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A Wandering Albatross chick that has been attacked by invasive mice; photograph by Lucy Smyth
Dena R. Spatz (Pacific Rim Conservation, Honolulu, HI, USA) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Scientific Reports on the efficacy of global invasive species eradication programmes and their validity as a conservation tool.
The abstract as follows:
“Islands are global hotspots for biodiversity and extinction, representing ~ 5% of Earth’s land area alongside 40% of globally threatened vertebrates and 61% of global extinctions since the 1500s. Invasive species are the primary driver of native biodiversity loss on islands, though eradication of invasive species from islands has been effective at halting or reversing these trends. A global compendium of this conservation tool is essential for scaling best-practices and enabling innovations to maximize biodiversity outcomes. Here, we synthesize over 100 years of invasive vertebrate eradications from islands, comprising 1550 eradication attempts on 998 islands, with an 88% success rate. We show a significant growth in eradication activity since the 1980s, primarily driven by rodent eradications. The annual number of eradications on islands peaked in the mid-2000s, but the annual area treated continues to rise dramatically. This trend reflects increases in removal efficacy and project complexity, generating increased conservation gains. Our synthesis demonstrates the collective contribution of national interventions towards global biodiversity outcomes. Further investment in invasive vertebrate eradications from islands will expand biodiversity conservation while strengthening biodiversity resilience to climate change and creating co-benefits for human societies.”
REFERENCE
Spatz, D.R., Holmes, N.D., Will, D.J. et al. The global contribution of invasive vertebrate eradication as a key island restoration tool. Sci Rep 12, 13391 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14982-5
3 October 2022