Australia removed rats, mice and rabbits from Macquarie Island after 200 years

Rep ese tative
Image
of
the
ecove y
of
Macqua ie
Isla d’s
wildlife
a d
seabi d
populatio s
(AI-ge e ated
image)

Macqua ie
Isla d,
a
wi dswept
st ip
of
la d
halfway
betwee
Aust alia
a d
A ta ctica,
spe t
ea ly
two
ce tu ies
u de
siege
f om
a imals
that
we e
eve
mea t
to
be
the e.
Seale s
a d
whale s
i t oduced
cats,
ats,
abbits
a d
mice
to
the
isla d
i
the
i etee th
ce tu y,
a d
those
species
we t
o
to
devastate
the
millio s
of
seabi ds
that
o ce
b ed
the e,
wipi g
out
two
ative
bi d
species
e ti ely
alo g
the
way.
Betwee
2011
a d
2014,
teams
ca ied
out
what
became
the
la gest
multi-p edato
e adicatio
eve
attempted
o
a
isla d
of
its
size,
clea i g
Macqua ie
of
its
last
abbits,
ats
a d
mice
afte
cats
had
al eady
bee
emoved
yea s
ea lie .
Mo e
tha
a
decade
late ,
scie tists
a e
ow
measu i g
exactly
what
has
come
back,
t acki g
seabi d
populatio s,
vegetatio
cove
a d
the
wide
ecosystem
to
u de sta d
how
tho oughly
the
isla d
ca
ecove
o ce
its
i vasive
p edato s
a e
go e.

Why
Macqua ie
Isla d
eeded
the
wo ld’s
la gest
p edato
e adicatio

I t oduced
p edato s
eshaped
Macqua ie
Isla d’s
ecosystem
almost
f om
the
mome t
they
a ived,
with
ats
a d
mice
p eyi g
di ectly
o
seabi d
eggs,
chicks
a d
smalle
adult
bi ds,
while
abbits
st ipped
away
the
vegetatio
those
same
bi ds
elied
o
fo
cove
a d
esti g.
Left
u checked,
abbit
g azi g
dest oyed
almost
half
of
the
isla d’s
tall
tussock
g assla d
a d
depleted
the
pla t
species
bi ds
depe ded
o
most,
acco di g
to
a
p og am
summa y
desc ibi g
the
Macqua ie
Isla d
Pest
E adicatio
P og am’s
impacts
o
vegetatio
a d
seabi ds.

Loss
of
vegetatio
cove
also
t igge ed
widesp ead
slope
e osio ,
fu the
damagi g
the
bu ows
a d
esti g
sites
that
g ou d- esti g
seabi ds
eeded
to
b eed
successfully,
compou di g
the
di ect
p edatio
p essu e
f om
ats
a d
mice.

How
the
e adicatio
p oject
actually
emoved
the
i vasive
species

Fe al
cats
we e
the
fi st
i vasive
p edato
tackled
o
Macqua ie
Isla d,
elimi ated
th ough
a
sustai ed
co t ol
p og am
that
a
f om
the
1970s
th ough
the
1990s.
The
fa
la ge
task
of
emovi g
abbits,
ats
a d
mice
followed,
fu ded
joi tly
by
the
Aust alia
a d
Tasma ia
gove me ts
u de
a
ag eeme t
eached
i
2007,
with
the
Tasma ia
Pa ks
a d
Wildlife
Se vice
leadi g
the
ope atio
o
the
g ou d.
Ae ial
baiti g
bega
i
2010
but
a
i to
u expected
complicatio s,
i cludi g
the
deaths
of
some
scave gi g
seabi ds
that
fed
o
poiso ed
abbit
ca casses.
Teams
espo ded
by
i t oduci g
a
abbit-specific
vi us
to
help
d ive
dow
abbit
umbe s
fu the ,
the
followed
up
with
detecto
dogs
a d
hu te s
to
t ack
dow
the
last
su vivi g
a imals,
a
p ocess
that
by
2014
led
officials
to
decla e
the
isla d
f ee
of
all
th ee
ta get
species.

What
the
scie ce
shows
about
how
seabi ds
a e
ecove i g

A
pee – eviewed
study
titled

Patte s
of
Recove y
i
Exta t
a d
Exti pated
Seabi ds
Afte
the
Wo ld’s
La gest
Multip edato
E adicatio ,
published
i
the
jou al
Co se vatio
Biology,
exami ed
how
seabi d
populatio s
have
espo ded
ac oss
the
isla d
i
the
yea s
si ce
the
p edato s
we e
emoved.
The
esea che s
fou d
that
populatio s
ac oss
multiple
species
we e
ecove i g
passively,
mea i g
the
simple
emoval
of
the
i vasive
p edato s
was
e ough
to
allow
umbe s
to
ebou d
without
a y
additio al
i te ve tio
equi ed.
Acco di g
to
the
study,
at
least
o e
seabi d
populatio
is
co ti ui g
to
ecove
eve
without
active
ma ageme t
suppo t,
a
fi di g
the
autho s
desc ibe
as
a
impo ta t
sig al
fo
how
esilie t
seabi d
populatio s
ca
be
o ce
the
co e
th eat
d ivi g
thei
decli e
is
elimi ated.

Why
some
species
disappea ed
e ti ely
befo e
the
p edato s
we e
go e

Not
eve y
ative
species
su vived
lo g
e ough
to
be efit
f om
the
e adicatio .
Two
e demic
la d
bi d
taxa,
a
ail
a d
a
pa akeet,
we t
exti ct
du i g
the
pe iod
whe
i t oduced
p edato s
domi ated
the
isla d,
a
loss
the
study’s
autho s
desc ibe
as
a
pe ma e tly
closed
chapte
i
Macqua ie
Isla d’s
histo y.
Fo
species
that
did
su vive,
ecove y
has
ot
looked
ide tical
ac oss
the
boa d,
with
some
seabi ds
ebou di g
quickly
while
othe s
have
take
lo ge
to
eestablish
b eedi g
colo ies,
eflecti g
diffe e ces
i
how
di ectly
each
species
was
affected
by
p edatio
ve sus
habitat
loss
f om
abbit
g azi g.
G ey
pet els,
fo
i sta ce,
successfully
b ed
o
the
isla d
i
2000
fo
the
fi st
time
i
mo e
tha
a
ce tu y
followi g
the
ea lie
emoval
of
fe al
cats,
well
befo e
the
abbit
a d
ode t
e adicatio
had
eve
begu .

How
the
isla d’s
vegetatio
a d
te ai
a e
also
bou ci g
back

Alo gside
the
etu
of
seabi ds,
the
isla d’s
vegetatio
has
show
clea
sig s
of
ecove y
i
the
yea s
si ce
abbits
we e
emoved,
with
tussock
g asses
a d
megahe bs
o ce
st ipped
ba e
by
g azi g
ow
eg owi g
ac oss
la ge
sectio s
of
the
isla d.
Acco di g
to
the
Aust alia
A ta ctic
P og am’s
ow
accou t
of
the
isla d’s
ecove y,
esea che s
who
etu ed
to
su vey
the
isla d
a
decade
afte
the
e adicatio
desc ibed
d amatic
cha ges
to
the
la dscape,
with
vegetatio
eclaimi g
slopes
that
had
p eviously
bee
left
ba e
a d
e oded
by
decades
of
ove g azi g.
That
eg owth
matte s
di ectly
fo
seabi ds,
si ce
de se
vegetatio
cove
offe s
bette
p otectio
fo
esti g
bu ows
a d
educes
the
e osio
isk
that
o ce
destabilised
ma y
b eedi g
sites
ac oss
the
isla d.

What
o goi g
mo ito i g
is
expected
to
eveal
ext

Resea che s
say
the
wo k
is
fa
f om
fi ished,
si ce
a
full
ecological
ecove y
o
a
isla d
as
la ge
a d
complex
as
Macqua ie
is
expected
to
u fold
ove
decades
athe
tha
yea s.
Lo g-te m
wildlife
mo ito i g
p og ams
backed
by
the
Aust alia
a d
Tasma ia
gove me ts
co ti ue
to
t ack
seabi d
populatio s,
vegetatio
cove
a d
p edato -f ee
status
ac oss
the
isla d,
with
officials
st essi g
that
p eve ti g
a y
ei t oductio
of
pests
th ough
visiti g
ships
emai s
just
as
c itical
as
the
o igi al
e adicatio
effo t.
Because
Macqua ie
Isla d
ow
sits
amo g
a
small
but
g owi g
etwo k
of
p edato -f ee
suba ta ctic
isla ds,
i cludi g
ece t
o
o goi g
e adicatio
p ojects
o
South
Geo gia
a d
the
A tipodes
Isla ds,
scie tists
say
what
co ti ues
to
u fold
the e
will
help
guide
co se vatio
pla i g
o
simila ly
th eate ed
isla ds
elsewhe e
i
the
wo ld.

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