Prospects for the eradication of rats from a large inhabited island: community based ecosystem studies on Great Barrier Island, New Zealand
2009
Ogden, John | Gilbert, Judy
Great Barrier Island (c. 27,400 ha) is the largest off-shore Island in New Zealand. Some of the most serious introduced mammalian pests of New Zealand are absent, but feral cats and rodents are present. Community based trusts are spear-heading ecological studies to support conservation and a pest eradication programme. Rodent numbers are greatest in late summer/autumn and lowest in winter/early spring. Maximum abundances were recorded in riparian and coastal vegetation, and in mature forest. Monitoring shows that trapping alone is not able to reduce rat numbers sufficiently for safety in avian re-introductions. A combination of trapping and strategically pulsed toxin baits, however, achieved low levels of rats. Ecosystem recovery is demonstrated by increases in key tree seedlings, large invertebrates and lizards in managed compared to unmanaged areas, and by the survivorship of translocated robins (Petroica longipes). The Great Barrier Island Charitable Trust is communicating these benefits, and associated risks, to the Island community, with a view to promoting pest eradication as a key component in an ecology-based economy, centred on eco-tourism.
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