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The Orkney Islands, o? the north-east coast of Scotland, support highly significant?cant cultural and natural heritage. The combined land area of the 70 islands is 990 km2 (380 sq mi),

A non-native introduced population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) was targeted for removal from Desecheo Island (117 ha), Puerto Rico. Macaques were introduced in 1966 and contributed to several plant and animal extirpations. Since their release, three eradication campaigns were unsuccessful at removing the population; a fourth campaign that addressed potential causes for previous failures was declared successful in 2017. Key attributes that led to the success of this campaign included a robust partnership, adequate funding, and skilled ?eld sta? with a strong eradication ethic that followed a plan based on eradication theory. Furthermore, the incorporation of modern technology including strategic use of remote camera traps, monitoring of radio-collared Judas animals, night hunting with night vision and thermal ri?e scopes, and the use of high-power semi-automatic ? rearms made eradication feasible due to an increase in the probability of detection and likelihood of removal. Precision shooting and trapping were the primary methods used throughout the campaign. Long-term monitoring using camera traps and observed sign guided a management strategy that adapted over time in response to population density and structure. Lessons learnt include, 1) macaques quickly adjusted their behaviour in response to human presence and removal methods, 2) camera traps and thermal scopes provided high detection likelihood compared to other methods, and 3) the use of Judas animals and night hunting with thermal and night vision ri?e-scopes facilitated removals. The removal of macaques from Desecheo Island appears to be the ?rst introduced non-hominid primate eradication from an island.

Invasive rodent eradications are one of the most effective conservation interventions to restore island ecosystems. However, achievements in the tropics are lagging behind those in temperate regions. Land crab interference in bait uptake has been identified as one of the main causes of rodent eradication failure on tropical islands, but the issue of effective mitigation of bait loss due to land crab consumption is poorly understood. For example, there are over 100 species of land crab and each may behave differently. We reviewed the available literature to answer: (1) which crab species are the most problematic? (2) what mitigation measures have been effective? and (3) how do invasive rodents impact land crab communities? We analysed a systematic dataset from six tropical islands to test two hypotheses: (a) bait uptake is highest when burrowing (Brachyura) land crabs are present; and (b) small land crabs (including juveniles of the larger species) are highly vulnerable to rodent predation. We found that large species (e.g. genera Cardisoma, Johngarthia and Birgus) are the most problematic during rodent eradications. Effective mitigation measures to prevent bait loss include using higher bait application rates and conducting eradications during the driest months. Land crab communities tend to go through significant changes after rodent removal. From our analyses, we confirmed pre-eradication data are valuable for eradication planning, as seasonality and type of crab can influence outcomes. Post- eradication data confirmed small crab species (

Efforts to remove invasive rodents (e.g. Rattus spp. and Mus musculus) from islands often use toxicant-laced baits containing the anticoagulants brodifacoum or diphacinone. Rodenticide baits are generally delivered through aerial- or hand-broadcast, or in bait stations. These baits are not rodent-species and are subject to non-target consumption or secondary exposure (e.g. an individual preying upon another individual that has consumed bait). During rodenticide applications, it is generally unknown which animals are visiting and consuming bait; and to quantify this, we recommend using trail cameras (e.g. Reconyx™ motion-activated infra-red) positioned to monitor individual bait pellets. To demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of using trail cameras during such operations, we report results of target (Rattus rattus, black rat) and non-target (native land crab, lizard, insect) bait-interactions after an aerial-broadcast of Brodifacoum-25D Conservation to eradicate rats from Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. During the ?rst ?ve days following bait application, trail cameras (n = 15) revealed that there were 40 incidences of animals contacting bait pellets: 50% rat, 32% hermit crab, 13% Ameiva lizard, and 5% insect. Trail cameras provide temporal and spatial information regarding the e?ectiveness of rodent removal, and the last rat pictured by trail cameras on Desecheo was six days after bait application began. Trail cameras revealed 30 incidences of animals contacting bait pellets 6–20 days after bait application began: 47% hermit crab, 37% Ameiva lizard, 13% insect, and 3% black crab. Despite viewing ~69,000 images from trail cameras, lizards were never pictured consuming bait on Desecheo; therefore, any brodifacoum exposure to Desecheo lizards likely occurred via secondary pathways (e.g. consumption of contaminated insects). Scaling up, we estimate that > 75% of the total bait distributed on Desecheo was not consumed by rats. Trail cameras help inform the hazards of rodenticide use and can be easily incorporated into rodent removal operations.

Support for Pacific stance at Bonn climate round.

The careful release protocols presented here describe the tools and techniques for safely removing fishing gear from incidentally captured sea turtles (Plate C-1) and other bycatch species.

The British Ecological Society is the largest ecological society in Europe, in terms of our membership and the wide range of services and activities we provide.

Over the last decade, marine spatial planning (MSP) has become an increasingly accepted approach to achieve multiple objectives for ocean management.

Tropical coral reefs currently face an unprecedented restructuring since their ex-tant form and function emerged ~24 million years ago in the early Neogene.

Coral reefs underpin a range of ecosystem goods and services that contribute to the well-being of millions of people