Density-impact functions for terrestrial vertebrate pests and indigenous biota: Guidelines for conservation managers

Norbury, Grant; Pech, Roger P.; Byrom, Andrea E.; Innes, John

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2015.07.031

Cited by 69 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…3. Research is required to ascertain the level to which pest mammal densities must be reduced to allow particular lizard species to recover in different habitat types on the mainland (see Norbury et al 2015 for a review of pest density-impact functions). Mainland species and habitats that are most at risk from development should be the focus of this research.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in lizard translocations in New Zealand between 1988 and 2013

Romijn

Hartley

2016

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is growing concern about mitigation-driven translocations that move animals from anthropogenic threats at donor sites because of their failure rate and lack of application of scientific principles and best practice. We reviewed all known lizard translocations in New Zealand between 1988 and 2013 and identified 85 translocations of 30 lizard taxa to 46 release sites. Most translocations (62%) were motivated by conservation goals for the species or the release site, and one-third were mitigationdriven translocations, typically motivated by habitat loss due to development. Mitigation-driven translocations began in 2003, and since that time have equalled the number of conservationmotivated translocations. Conservation-motivated translocations usually released lizards on islands without mammalian predators, whereas mitigation-driven translocations usually relocated lizards to mainland sites with introduced predators. Long-term monitoring has been sparse and often rudimentary. Eight lizard translocations have recorded population growth, including one mitigation-driven translocation that was into a fenced reserve. Research on commonly used management techniques to mitigate human-related impacts is recommended to establish whether these techniques benefit lizards in the long term. ARTICLE HISTORY

show abstract

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in lizard translocations in New Zealand between 1988 and 2013

Romijn

Hartley

2016

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It requires some understanding of the pest-asset relationship and how it may change in time and space so that target densities or conditions can be set for either the pests or assets, especially when the relationships are non-linear (Nugent et al 2001;Norbury et al 2015), vary between sites (Holland et al 2016), or are affected by extrinsic events such as rainfall (Choquenot & Parkes 2001). Setting target densities for pests allows planned intervention to be applied depending on the initial population reduction and the rate at which the target population recovers (Choquenot & Parkes 2001).…”

Section: Management Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Past, present and two potential futures for managing New Zealand’s mammalian pests

Parkes¹,

Nugent

Forsyth

et al. 2017

NZ J Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:In 2003, a review of how introduced mammals were managed as pests in New Zealand was published. Since then trends for the control of these mammals include moves from pest-by-pest prioritisation towards site-based and multiple-pest management, extension of large-scale aerial control of predators to include beech forests, increasing intensive management of sites by private and non-government agencies, and increasing effort by regional councils and managers of vectors of bovine tuberculosis. The current deployment is the sum of largely independent decisions made by different agencies and individuals with different priorities. National agencies might optimise their own decisions, but overall deployment will always be nationally suboptimal when objectives are set at regional or local scales. This system includes both small areas where most of the mammals present are managed intensively and large areas where fewer species are managed. We discuss how this deployment might evolve as a network of smaller core areas aiming to achieve zero or low densities of all or most pests, with surrounding halos with lesser control effort against fewer species, enough to allow for at least 'safe passage' of native animals between the cores. This system might work best along the more-or-less contiguous native habitats along the axial ranges of the North and South Islands, especially if agencies with a national mandate are prepared to act in the extensive areas between core sites. Some have asked whether the successful eradication of mammals on small islands can be scaled up to the main islands of New Zealand. The current version of this predator-free model aims at the ubiquitous ship rat, brushtail possum and stoat. A key need for the predator-free model is a tool that kills 100% of each of the three main target species, ideally with one large-scale, socially-acceptable application. Without this tool the cost to find and kill survivors would raise the costs of national eradication to about $32 billion, assuming current costs of multiple-species eradications on islands. For sustained control options, research is needed to inform the frequency and intensity of control, and thus the best control tools. The ability to detect target pests at low densities and management of reinvasion are essential for achieving zero or low pest density goals. We suggest that the core/halo model of pest management, within a network of assets to be protected, will best protect New Zealand's biodiversity for the foreseeable future. The national scale pest-or predator-free aspiration is not currently (and may never be) feasible and risks diverting resources from more optimal solutions, as occurred with the 'last rabbit' and 'last deer' programmes promoted last century.

show abstract

“…Efforts to reverse the spread of invasive mammals have become more rigorously designed and implemented, achieving eradications of, for example, rats, mice, cats and rabbits on islands of increasingly large size (Barun, Hanson, Campbell, & Simberloff, 2011;Bester et al, 2002;Kessler, 2011). Where eradication is not feasible, the management objective is suppressing numbers to near-zero density, or to densities sufficiently low to allow the recovery of affected native species (Norbury, Pech, Byrom, & Innes, 2015); as with red foxes and feral cats in Australia (Moseby & Hill, 2011); stoats in New Zealand (Veale, Clout, & Gleeson, 2011). However, management interventions focused on control must contend with compensatory recolonisation through dispersal from adjoining uncontrolled areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological traps for large‐scale invasive species control: Predicting settling rules by recolonising American mink post‐culling

Melero

Cornulier

Oliver

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Management programmes seeking to reduce the density of invasive species must overcome compensatory processes, such as recolonisation by dispersers from non‐ or partially controlled areas. However, the scale and drivers of dispersal in such contexts are poorly known. We investigated the dispersal patterns of American mink re‐invading 20,000 km2 of their non‐native range during a culling programme led by citizen conservationists. Using multinomial models, we estimated the contributions of density dependence, proxies for patch quality and distance from the natal patch on mink settlement. Seventy‐seven per cent of mink dispersed and settled in non‐natal patches. Dispersal distances were large with settlement probabilities only reduced by half at c. 60 km, and 20% of mink dispersing >80 km. Females were more attracted to high‐quality patches, mostly found at low altitudes. Males favoured patches with intermediate current densities and consistently high quality. Synthesis and applications. We predicted post‐culling recolonisation by a non‐native mobile carnivore over a large spatial scale by using information on relative densities obtained during management interventions, largely carried out by citizen conservationists. This was possible through continued monitoring of the area designed to feed into the adaptive management process of the control project. High mink mobility dictates management should take place on very large spatial scales to minimise re‐invasion from uncontrolled areas. Our research shows both males and females are attracted to patches with previously consistent occupation, which provides a degree of predictability to patterns of recolonisation. Targeting control to patches that are attractive to immigrant mink requires knowledge of current mink density. Creating so‐called ecological traps in the face of ongoing immigration from peripheral areas provides a promising tool to effectively control mobile invasive species.

show abstract

Density-impact functions for terrestrial vertebrate pests and indigenous biota: Guidelines for conservation managers

Cited by 69 publications

References 69 publications

Trends in lizard translocations in New Zealand between 1988 and 2013

Trends in lizard translocations in New Zealand between 1988 and 2013

Past, present and two potential futures for managing New Zealand’s mammalian pests

Ecological traps for large‐scale invasive species control: Predicting settling rules by recolonising American mink post‐culling

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About