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Operations to control Rusa deer and wild pig populations have been carried out in New Caledonia to limit the damage caused by these invasive alien species (IAS) to ecosystems, crops and water resources. The main aim of these actions was to protect the rainforests of the Central Mountain Range, whose environments are remarkable for thier exceptional biodiversity and their crucial role in maintaining essential ecosystem services, particularly those linked to the water cycle.

Innovative monitoring systems have been developed to measure the impact of the Rusa Deer on the undergrowth of New Caledonia rain forests and to assess the abundance of this invasive species in three priority areas of the territory. The development of these systems follows objectives that complement the professional control actions implemented within the PROTEGE framework. The monitoring aims to carry out an initial assessment and evaluate the benefits of the control operations, using tools tailored to action areas that are difficult to access and boast exceptional biodiversity. More than 80% of the plant species in high altitude rainforests are endemic to New Caledonia.

Des opérations de régulation des populations de Cerf Rusa et de Cochon ensauvagé ont été menées en Nouvelle-Calédonie pour limiter les dommages causés par ces espèces exotiques envahissantes (EEE) sur les écosystèmes, les cultures et la ressource en eau. Ces interventions avaient pour principal objectif la protection des forêts humides de la chaîne centrale, des milieux remarquables par leur biodiversité exceptionnelle et leur rôle crucial dans le maintien des services écosystémiques indispensables, notamment liés au cycle de l’eau. En parallèle, l’implication des tribus dans des démarches participatives, de chasse-régulation et de piégeage, visait à réduire les dégâts sur les zones de savanes périphériques aux massifs forestiers et sur les champs cultivés pour faciliter l’acceptation locale du projet et contribuer à l’effort global de régulation. Grâce aux formations élaborées et dispensées dans le cadre du projet, les compétences des communautés locales en matière de sécurité, de chasse-régulation armée et de piégeage participatifs ont été considérablement renforcées et mises en pratique aussi bien sur la Grande Terre que sur les Îles Loyauté de Lifou et Maré. Par ailleurs, la formation des premiers agents de régulation professionnelle du territoire a marqué une étape importante en permettant la concrétisation d’opérations de régulation inédites dans les zones prioritaires de forêts humides de la Chaine centrale particulièrement éloignées et difficiles d’accès, n’ayant jusque-là bénéficié d’aucune action de régulation ciblée. FICHE FINALE DE CAPITALISATION DU PROJET PROTEGE, financé par l'Union Européenne.

Des dispositifs innovants de suivi ont été développés afin de mesurer l’impact du Cerf Rusa sur le sous-bois de forêts humides de Nouvelle Calédonie et évaluer l’abondance de cette espèce envahissante, dans trois zones prioritaires du territoire. L’élaboration de ces dispositifs poursuit des objectifs complémentaires aux actions de régulation professionnelle mises en œuvre dans le cadre de PROTEGE. Le suivi vise notamment à réaliser un état initial et à évaluer les bénéfices des opérations de régulation, grâce à des outils adaptés à des zones d’intervention difficiles d’accès et caractérisées par une biodiversité exceptionnelle, plus de 80% des espèces végétales des forêts humides d’altitude étant endémiques à la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Un travail initial de sectorisation a permis mieux de caractériser les enjeux, les pressions sur l’environnement ainsi que le contexte socio-économique afin de délimiter les zones d’intervention prioritaires. Pour la première fois en Nouvelle-Calédonie, un protocole standardisé de mesure de l’impact des cerfs a été élaboré. Il s’appuie sur plusieurs indicateurs et prend en compte les spécificités des espèces végétales concernées et des contraintes associées à sa mise en œuvre. En complément, PROTEGE a permis d’élaborer une méthodeinnovante d’évaluation de l’abondance des cerfs, reposant sur l’utilisation d’un drone équipé de capteur thermique pour l’enregistrement de vidéos nocturnes. Un algorithme développé spécifiquement a par ailleurs vocation à réaliser automatiquement les détections à partir de ces vidéos, facilitant considérablement le traitement des données. La mise en œuvre de ce protocole pour la prospection de 4 700 hectares a révélé des densités de populations et des concentrations de hardes localement très élevées, atteignant par endroits des niveaux parmi les plus élevés enregistrés à l’échelle mondiale. Ces résultats fournissent des informations précieuses pour le ciblage de futures interventions et le suivi de leurs bénéfices. FICHE FINALE DE CAPITALISATION DU PROJET PROTEGE, financé par l'Union Européenne.

In July 2016, the European Union adopted a list of invasive alien species of concern, and at present there are two freshwater ?sh species on the list. Member states are obliged to prevent further spread and to perform rapid eradication when problem species are discovered at new sites, but continental EU member states have limited experience with eradication of ?sh. Eradications are more likely to succeed if the invasive species is con?ned to insular habitats. Freshwater invasives can be regarded as island invasives, since their habitats have boundaries against shorelines, saline waters, waterfalls and dams, and these boundaries make eradications possible. CFT Legumine® containing rotenone is the only legal piscicide in the EU, and Norway has used CFT Legumine® in eradication e?orts for many years. Species that have been introduced outside their native range and have been successfully eradicated include minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus), roach (Rutilus rutilus), pike (Esox lucius), common white?sh (Coregonus lavaretus), and the salmon parasite Gyrodactylus salaris. This manuscript summarises the eradication e?orts of invasive ?sh species and ?sh parasite species during the last two decades in Norway, covering eradications from such diverse habitats as small ponds, lakes, marshlands, small streams and large rivers. An estimated £100 million has been spent in the Gyrodactylus salaris eradication programme. Costs of invasive ?sh eradications are given, ranging from less than £10,000 to more than £200,000. There are no known invasive ?sh eradication failures in Norway in the last 20 years. A summary of the e?orts in Norway can be an aid for planning control and eradication measures of invasive ?sh species in other countries.

Invasive species are of signi?cant concern, especially in mega-diverse countries, because they cause negative e?ects such as loss of native biodiversity, ecological alterations, disease spread, and impacts on economic development and human health. In mainland Ecuador, information on invasive invertebrates in marine ecosystems is scarce. The objective of this study was to describe and locate the invasive species present in the rocky shores of the intertidal and subtidal zones along 10 areas (83 sites) covering most of the Ecuadorian coast during 2015–2016. Benthic macroinvertebrates communities were measured over quadrats located randomly on a 50 m transect positioned parallel to the coast in the intertidal and subtidal zone, covering an area of 1,860 km2. Six invasive species were recorded: Arthropoda (Amphibalanus amphitrite), Cnidaria (Pennaria disticha, Carijoa riisei), Bryozoa (Bugula neritina), Rhodophyta (Asparagopsis taxiformis) and Chlorophyta (Caulerpa racemosa). The areas with highest abundance of invasive species were in Jama (not a protected area), Marine and Costal Wildlife Reserve Puntilla of Santa Elena and Santa Clara Island Wildlife Refuge (protected areas). The most abundant species was Carijoa riisei with a relative abundance of up to 80%. It was the most aggressive of the invasive species registered in the subtidal zone, mainly in northern centre of the Ecuadorian coast. C. riisei is growing on native coral (Pocillopora spp.) and on sessile macroinvertebrate communities (Pinctada mazatlanica, Muricea appresa and Aplysina sp.) that are being a?ected by its invasion. This study must be taken into account by local and regional government authorities to create public policy programmes of monitoring for surveillance and control of invasive species. These programmes should focus on integration of socio-economic and ecological e?ects. They should be complemented by experimental design and analysis of environmental variables to provide technical information for a baseline of bio-invasion analysis along the Ecuadorian coast and Galápagos, to avoid the expansion of invasive species negatively a?ecting the marine biodiversity of mega-diverse countries such as Ecuador and other countries of South America.

Prior to 2008 there were few invasive alien species (IAS) initiatives operating in Scotland on a scale required for e?ective control. The establishment of the Biosecurity and Invasive Non-Native Species Programme by the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland was the ?rst attempt to link local e?orts with national IAS strategy on scales appropriate to the e?ective control of target species. The programme worked with 26 local ?sheries trusts to produce biosecurity plans that covered over 90% of Scotland’s rivers and lochs. The programme implemented a range of prevention measures, including promoting awareness of invasive species issues and the need for biosecurity among water users. Projects were established for invasive plants on most major river systems, and for American mink (Neovison vison) in the north of Scotland. These projects involved public/private partnerships, using a mix of professional sta? and volunteers. Interactive data management systems were developed to manage input from a large number of individuals and to inform an adaptive management approach. These control projects demonstrated that it is feasible to reduce the size and density of target populations of invasive species across large geographic areas. The key to maintaining the momentum of this control e?ort in the future will be to demonstrate sustainable IAS management in the longer term. This challenge led to the formulation of the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) whose overall aim is the development of a long-term, cost-e?ective strategy for IAS management throughout the north of Scotland. SISI will test strategies derived from experience and information from previous control projects. Important areas that the initiative will seek to address include de?ning outcomes, integrating IAS management into other management initiatives, and maintaining partnership interest and cohesiveness in a challenging funding environment.

St. Helena Island, 122 km2 (47 sq. miles) is a UK Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic. It is a remote volcanic island situated in the sub-tropics 1,127 km (700 miles) from Ascension Island and 2,736 km (1,700 miles) from South Africa. Its resident population of ca. 4,500 is serviced by a single supply ship which visits up to 25 times a year. Isolation has acted historically as a natural barrier to pest arrival and border control has followed the conventional practice of protecting agricultural interests through restrictions on fresh produce, plant materials, livestock and pets. The bene?ts of isolation were compromised in 2016 when the ?rst airport opened. Private jets arrive now from Africa, Europe and South America, and commercial ?ights started at the end of 2017. A programme of biosecurity capacity building and strengthening was established in anticipation of this air tra?c. St Helena authorities introduced a national biosecurity framework and associated policy (entitled Biosecurity St Helena), the latter constructed through multi-sectoral consultation, and key stakeholders participated throughout in policy development. Biosecurity St Helena applies international standards set by the International Plant Protection Convention across the biosecurity continuum. As is typical in small island nations, human and ?nancial resources are limited, so that the biosecurity strategy addresses mainly higher risks. Compliance is heavily reliant on public awareness. Active communication engages all community sectors in biosecurity work through education, information, advocacy and feedback. Authorities use key performance indicators to measure the e?ectiveness of this approach. Biosecurity St Helena is a model of actively socialised biosecurity for other small island nations.

The invasive tree Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae) is a priority for control on the Hawaiian Island of O?ahu due to its potential to replace native ??hi?a (Metrosideros polymorpha, Myrtaceae) forests and degrade watershed function if allowed to establish. The O?ahu Invasive Species Committee (OISC) is attempting to eradicate this species from the island of O?ahu. OISC uses a bu?er strategy based on estimated seed dispersal distance to determine the area under surveillance. This strategy has worked well enough to suppress the number of trees reaching reproductive age. The number of mature trees removed annually is now less than the number initially removed when the programme started in 2001. In 2016, just 12 mature trees were removed from 54.71 km2 surveyed compared to 2002, when 40 mature trees were removed from 8.26 km2 surveyed, a 96% drop in mature trees per square kilometre surveyed. However, miconia has a long-lived seed bank and can germinate after 20 years of dormancy in the soil. Funding shortages and gaps in surveys due to refusal of private property owners to allow access have resulted in some long-range extensions. OISC’s results suggest that seed bank longevity is an important factor when prioritising invasive species risk and that allocating more resources at the beginning of a programme to eradicate a species with long-lived seed banks may be a better strategy than starting small and expanding.

During the 45 years that the Raoul Island weed eradication programme has been underway, eleven species have been eradicated. To complete the restoration of Raoul Island’s unique ecosystems supporting signi?cant seabird biodiversity and endemic biota, nine further transformer weeds must be eradicated. In this review of progress to date, we examine the feasibility of eradication of these transformers and identify that four species are on target for eradication: African olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata), yellow guava (Psidium guajava), castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) and grape (Vitis vinifera). However, for four more species more sta? resources are required to achieve eradication as currently infestations are establishing faster than they are being eliminated: purple guava (Psidium cattleianum), black passionfruit (Passi?ora edulis), Brazilian buttercup (Senna septemtrionalis) and Mysore thorn (Caesalpinia decapetala). The ninth species, Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia), is being contained but presents logistical di?culties for e?ective control – herbicide resistant tubers and cli? locations requiring rope access in unstable terrain. Increasing the resources for this programme now to enable eradication of these transformer weeds will reduce the total long-term cost of the programme. Eradication of rats, the 2006 eruption, recent greater cyclone frequency, increased tourism requiring biosecurity management, and sta?ng reductions have all impacted progress on weed eradication. Myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii), con?rmed in March 2017 as the latest invasive species on Raoul Island, is establishing on Kermadec pohutukawa (Metrosideros kermadecensis), the dominant canopy species. The impact of this species on the weed eradication programme is unknown at this point.