Following the incursion of rats (Rattus rattus) on Taukihepa (Big South Cape Island; 93.9 km²) off southern New Zealand in 1963, and the subsequent extirpation of several endemic species, the New Zealand Wildlife Service realised that, contrary to general belief at the time, introduced predators do not reach a natural balance with native species and that a safe breeding habitat for an increasing number of at risk species was urgently needed.
Rat eradication is a highly effective tool for conserving biodiversity, but one that requires considerable planning eff ort, a high level of precision during implementation and carries no guarantee of success. Overall, rates of success are generally high but lower for tropical islands where most biodiversity is at risk. We completed a qualitative comparative review on four successful and four unsuccessful tropical rat eradication projects to better understand the factors influencing the success of tropical rat eradications and shed light on how the risk of future failures can be minimised.
The Baja California Pacifc Islands, Mexico, are globally important breeding sites for 22 seabird species and subspecies. In the past, several populations were extirpated or reduced due to invasive mammals, human disturbance, and contaminants. Over the past two decades, we have removed invasive predators and, for the last decade, we have been implementing a Seabird Restoration Programme on eight groups of islands: Coronado, Todos Santos, San Martín, San Jerónimo, San Benito, Natividad, San Roque, and Asunción.
Considerable bene?ts can be achieved for indigenous biodiversity when invasive vertebrates are removed from islands. In New Zealand, two logistically challenging eradications were undertaken, one to remove cats (Felis catus) and the other Paci?c rats (Rattus exulans) from Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island (Hauturu). Here we document the short- and long-term impacts of these interventions on the biodiversity of Hauturu. We also assess the extent to which predicted outcomes were re?ected in the measured responses for a wide range of species.
Who are we? UN Environments specialist biodiversity assessment centre, based in Cambridge, UK
Available online|Powerpoint presentation
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 16 p
The Pacific region has benefited from a number of regional and national programmes to both assess the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and develop programmes to adapt to climate change. Such programmes are critical considering that the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1/ states that the Pacific region has already experienced temperature increases of as much as 1°C since 1910.
Climate change is a major threat to global biodiversity. From the tropics to the Poles, the worlds ecosystems are all under pressure. A study published in the scientific journal Nature posited that 15 to 37% of terrestrial animal and plant species could be at risk of extinction because of human-induced impacts on climate (Thomas et al., 2004). Scattered across the four corners of the Earth, European Union overseas entities, are home to a biological diversity that is as rich as it is vulnerable.
Tongas marine ecosystems are worth at least TOP 47 million per year, exceeding the countrys total export value. We are strongly committed to sustaining these values to build an equitable and prosperous blue economy.
Available online
Call Number: [EL],363.94 MAR
ISBN/ISSN: 978 82 7701 174 5
Physical Description: 84 p
This report presents the results of a twelve day survey expedition (5 to 16 December, 2004) and represents the first ever systematic effort to document the marine biodiversity of the Great Sea Reef (GSR), locally known as Cakaulevu, to the north of Vanua Levu in the Fiji Archipelago. 23 sites were surveyed over 6 major habitat types: outer barrier reefs, back barrier reefs, channels, mangrove island fringing reefs, rocky island fringing reef and submerged patch reefs.
Kept in vertical file collection|Also available electronically
Call Number: VF 6834 [EL]
Development of conceptual models is an important step in the design of the Inventory and Monitoring Program. Conceptual models provide a framework for clarifying meaningful
Williamson and Sabath (1982) have demonstrated a significant relationship between modern population size and environment by examining atoll area and rainfall in the Marshall Islands. The present work seeks to extend that argument into prehistory by examining the relationship of ancient habitation sites and size of aroid pit agricultural systems to atoll land area and rainfall regime along the 1,500-3,500 mm precipitation gradient in the Marshall Islands.
Henderson island, a World Heritage Site in the Pitcairn group, south-central Pacific Ocean, has often been thought to have a pristine vegetation. Our archaeological investigations and field observations in 1991-1992, supported by recent observations in
1997, suggest the occurrence of former areas of Polynesian cultivation near to the North and East Beaches, and indicate that about 17 non-native vascular plant taxa have occurred.
French Polynesian Decapoda, restricted to shrimps, and Stomatopuda are inventoried from literature and unpublished fields collections. Number of species is 205 for the shrimps and 26 for the Stomatopoda. Within the shrimps, Caridea dominate with 170 species, mainly Alpheidae (57 species), Palaemonidae (46 species), and Pandalidae (29 species). Full literature and distribution in French Polynesia are indicated for each species.
The study of dispersal processes of small mammals, and especially of rodents, has a wide range of applications and until recent years there were few publications discussing the
colonisation of 'oceanic' islands by small mammals (cf. Crowell, 1986; Diamond, 1987; Hanski, 1986;Heany, 1986; Lomolino, 1986).
What are the decapod crustacea known from French Polynesia? The answer to this, apparently simple question, would be very helpful for determinating the species collected during ecological studies. Moreover, from a biogeographical point of view, a check list of the species reaching this area, at the eastern limit of the Indo-West Pacific province, would be very interesting.
The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply
the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
A contribution to the global invasive species programme
Call Number: 628.16 CLA [EL],SPE
ISBN/ISSN: 2-8317-0548-7
Physical Description: xvi, 138 p. ; 29 cm
CEPA Environment Permit Application Form to Discharge Waste Schedule and Additional Information Schedule 2.
Solomon Islands is composed of almost 1000 islands and has the second longest coastline and the second largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Pacific. These physical characteristics and the unique society and culture of the population are the basis of the fundamental relationship that Solomon Islanders have with the ocean. The Marine Atlas for the Solomon Islands compiles over a hundred datasets from countless data providers and for the first time makes marine and coastal information accessible and usable as data layers and as raw data.
The Tonga State of the Environment 2018 report has been developed to answer three key questions related
to the environment of Tonga, and is based on seven thematic areas:
• What is the current condition of the Tongan environment?
• What are the risks the Tongan environment faces and what measures have been put forward to minimise them? This could provide lessons for Tonga.
• Where is the environment of Tonga headed based on the assessed thematic areas?
This dataset shows the areas of biological significance (ABS) on Pohnpei. The original dataset was created by The Nature Conservancy. A subset to show only Pohnpei was created by the Island Research & Education Initiative (iREi). These data are intended to capture those areas that represent the wide range of biodiversity features in the marine and terrestial areas of FSM. They are used to guide conservation planning and projects in FSM, and ultimately to help establish conservation areas. Polygons capturing expert knowledge from FSM Blueprint project.