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Stable isotope analysis as an early monitoring tool for Community-scale effects of rat eradication

Available Online

Egmann, Alex S.

Fisher, Robert N.

Hathaway, Stacie A

Katherine M Nigro

Kuile, Ana Miller-ter

Young, Hillary S

Invasive rats have colonized most of the islands of the world, resulting in strong negative impacts on native biodiversity and on ecosystem functions. As prolific omnivores, invasive rats can cause local extirpation of a wide range of native species, with cascading consequences that can reshape communities and ecosystems. Eradication of rats on islands is now becoming a widespread approach to restore ecosystems, and many native island species showstrong numerical responses to rat eradication. However, the effect of rat eradication on other consumers can extend beyond direct numerical effects, to changes in behavior, dietary composition, and other ecological parameters. These behavioral and trophic effectsmay have strong cascading impacts on the ecology of restored ecosystems, but they have rarely been examined. In this study, we explore how rat eradication has affected the trophic ecology of native land crab communities. Using stable isotope analysis of rats and crabs, we demonstrate that the diet or trophic position of most crabs changed subsequent to rat eradication. Combined with the numerical recovery of two carnivorous land crab species (Geograpsus spp.), this led to a dramatic widening of the crab trophic niche following rat eradication. Given the established importance of land crabs in structuring island communities, particularly plants, this suggests an unappreciated mechanism by which rat eradication may alter island ecology. This study also demonstrates the potential for stable isotope analysis as a complementary monitoring tool to traditional techniques, with the potential to provide more nuanced assessments of the community- and ecosystem-wide effects of restoration.

Norfolk Island: Protecting an Ocean Jewel

Booth, Dr Carol

This report was prepared to highlight the considerable conservation values of the Norfolk Island group and the importance of rigorous biosecurity to prevent the establishment of new invasive species and to limit harm from existing invaders. We describe the existing and potential arrangements for biosecurity and make recommendations for building a more robust biosecurity system.

Feral Pig trapping in New Caledonia

PDF file in French that has links to feral pig trapping in New Caledonia; direct access to leaflets on rope snare trap, folding cage trap and 15-minute video

new caledonia

Feral hog disturbance alters carbon dynamics in Southeastern US salt marshes

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Angelini, Christine

Persico, Emily P.

Sharp, Sean J

Disturbances that remove primary producers and alter substrate chemistry commonly influence ecosystem carbon dynamics. Because coastal wetlands are especially effective in sequestering carbon, quantifying how disturbances may alter their ability to perform this climate-regulating function is important for assessing their carbon storage potential. Here, we quantified soil respiration, litter decomposition, and soil organic carbon (SOC), as a proxy for carbon storage, in areas disturbed by invasive feral hogs Sus scrofa and in adjacent, undisturbed areas within 3 southeastern US salt marshes. Contrary to our hypothesis that hog overturning of soils would stimulate soil respiration, this metric was lower and both surface and subsurface litter decomposition rates were similar in disturbed relative to undisturbed areas across all sites. SOC was lower in disturbed versus undisturbed areas at 2 sites as hypothesized, but higher at 1 site. Surveys and analyses reveal that lower and less variable infauna, plant, and benthic algae densities likely suppressed soil respiration in hog-disturbed versus undisturbed areas, while the offsetting effects of lower invertebrate densities and higher soil temperature likely caused decomposition to be consistent within and outside of disturbed areas. . These findings suggest that hog removal of plants and disruption of soils can cause tracts of marsh to transition from carbon sinks to sources where these disturbances are intense enough to prohibit rapid plant recovery and promote the gradual respiration of carbon stocks from denuded soils.

Vanuatu ecosystem and socio-economic resilience analysis and mapping (ESRAM)

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Buckwell, Andrew

Connolly, Rod

Fleming, Christopher M.V.

Hallgren, Willow

Mackey, Brendan

Nalau, Joanna

Sahin, Oz

Smart, James C.R.

Ware, Daniel

Ecosystem and Socio-economic Resilience Analysis and Mapping (ESRAM) is the first stage of PEBACC. This report presents the results of the ESRAM undertaken by Griffith University for the Republic of Vanuatu (hereafter Vanuatu) and Tanna Island (heareafter Tanna).

Greater Port Vila : social mapping and analysis of ecosystem use

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Aimee, Komugabe-Dixson

Alexei, Trundle

McEvoy, Darryn

de Ville, Naomi

This technical summary document reports on the findings from the first phase of ESRAM activity that was conducted in Greater Port Vila between January and June 2016. Whilst it was understood at the outset that both climate and non-climate drivers would be important influences on ecosystem quality (and the services they provide), local engagement through household surveys and community workshops also uncovered substantial detail on the range of contemporary issues facing these communities: urban development, pollution, access to water, overharvesting and poor management of resources, sand mining, and climate impacts (including ongoing recovery from Tropical Cyclone Pam, March 2015). It is clear that the ecosystem and socio-economic resilience challenges for these urban and peri-urban communities are already considerable but will be further amplified by continued urbanisation and future climate change in the years to come.

Ecosystems, climate change and development scenarios, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Climate Change Resilience, Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Archie, Kelli M

Blaschke, Paul M.

Gual, Carles Martinez-Almoyna

Jackson, Bethanna

Komugabe-Dixson, Aimee

Livesey, Chris

Loubser, Dave

Maxwell, Deb

Rastandeh, Amin

Renwick, James

Weaver, Sean

Zari, Maibritt Pedersen

The current study continues the PEBACC project in Vanuatu. It builds on an earlier PEBACC study that undertook a baseline ecosystem and socio-economic resilience analysis and mapping appraisal of the Port Vila Metropolitan area. The methodology approach adopted provided for mainly desk-top review work, supplemented by four key workshops (including one in Port Vila), interviews with Port Vila stakeholders, and brief field inspection in Port Vila.

Mid-term evaluation of the EU 10th EDF Pacific hazardous waste management programme and Appendix 1: Terms of reference.

Available Online

Clark, Tom

Gklekas, Ionnis P

The EU Delegation for the Pacific based in Fiji commissioned Consortium Safege to perform a mid-term evaluation of the PacWaste Project (the Project).

Grow the Fiji we deserve. Wakatu, Taveuni.

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.

This booklet is part of the Wakatu Fiji campaign which was launched to encourage and empower people to better care for the land and sea that has taken care of us.

Disappearing jewels: an urgent need for conservation of Fiji's partulid tree snail fauna

Brodie, Gilianne ... et al.

Where conservation status of island non-marine molluscs is known, snails tend to be one of the most threatened faunal groups. However, published information regarding island gastropod conservation status, diversity and endemism is frequently unavailable despite the importance of this information for the formulation of biodiversity action plans and conservation strategy. Fiji, for example, has a diverse native land snail fauna (.240 species) with an endemism level of ,80%, but only within the last few years has any information about any of these species been available to the national biodiversity reporting repository. For one lineage in particular, members of the tree snail family Partulidae, with four endemic Fiji Island species, the conservation status of the group has never been assessed. However, based on the alarming extinction rates documented in partulid snail species on other Pacific Islands, information about the occurrence and status of these taxa is urgently needed for Fijis biodiversity action plan. To redress this information void, we formulated the Fijian Partulid Tree Snail Project, consisting of five components: (1) raising awareness; (2) locating populations and monitoring population trends; (3) elucidating patterns of genetic diversity; (4) creating action partnerships; and (5) conducting disturbance gradient analyses. The overall goal was to characterise mechanisms leading to persistence of partulids in the face of increasing anthropogenic disturbance. In the initial stages of this project, existing information on Fijis partulids was collated and two small, remote islands in the Fiji archipelago were surveyed to investigate whether tree snails persisted there. Living populations of Partula lanceolata and empty shells of Partula leefei were found on Cicia Island in Lau, and on Rotuma Island in the Rotuma Group, respectively. DNA analyses confirm a sister relationship between the two Partula species in north-eastern Lau, P. lirata and P. lanceolata, with both sharing a sister relationship with a member of the same genus in Vanuatu P. auraniana Hartman, 1888. Prioritisation and further sampling of additional islands, and residual native habitat on less accessible islands and islets, is needed to fully assess the conservation status of all four Fijian species via the IUCN Red List process. Moreover, the basic descriptive information and associated studies reported here will serve to raise awareness of Fijis endemic tree snails particularly in communities that had no prior knowledge of their special conservation status; and also at a wider national, regional and global level. Community awareness is particularly vital as the willing support of land owners in the relevant small island communities is critical to implementing any future conservation action plans.

fiji

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