Fifty years of rodent eradications in New Zealand: another decade of advances

Russell, James C.; Broome, Keith

doi:10.20417/nzjecol.40.22

Cited by 88 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The groups may face systematic removal (or control) of multiple species, which requires planning, logistics, technical requirements, and funds-elements that are acknowledged as a challenge for professional managers [36], and are potentially beyond most community groups working independently of other stakeholders [37,38]. For example, the eradication of rats from large islands involves the aerial spread of rodenticide using helicopters equipped with sophisticated Global Positioning Systems [39]. In New Zealand, there are restrictions on who can use the rodenticide, and many safety requirements must be met while the products are loaded and spread.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Community-Conservation Conundrum: Is Citizen Science the Answer?

Galbraith

Bollard-Breen

Towns

2016

Land

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Public participation theory assumes that empowering communities leads to enduring support for new initiatives. The New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, approved in 2000, embraces this assumption and includes goals for community involvement in resolving threats to native flora and fauna. Over the last 20 years, community-based ecological restoration groups have proliferated, with between 600 and 4000 identified. Many of these groups control invasive mammals, and often include protection of native species and species reintroductions as goals. Such activities involve the groups in "wicked" problems with uncertain biological and social outcomes, plus technical challenges for implementing and measuring results. The solution might be to develop a citizen science approach, although this requires institutional support. We conducted a web-based audit of 50 community groups participating in ecological restoration projects in northern New Zealand. We found great variation in the quality of information provided by the groups, with none identifying strategic milestones and progress towards them. We concluded that, at best, many group members are accidental scientists rather than citizen scientists. Furthermore, the way community efforts are reflected in biodiversity responses is often unclear. The situation may be improved with a new approach to data gathering, training, and analyses.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Community-Conservation Conundrum: Is Citizen Science the Answer?

Galbraith

Bollard-Breen

Towns

2016

Land

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“…A wider range of effective methods and tools were developed including aerial application of bait and different rodenticides. These advancements have meant larger islands and more complex operations could be completed (Veitch & Bell 1990;Thomas & Taylor 2002;Towns & Broome 2003;Clout & Russell 2006;Russell & Broome 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The legacy of Big South Cape: rat irruption to rat eradication

Bell¹,

Bell²,

Merton³

2016

NZ J Ecol

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Big South Cape Island (Taukihepa) is a 1040 ha island, 1.5 km from the southwest coast of Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand. This island was rat-free until the incursion of ship rats (Rattus rattus) in, or shortly before, 1963, suspected to have been accidentally introduced via local fishing boats that moored at the island with ropes to the shore, and were used to transport the mutton birders to the island. This incursion was reported by the muttonbirders -local Iwi who harvest the young of titi (sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus) -to the then New Zealand Wildlife Service (via the New Zealand Department of Lands and Survey). Investigation into the reports found ship rats had reached the island and had decimated the local land bird populations. Brian Bell and Don Merton attempted some of the first translocations of South Island saddleback (Philesturnus c. carunculatus), Stewart Island snipe (Coenocorypha aucklandica iredalei) and Stead's bush wren (Xenicus longipes variabilis) with only the saddleback being successful. Extinctions of the snipe, wren and greater short-tailed bat (Mystacina robusta) were recorded. This was the first time rats were definitively recognised as the cause of extinction of native land birds and directed further debate into the impacts of rats and how to deal with them.

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“…It has transitioned over 30 years in New Zealand through stages of initial scepticism, to early accidental and experimental successes, and now to the current bold large-scale aerial applications over increasingly large and complex island ecosystems. Starting in the 1970s and 1980s, gaining momentum in the 1990s, and continuing to the present day, islands once occupied by rodents are now being reclaimed (Russell and Broome 2015). The tactical use of toxic bait to protect island populations of indigenous birds, reptiles, and invertebrates endangered by rats and mice continues to be refined to enable larger and more complex islands to be cleared of rodents.…”

Section: -2018mentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Trends in the Development of Rodenticides and Mammalian Pest Control Technologies

Eason¹,

Linklater²,

Jackson³

et al. 2018

vertebrate_pest_conference

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The history of discoveries in rodenticide development and control technology as well as current and future-focused research are explored. Traps and older poisons such as red squill, arsenic, and cyanide have been used for hundreds if not thousands of years. Between 1940 and 1980 there was a period of innovation with the discovery of new molecules, including acute toxins and slower acting anticoagulants. The period 1980 to 2018 has been a time for improved utilization of individual tools and research to retain registrations, develop new toxins and delivery systems, and explore non-lethal control options. However, despite these advances, decades old broad-spectrum toxins and traplines are still the mainstay of pest control. Technological leaps are needed to achieve much more precise, affordable, and socially acceptable pest control. The period 2018 to 2050 should be a time for accelerated innovation. There are exciting opportunities for transformational change based on the integration of existing and new tools, such as advances in automated species recognition systems, new self-resetting traps, and species-specific toxin-delivery systems. Over-reliance on 'silver bullet' technologies for small mammal pest control is the wrong approach to biodiversity conservation. This has been demonstrated through two decades of challenging research on viral vectored immunocontraception, and would apply if all pest control research focused on a single toxin, one new engineering-based technology, or on gene editing, which has potential, but will not be a panacea for all mammal pests. Balance is important, with research supporting the skill of pest control practitioners and supporting emerging technologies, as well as novel biocontrol or genetic research. There has been no focused research aimed at integrating a broad suite of new tools, and incorporating disruptive technologies from completely different fields. We believe that science and technology have now advanced such that automated, online, and real-time systems for monitoring and managing pests are achievable in the next decade.

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Fifty years of rodent eradications in New Zealand: another decade of advances

Cited by 88 publications

References 40 publications

The Community-Conservation Conundrum: Is Citizen Science the Answer?

The Community-Conservation Conundrum: Is Citizen Science the Answer?

The legacy of Big South Cape: rat irruption to rat eradication

Global Trends in the Development of Rodenticides and Mammalian Pest Control Technologies

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