1
|
Innes JG, Norbury G, Samaniego A, Walker S, Wilson DJ. Rodent management in Aotearoa New Zealand: approaches and challenges to landscape-scale control. Integr Zool 2024; 19:8-26. [PMID: 36920845 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
Aotearoa-New Zealand has only four rodent species, all introduced. In order of arrival, they are Pacific rat Rattus exulans, brown rat R. norvegicus, house mouse Mus musculus, and black rat R. rattus. Rodent management in New Zealand aims mainly to conserve indigenous biodiversity rather than to protect crops or manage diseases, as is usual elsewhere. We describe four major "regimes" and one major vision for rodent control in New Zealand to meet ecological restoration objectives. Current challenges for island eradications are for large islands that are remote or populated by people. Aerial 1080 is the only large-scale (tens of thousands of hectares) option for black rat control, but its application requires adjustment to counter subsequent rapid black rat repopulation. Unfenced "ecosanctuaries" (mean 720 ha) use ground-based traps and poisons to target mainly black rats and face constant reinvasion. Ecosanctuaries with mammal-resistant fences (up to 3500 ha) limit reinvasion and target more pest species and have enabled the return of previously extirpated taxa to the main islands. Predator Free 2050 aims to eradicate the rat species (but not mice) plus some other introduced mammals from New Zealand by 2050. This vision is not attainable with current tools, but research and experimental management is exploring techniques and technologies. The large scale (to 100 000 ha) at which black rats are now targeted for control to extremely low abundance seems to be unique to New Zealand.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John G Innes
- Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Grant Norbury
- Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, Alexandra, New Zealand
| | | | - Susan Walker
- Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Fenouillas P, Ah-Peng C, Amy E, Bracco I, Calichiama L, Cazal E, Gosset M, Ingrassia F, Lavergne C, Lequette B, Notter JC, Pausé JM, Payet G, Payet N, Picot F, Prolhac E, Strasberg D, Thomas H, Triolo J, Turquet V, Rouget M. A research-action process to implement priority areas for alien plant clearing on Reunion Island. Biol Invasions 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02971-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
|
3
|
Vizentin-Bugoni J, Sperry JH, Kelley JP, Foster JT, Drake DR, Case SB, Gleditsch JM, Hruska AM, Wilcox RC, Tarwater CE. Mechanisms underlying interaction frequencies and robustness in a novel seed dispersal network: lessons for restoration. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221490. [PMID: 36100025 PMCID: PMC9470274 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
As human-caused extinctions and invasions accumulate across the planet, understanding the processes governing ecological functions mediated by species interactions, and anticipating the effect of species loss on such functions become increasingly urgent. In seed dispersal networks, the mechanisms that influence interaction frequencies may also influence the capacity of a species to switch to alternative partners (rewiring), influencing network robustness. Studying seed dispersal interactions in novel ecosystems on O'ahu island, Hawai'i, we test whether the same mechanisms defining interaction frequencies can regulate rewiring and increase network robustness to simulated species extinctions. We found that spatial and temporal overlaps were the primary mechanisms underlying interaction frequencies, and the loss of the more connected species affected networks to a greater extent. Further, rewiring increased network robustness, and morphological matching and spatial and temporal overlaps between partners were more influential on network robustness than species abundances. We argue that to achieve self-sustaining ecosystems, restoration initiatives can consider optimal morphological matching and spatial and temporal overlaps between consumers and resources to maximize chances of native plant dispersal. Specifically, restoration initiatives may benefit from replacing invasive species with native species possessing characteristics that promote frequent interactions and increase the probability of rewiring (such as long fruiting periods, small seeds and broad distributions).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeferson Vizentin-Bugoni
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Avenue Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 91501-970, Brazil
- US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research Development Center, 2902 Newmark Dr, Champaign, IL 61826, USA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1102 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Jinelle H. Sperry
- US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research Development Center, 2902 Newmark Dr, Champaign, IL 61826, USA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1102 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - J. Patrick Kelley
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Jeffrey T. Foster
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
| | - Donald R. Drake
- School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Samuel B. Case
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Jason M. Gleditsch
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1102 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Integrative Ecology Laboratory, Center for Biodiversity, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Amy M. Hruska
- Department of Botany, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA
| | - Rebecca C. Wilcox
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Corey E. Tarwater
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| |
Collapse
|