectives will provide a guidance to deal with the threats of invasive species. The implementation of the plan will: (1) increase awareness of their threats; (2) inspire cooperation to prevent and minimize their impacts and implement appropriate approaches; and (3) improve decision making through the process of data and information sharing from the best available science. Priorities are: Implement urgent and necessary actions; Enhance capacities for informed decisions; Advance preventive and rapid-response protocols and measures.
Life-history comparisons between the native range and an invasive island population of a colubrid snake
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Alcaraz, S.E.

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Fisher, R.N.

,

Fisher, S.R.

,

Gallo-Barneto, R.

,

López Jurado, L.F.

,

Patino-Martinez, C.

,

Rochester, C.J.

2019
Invasive snakes can lead to the rapid extinction of endemic vertebrates on insular ecosystems, usually because snakes are an efficient and novel predator. There have been no successful (i.e. complete) eradications to date of invasive snakes on islands. In this study we assess a novel invasion on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The invader, the California king snake (Lampropeltis californiae), arrived from California via several generations in the pet trade. King snakes are captive bred for various phenotypes, and first were detected in the wild on Gran Canaria in the 1990s. Because very little natural history data exist from within their native range, we focused on developing datasets from native habitats to compare with similar data for the introduced snakes in the Canary Islands. We found that most aspects of the snake’s life history have not changed since invasion, except that there appears to be a lower level of juvenile recruitment along with an increase in the length and body mass of adult snakes on Gran Canaria. We identified environmental parameters for when capture/trapping could be completed to reduce eff ort and maximize success. Additionally, we show different trap success on the various life stages of the snakes. Risk assessments could be required prior to permitting pet trade or allowing captive bred snakes into regions where they are not native.
In situ evaluation of an automated aerial bait delivery system for landscape-scale control of invasive brown treesnakes on Guam
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Clark, C.S.

,

Clark, L.

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Eisemann, J.D.

,

Gosnell, R.J.

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Messaros, M.C.

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Pitt, W.C.

,

Shiels, A.B.

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Siers, S.R.

2019
After decades of biodiversity loss and economic burden caused by the brown treesnake invasion on the Pacific island of Guam, relief hovers on the horizon. Previous work by USDA Wildlife Services (WS) and its National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) demonstrated that brown treesnake numbers in forested habitats can be dramatically suppressed by aerial delivery of dead newborn mouse (DNM) baits treated with 80 mg of acetaminophen. However, manual bait preparation and application is impractical for landscape-scale treatment. WS, NWRC, and the US Department of the Interior have collaborated with Applied Design Corporation to engineer an automated bait manufacturing and delivery system. The core technology is an aerially delivered biodegradable “bait cartridge” designed to tangle in the tree canopy, making the acetaminophen bait available to treesnakes and out of reach of terrestrial non-target organisms. When mounted on a rotary- or fixed-wing airframe, the automated dispensing module (ADM) unit can broadcast 3,600 bait cartridges at a rate of four per second and can treat 30 hectares of forest at a density of 120 acetaminophen baits per hectare within 15 minutes of fi ring time. We conducted the first in situ evaluation of the ADM in July 2016. Initial acetaminophen bait deployment rates (proper opening of the bait cartridge for canopy entanglement) were low, and mechanism jams were frequent due to internal friction and wind forces; on-site remedial engineering improved these performance measures. Bait cartridge placement and spacing were accurate (average 8.9 m along 9 m swaths) under various flight heights and speeds. Canopy entanglement of properly-deployed acetaminophen baits was high (66.6%). Although only a small proportion (5.9%) of radio transmitter-equipped acetaminophen baits were confirmed to have been taken by brown treesnakes, the baiting density was high enough to make it likely that a significant proportion of brown treesnakes in the area had taken acetaminophen baits. With subsequent improvements in system reliability, the automated bait cartridge manufacturing and delivery system is poised to transition from research and development to operational field implementation. Applications include reduction of brown treesnake numbers around transportation infrastructure and within core habitats for the reintroduction of native birds extirpated by this troublesome invasive predator.
Feral hog disturbance alters carbon dynamics in Southeastern US salt marshes
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Angelini, Christine

,

Persico, Emily P.

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Sharp, Sean J

2017
Disturbances that remove primary producers and alter substrate chemistry commonly influence ecosystem carbon dynamics. Because coastal wetlands are especially effective in sequestering carbon, quantifying how disturbances may alter their ability to perform this climate-regulating function is important for assessing their carbon storage potential. Here, we quantified soil respiration, litter decomposition, and soil organic carbon (SOC), as a proxy for carbon storage, in areas disturbed by invasive feral hogs Sus scrofa and in adjacent, undisturbed areas within 3 southeastern US salt marshes. Contrary to our hypothesis that hog overturning of soils would stimulate soil respiration, this metric was lower and both surface and subsurface litter decomposition rates were similar in disturbed relative to undisturbed areas across all sites. SOC was lower in disturbed versus undisturbed areas at 2 sites as hypothesized, but higher at 1 site. Surveys and analyses reveal that lower and less variable infauna, plant, and benthic algae densities likely suppressed soil respiration in hog-disturbed versus undisturbed areas, while the offsetting effects of lower invertebrate densities and higher soil temperature likely caused decomposition to be consistent within and outside of disturbed areas. . These findings suggest that hog removal of plants and disruption of soils can cause tracts of marsh to transition from carbon sinks to sources where these disturbances are intense enough to prohibit rapid plant recovery and promote the gradual respiration of carbon stocks from denuded soils.
Potential economic damage from introduction of Brown Tree Snakes, Boiga Irregularis (Reptilia: Colubridae), to the Islands of Hawaii
BRB

Gebhardt, Karen

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Kirkpatrick, Katy N.

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Shwiff, Stephanie A.

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Shwiff, Steven S.

2010
The Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis) has caused ecological and economic damage to Guam, and the snake has the potential to colonize other islands in the Paci c Ocean. This study quanti es the potential economic damage if the snake were translocated, established in the state of Hawai‘i, and causing damage at levels similar to those on Guam. Damages modeled included costs of medical treatments due to snakebites, snake-caused power outages, and decreased tourism resulting from effects of the snake. Damage caused by presence of the Brown Tree Snake on Guam was used as a guide to estimate potential economic damage to Hawai‘i from both medical- and power outage–related damage. To predict tourism impact, a survey was administered to Hawaiian tourists that identi ed tourist responses to potential effects of the Brown Tree Snake. These results were then used in an input-output model to predict damage to the state economy. Summing these damages resulted in an estimated total potential annual damage to Hawai‘i of between $593 million and $2.14 billion. This economic analysis provides a range of potential damages that policy makers can use in evaluation of future prevention and control programs.