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Tags / Keywords leatherback turtle
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Tags / Keywords invasive species control
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Trialling gene drives to control invasive species: what, where and how?

Available Online

Alphey, L.

Campbell, K.

Edgington, M.

Harvey-Samuel, T.

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

A socio-economic assessment of the Huon coast leatherback turtle nesting beach project.

Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Available Online

Kinch, J

he Western Pacific Regional Fisheries management council 1 (WPRFmc) currently funds several leatherback turtle recovery projects in the Western Pacific, whereby participating communities are paid to monitor beaches as opposed to harvesting eggs or turtles.

Comprehensive Desk-top Review of Biodiversity, Conservation and Invasive Species Information for the Kingdom of Tonga

Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Pagad. Shyama

Situated between Fiji to the west and Samoa to the northeast, the Kingdom of Tonga (referred to as Tonga) is comprised of 171 scattered islands of which less than 50 are inhabited. The islands are mainly composed of limestone formed from uplifted coral. Current critical environmental concerns have arisen due to deforestation; damage to coral reefs and the introduction and spread of invasive alien species. Anthropogenic pressure has resulted in extensive modification of all ecosystems on the limestone islands of this group. Only uninhabited and steep volcanic islands still support large tracts of forest.

Status and Genetic Structure of Nesting Populations of Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Western Pacific

Available Online

Ambio, Levi

Bakaressy, Jacob

Benson, Scott R.

Dutton, Peter H.

Hitipeuw, Creusa

Petro, George

Pita, John

Rei, Vagi

Zein, Mohammad

A group of researchers, managers and tribal leaders with extensive local knowledge from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua, Indonesia, provided new information on the status of leatherback nesting populations in the western Pacific Ocean. Twenty-eight nesting sites were identified, of which 21 were previously unknown or poorly described. Although data are still incomplete, we estimate a total of ca. 5000-9200 nests currently laid at 4 sites along the northwest coast (Bird's Head Peninsula) of Papua, Indonesia. Genetic analysis by using mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid sequences identified a total of 6 haplotypes among the 106 samples analysed for Solomon Islands, Papua and Papua New Guinea, including a unique common haplotype that is only found in these western Pacific populations. There was no significant difference in haplotype that is only found in these western Pacific populations. There was no significant difference in haplotype frequencies among these rookeries, which suggests that they represent a metapopulation composed of a single genetic rock. Further work is needed to define the demographic structure within this metapopulation.

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