This is the final assessment for the Takitumu Conservation Area as an Other Effective area-based Conservation Measure. It received endorsement at the TCA community meeting held on Tuesday 12th March 2024.
This is the presentation that the NES and the TCA Working Group used, to report back on our updates and the final OECM assessment form for the TCA
The world is facing a biodiversity crisis. Nowhere is that more apparent than on oceanic islands where invasive species are a major threat for island biodiversity. Rats are one of the most detrimental of these and have been the target of numerous eradication programmes; a well-established conservation tool for island systems.
The impacts of house mice (Mus musculus), one of four invasive rodent species in New Zealand, are only clearly revealed on islands and fenced sanctuaries without rats and other invasive predators which suppress mouse populations, influence their behaviour, and confound their impacts. When the sole invasive mammal on islands, mice can reach high densities and influence ecosystems in similar ways to rats.