Rats are invasive species in Tuvalu. Rattus rattus, or black rats, are rampaging through Tuvalu’s atolls and gnawing through the country’s chief export crop – coconuts. This dataset contains a brief introduction into a project that was implemented by a locally-recruited retired rodent management expert who showed coconut farmers how to dispose of the rats in an environmentally-friendly manner.
This NISSAP has been developed to identify invasive species and priority actions to address their threats on the environment, economy and livelihood of people.
A completion CEPF project report - The project was designed to address the threats posed by two invasive alien species Pacific Rat Rattus exulans and Yellow Crazy Ant Anoplolepis on the islands of Nu'utele and Nu'ulua.
Info-graphic poster on the identified invasive species in the country
Four islands of the Aleipata group: Fanuatapu islet; Namua island, Nu’ulua, and Nu’utele.The aim of the surveys was to survey the status of IAS on these four islands with a special focus on rats, YCA, pigs and weeds, and with a focus on the two larger islands, Nu’utele and Nu’ulua.
NeoBiota 30: 151-166: Research article. PFD
Map.
Booklet - 20 pages
Booklet
Pocket Guide. PDF
The Palmerston rat eradication program ran from August-September 2023. NZ Department of Conservation's Emmanuel Oyston, field team leader of the eradication, sent weekly updates on their progress - their updates are available here.
A team from Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research travelled to Rarotonga during July/August 2023 to carry out monitoring of biocontrols released in previous years. The team used drones to conduct monitoring surveillance for the invasive African Tulip tree species, using LiDAR and other imagery techniques.
This newsletter also provides an update on the control of the biocontrols.
This dataset holds three reports on invasive species in Micronesia. . The objectives were three-fold: * To identify species on the islands that are presently causing problems * To identify species that, even though they are not presently a major problem, could spread to other islands where they are not present, potentially causing problems * To look for invasive species known to cause problems in ecosystems similar to the islands visited.
The Jungle myna (Acridotheres fuscus) was first recorded in Upolu in 1965, followed by the Common myna (Acridotheres tristis) in 1988 (Watling, 2001). It is believed they were introduced to control livestock ticks and unexpectedly became an invasive species; over the past two decades their populations have increased dramatically.
This document provides information regarding issues surrounding the myna: why mynas are a problem and what methods are currently been implemented to control and/or eradicate mynas from cities, islands, and countries.
This is Volume I of the Regional Biosecurity Plan for Micronesia and Hawaii.
Citation:
United States Department of the Navy. 2015. Regional Biosecurity Plan for Micronesia and Hawaii, Volume I. Eds. University of Guam and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
Palau's National Invasive Species and Biosecurity Strategic Action Plan 2018-2022 describes goals, objectives, and actions for the National Invasive Species Committee (NISC) and associated members.
Late is an isolated and uninhabited island located about 55 km WSW of the island of Vava’u, in the Kingdom of Tonga. The biological integrity of Late is threatened by invasive Pacific rats that were historically introduced to the island. This report assesses the feasibility of restoring Late through the removal of invasive rats, and describes options, recommendations, and challenges to realizing a successful project.
Invasive species, particularly animals, are being eradicated from islands at ever more ambitious scales. In order to protect island biodiversity and the essential ecosystem functions that it provides, however, plant invasions should be given more management attention. While many advances have been made, plant eradication is inherently more difficult than animal eradication due to persistent seed banks, and eradication may not be possible for more extensive populations.
This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction
Since Elton highlighted the problem of biological invasions, numerous studies have established their importance in the structural evolution of natural communities, in particular insular communities. Because of their isolation, islands are regarded as natural evolution laboratories which are characteristically very fragile once the boundary is disturbed. This fragility is illustrated by the high proportion of species extinctions observed in islands: since 1600, more than 75% of monitored disappearances have been registered in islands.