Island Conservation

Last updated
Island Conservation
Founded1994
FoundersDr. Bernie Tershy, [1] and Dr. Don Croll [2]
Type501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization
FocusConserving island habitats and species
Location
Area served
Caribbean, North America, South America, Pacific
Key people
Dr. Karen Poiani, CEO
Revenue
$10.2 million in 2021 [3]
Website Island Conservation

Island Conservation is a non-profit organization with the mission to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. Island Conservation has therefore focused its efforts on islands with species categorized as Critically Endangered and Endangered on the IUCN's Red List. [4] Working in partnership with local communities, government management agencies, and conservation organizations, Island Conservation develops plans and implements the removal of invasive alien species, [5] and conducts field research to document the benefits of the work and to inform future projects.

Contents

Island Conservation's approach is now being shown to have a wider beneficial effect on the marine systems surrounding its project areas. [6] [7] [8] In addition, invasive vertebrate eradication has now been shown to have many benefits besides conservation of species. Specifically, the approach has been found to align with 13 UN Sustainable Development Goals and 42 associated targets encompassing marine and terrestrial biodiversity conservation, promotion of local and global partnerships, economic development, climate change mitigation, human health and sanitation and sustainable production and consumption. [9] [10]

To date Island Conservation has deployed teams to protect 1,195 populations of 487 species and subspecies on 64 islands. [11]

The work of Island Conservation is not without controversy, This is documented in the book Battle at the End of Eden. [12] Restoring islands requires removing whole populations of an invasive species. There is an ethical question of whether humankind has the right to remove one species to save others. However, a 2019 study suggests that if eradications of invasive animals were conducted on just 169 islands, the survival prospects of 9.4% of the Earth's most highly threatened terrestrial insular vertebrates would be improved. [13] [14]

History

Island Conservation was founded by Bernie Tershy and Don Croll, both Professors at UCSC's Long Marine Lab. These scientists learned about the story of Clipperton Island which had been visited by ornithologist Ken Stager of the Los Angeles County Museum in 1958. Appalled at the depredations visited by feral pigs upon the island's brown booby and masked booby colonies (reduced to 500 and 150 birds, respectively), Stager procured a shotgun and removed all 58 pigs. By 2003, the colonies numbered 25,000 brown boobies and 112,000 masked boobies, the world's second-largest brown booby colony and largest masked booby colony. [15]

Much of organization's early focus was working in Mexico in conjunction with its sister organization, Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, in the Gulf of California and off the Pacific Coast. [16] [17] Subsequently, Island Conservation expanded its geographic scope to the Channel Islands of California, Pacific Coast of Canada, The Aleutians Islands, Hawaiian Islands, and finally to the Pacific, Caribbean, and South America.

Island Conservation has a strong scientific grounding. Over 160 peer-reviewed publications in major journals such as Biological Conservation , Conservation Biology and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences have been authored or co-authored by Island Conservation staff and contractors. [18]

Partnerships

As Island Conservation does not have management responsibility over any islands itself, all projects are in partnership with the island owner/manager, island users, local communities and regulatory authorities. Since its founding in 1994, the organization has developed partnerships with over 100 organizations. [19] Partners include conservation organizations, government agencies, regulatory agencies, scientific institutions, and international conservation consortiums. Island Conservation is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Alliance for Zero Extinction, [20] and has a Memorandum of Understanding with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, [21] and BirdLife International, [22] amongst others.

Advisory Council

The organization's founding Advisory Board [23] is composed of prominent scientists, practitioners, and authors in the fields of conservation biology and invasive species including Paul Ehrlich, José Sarukhán Kermez, Russell Mittermeier, Harold Mooney, David Quammen, Peter Raven, Michael Soulé, and Edward O. Wilson.

Programs

North America

In this region, Island Conservation currently works in the United States and Canada. In the United States, the Anacapa Island Restoration Project [24] [25] [26] was completed in 2002 and benefited the Scripps's murrelet, Cassin's auklet, and Anacapa Deer Mouse. The Lehua Island Restoration Project was completed in 2006 which benefited Newell's shearwater and black-footed albatross. [27] [28] Subsequently, projects completed include the Hawadax Island Restoration Project [29] [30] [31] in 2008, the San Nicolas Island Project [32] [33] [34] in 2010, and the Palmyra Island Restoration Project [35] in 2011.

Key federal government partnerships in North America include in the US Department of Interior, USFWS, NPS, the US Department of Agriculture-APHIS, National Wildlife Research Center, NOAA, Parks Canada Agency, and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Island Conservation is working with the following non-governmental organizations: Coastal Conservation Association (CA), Bird Studies Canada, American Bird Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, and Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas.

Pacific

Since 2010, Island Conservation has contributed to the development and implementation of island restoration projects in Australia (Lord Howe Island [36] and Norfolk Island), French Polynesia (Tetiꞌaroa Restoration Project in 2022, [37] Acteon-Gambier Archipelago Restoration Project [38] in 2015), Tonga (Late Island and numerous small islets), Republic of Palau (including within the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon World Heritage Area [39] ), Federated States of Micronesia (Ulithi Lagoon), and New Caledonia (Walpole Island). Island Conservation is an active member of the Pacific Invasives Partnership. [40] Other key partnerships include Invasive Species Council, [41] BirdLife International, New Zealand Department of Conservation, SPREP and the Ornithological Society of French Polynesia.

Caribbean

In this region, Island Conservation works primarily in Puerto Rico, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic. In May 2012, Island Conservation and the Bahamas National Trust worked together to remove invasive house mice from Allen Cay to protect native species including the Allen Cays rock iguana and Audubon's shearwater. [42] Since 2008, Island Conservation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have worked together to remove invasive vertebrates from Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico, primarily benefiting the Higo Chumbo cactus, three endemic reptiles, two endemic invertebrates, and to recover globally significant seabird colonies of brown boobies, red footed boobies, and bridled terns. [43] Future work will focus on important seabird populations, key reptile groups including West Indian Rock Iguanas, and the restoration of Mona Island, [44] Alto Velo, and offshore cays in the Puerto Rican Bank and The Bahamas. Key partnerships include the USFWS, Puerto Rico DNER, the Bahamas National Trust, and the Dominican Republic Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

South America

In this region, Island Conservation works primarily in Ecuador and Chile. In Ecuador, the Rábida Island Restoration Project was completed in 2010. A gecko (Phyllodactylus sp.) found during monitoring in late 2012 was only recorded from subfossils estimated at more than 5,700 years old. Live Rábida Island endemic land snails (Bulimulus (Naesiotus) rabidensis), not seen since collected over 100 years ago, were also collected in late 2012. [45] This was followed in 2012 by the Pinzon and Plaza Sur Island Restoration Project primarily benefiting the Pinzón giant tortoise, Opuntia galapageia , Galápagos land iguana. As a result of the project, Pinzon Giant Tortoise hatched from eggs and were surviving in the wild for the first time in more than 150 years [46] [47] [48] [49] In 2019, The Directorate of Galápagos National Park with Island Conservation used drones to eradicate invasive rats from North Seymour Island - this was the first time such an approach has been used on vertebrates in the wild. The expectation is that this innovation will pave the way for cheaper invasive species eradications in the future on small and mid-sized islands. [50] [51] [52] [53] The current focus in Ecuador is Floreana Island with 55 IUCN threatened species present and 13 extirpated species that could be reintroduced after invasive mammals are eradicated. Partners include: The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Ministry of Environment (Galápagos National Park Directorate, Galápagos Biosecurity Agency), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Floreana Parish Council and the Galapagos Government Council.

In 2009 Chile, Island Conservation initiated formal collaborations with CONAF, the country's protected areas agency, to further restoration of islands under their administration. In January 2014, the Choros Island Restoration Project was completed benefiting the Humboldt penguin, Peruvian diving petrel, and the local eco-tourism industry. [54] [55] The focus of future work includes the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve and the Juan Fernández Archipelago.

Conservation Innovation

From its earliest days, Island Conservation has prided itself on innovating its tools and approach to eradication projects. Island Conservation implemented its first helicopter-based aerial broadcast eradication on Anacapa Island in 2001 refining technology developed in New Zealand for agriculture and pest control, this has been replicated on more than 10 international island restoration projects since. [56] Island Conservation has developed practices for holding native species in captivity for re-release and mitigating risks to species, including the successful capture and release of endemic mice on Anacapa and hawks on Pinzon. [57]

In 2010, Island Conservation partnered with the U.S. Humane Society to remove feral cats from San Nicolas Island [58] for relocation to a sanctuary on the mainland California. New tools including a remote trap monitoring system, digital data collection system, [59] and statistical decision support tools [60] [61] improved the humanness of removal methods, reduced project cost, and reduced time to declare success. [62]

Following a series of failed eradication attempts in 2012, Island Conservation led a group of international experts to identify challenges on tropical islands [63] resulting in recommend practices for tropical rodent eradications. [64] Applying these lessons [65] following a failed attempt on Desecheo island 2017 resulted in success.

Island Conservation led a horizon scan in 2015 [66] that identified drones, [67] genetic biocontrol, and conflict transformation as critical innovations to increase the scale, scope, and pace of rodent eradications. Since this exercise, Island Conservation formed the Genetic Biocontrol for Invasive Rodents (GBIRd) partnership to cautiously explore the development of safe and ethical genetic technologies [68] to prevent extinctions, supported sustainable community-driven approaches [69] to conservation projects, and implemented the world’s first drone-powered rat eradication. The current focus of the Conservation Innovation program is to advance methods that increase safety, reduce cost, and improve the feasibility of eradicating invasive vertebrates from islands.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Fish and Wildlife Service</span> United States federal government agency

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galápagos Islands</span> Ecuadorean archipelago and protected area

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the Equator 900 km (560 mi) west of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of slightly over 33,000 (2020). The province is divided into the cantons of San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela, the three most populated islands in the chain. The Galápagos are famous for their large number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. All of these islands are protected as part of Ecuador's Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anacapa Island</span> Island of the Channel Islands in California, United States

Anacapa Island is a small volcanic island located about 11 miles off Port Hueneme in Ventura County, California. The island is composed of a series of narrow islets 6 mi (10 km) long, oriented generally east–west and 5 mi (8 km) east of Santa Cruz Island. The three main islets, East, Middle and West Anacapa, have precipitous cliffs, dropping off steeply into the sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polynesian rat</span> Species of rodent

The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat, known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. Contrary to its vernacular name, Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, and like its relatives has become widespread, migrating to most of Polynesia, including New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii. It shares high adaptability with other rat species extending to many environments, from grasslands to forests. It is also closely associated with humans, who provide easy access to food. It has become a major pest in most areas of its distribution.

Pinzón or Pinzon Island is an island in Ecuador's Galápagos Archipelago. It has no permanent population, an area of 18 square kilometers (6.9 sq mi), and a maximum elevation of 458 meters (1,503 ft). Home to giant Galápagos tortoises of the subspecies Chelonoidis duncanensis and Galápagos sea lions, the island has no visitor facilities and a permit is required for legal visits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rábida Island</span> Island in the Galápagos Archipelago

Rábida or Rabida Island is one of the Galápagos Islands. It is 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) in area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island restoration</span>

The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some marine mammals. Their ecosystems are also very vulnerable to human disturbance and particularly to introduced species, due to their small size. Island groups, such as New Zealand and Hawaii, have undergone substantial extinctions and losses of habitat. Since the 1950s several organisations and government agencies around the world have worked to restore islands to their original states; New Zealand has used them to hold natural populations of species that would otherwise be unable to survive in the wild. The principal components of island restoration are the removal of introduced species and the reintroduction of native species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawadax Island</span>

Hawadax Island is an island in the Rat Islands archipelago of the western Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. The island was formerly known as Rat Island until May 2012 when it was renamed Hawadax Island, which is an Aleut name meaning "entry" and "welcome". The island has a land area of 10.3126 sq mi (26.7095 km²) and no permanent population. It is within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. It is 9.3 miles (15 km) in length and 3.1 miles (5 km) in width.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary Island</span> Island in southwestern New Zealand

Secretary Island is an island in southwestern New Zealand, lying entirely within Fiordland National Park. Roughly triangular in shape, it lies between Doubtful Sound / Patea in the south and Te Awa-o-Tū / Thompson Sound in the north, with its west coast facing the Tasman Sea. To the east of the island, Pendulo Reach connects Te Awa-o-Tū / Thompson Sound with Doubtful Sound / Patea. Steeply sloped, the entirely bush-clad island rises to a chain of several peaks higher than 1000 metres. The highest of these is the 1,196-metre (3,924 ft) Mount Grono, the highest peak in the main New Zealand chain not located in the North or South Island. The island also contains three lakes. The largest, Secretary Lake, over 600 metres (2,000 ft) long, is located beneath Mount Grono at an altitude of 550 metres (1,800 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehua</span> Island in Kauai County, Hawaii

Lehua Island is a small, crescent-shaped island in the Hawaiian islands, 0.7 miles (1.1 km) north of Niʻihau, due west of Kauai. The uninhabited, 285-acre (1.15 km2) barren island is a tuff cone which is part of the active Niʻihau volcano. Lehua was one of the first five islands sighted by Captain James Cook in 1778 which he spelled as "Oreehoua".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desecheo Island</span> Uninhabited island of Puerto Rico

Desecheo is a small uninhabited island of the archipelago of Puerto Rico located in the northeast of the Mona Passage; 13 mi (21 km) from Rincón on the west coast of the main island of Puerto Rico and 31 mi (50 km) northeast of Mona Island. It has a land area of 0.589 sq mi. Politically, the island is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge, but part of the Sabanetas barrio of Mayagüez.

The Galápagos Islands are located off the west coast of South America straddling the equator. The Galápagos are located at the confluence of several currents including the cold Humboldt Current traveling north from South America and the Panama Current traveling south from Central America make the islands cooler and provide the perfect environment for the unique mix of wildlife that inhabits the islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Seymour Island</span> Island in the Galápagos Archipelago

North Seymour Island is a small island near Baltra Island in the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. It was formed by uplift of a submarine lava formation and is now covered with low, bushy vegetation. It has an area of 1.9 km2 (0.73 sq mi) and a maximum elevation of 28 meters (92 ft). There is no permanent population but a visitor trail has been established approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) in length for guided tours crossing the interior of the island and exploring the rocky coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangrove finch</span> Species of bird

The mangrove finch is a species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family Thraupidae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. It was found on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela, but recent surveys have failed to record the species on Fernandina. It has been classified as critically endangered by BirdLife International, with an estimated population of 20–40 mature individuals in 2021, located in two large mangroves on Isabela. A study has shown that the two small populations remaining on Isabela Island have begun undergoing speciation and that one or both populations will eventually become extinct due to a lack of interbreeding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ascension scrub and grasslands</span>

The Ascension scrub and grasslands ecoregion covers the dormant volcano, Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean. As well as shrubs and grasses wildlife on the island includes a range of unique flora and fauna. In particular the surrounding islets are important havens for many seabirds. However the seabird populations on Ascension Island itself have been severely affected by introduced species, especially cats, which were the subject of an eradication campaign between 2002 and 2006.

The Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. It is part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Introduced mammals on seabird breeding islands</span>

Seabirds include some of the most threatened taxa anywhere in the world. For example, of extant albatross species, 82% are listed as threatened, endangered, or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The two leading threats to seabirds are accidental bycatch by commercial fishing operations and introduced mammals on their breeding islands. Mammals are typically brought to remote islands by humans either accidentally as stowaways on ships, or deliberately for hunting, ranching, or biological control of previously introduced species. Introduced mammals have a multitude of negative effects on seabirds including direct and indirect effects. Direct effects include predation and disruption of breeding activities, and indirect effects include habitat transformation due to overgrazing and major shifts in nutrient cycling due to a halting of nutrient subsidies from seabird excrement. There are other invasive species on islands that wreak havoc on native bird populations, but mammals are by far the most commonly introduced species to islands and the most detrimental to breeding seabirds. Despite efforts to remove introduced mammals from these remote islands, invasive mammals are still present on roughly 80% of islands worldwide.

Carl Gwynfe Jones, MBE is a Welsh conservation biologist, who has been employed by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust since 1985, and a founding member (1984) and current scientific director of Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF). Additionally he is Chief Scientist at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and an honorary professor in ecology and conservation biology at the University of East Anglia. Often outspoken on the importance of knowing your species and using intuition, empathy and practical knowledge over dogmatic education, Jones is best known for his work in recovering the Mauritius kestrel from just four individuals in 1974, to an estimated 400. Working in the Mascarene Islands since 1979, Jones has led five successful bird restoration projects where the starting population has numbered less than 12 individuals; as a consequence Mauritius has averted more bird extinctions than any other country. Jones has pioneered the use of ecological or taxon replacements to fill the ecological roles of extinct animals and successfully restored levels of endemic vegetation to previously denuded islets. Jones' work has been highlighted in Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine's 1990 radio documentary Last Chance to See, along with its accompanying book, as well as David Quammen's 1996 book The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinzón Island giant tortoise</span> Subspecies of turtle

Chelonoidis niger duncanensis, commonly known as the Pinzón Island giant tortoise, is a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise endemic to Pinzón Island in the Galápagos.

References

  1. "Bernie Tershy UCSC Faculty Profile". UCSC. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  2. "Don Croll UCSC Faculty Profile". UCSC. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  3. "2021 Audited Financial Statements" (PDF). Island Conservation. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  4. Jones, Holly P.; Holmes, Nick D.; Butchart, Stuart H. M.; Tershy, Bernie R.; Kappes, Peter J.; Corkery, Ilse; Aguirre-Muñoz, Alfonso; Armstrong, Doug P.; Bonnaud, Elsa; Burbidge, Andrew A.; Campbell, Karl; Courchamp, Franck; Cowan, Philip E.; Cuthbert, Richard J.; Ebbert, Steve; Genovesi, Piero; Howald, Gregg R.; Keitt, Bradford S.; Kress, Stephen W.; Miskelly, Colin M.; Oppel, Steffen; Poncet, Sally; Rauzon, Mark J.; Rocamora, Gérard; Russell, James C.; Samaniego-Herrera, Araceli; Seddon, Philip J.; Spatz, Dena R.; Towns, David R.; Croll, Donald A. (2016-03-21). "Invasive mammal eradication on islands results in substantial conservation gains". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 113 (15): 4033–4038. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1521179113 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   4839448 . PMID   27001852.
  5. "What are Invasive Alien Species?". CBD Secretariat. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  6. McCauley, Douglas (May 17, 2012). "From wing to wing: the persistence of long ecological interaction chains in less-disturbed ecosystems". Nature. 2: 409. doi:10.1038/srep00409. PMC   3354671 . PMID   22624091.
  7. Graham, Nicolas (July 12, 2018). "Seabirds enhance coral reef productivity and functioning in the absence of invasive rats" (PDF). Nature. 559 (7713): 250–253. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0202-3. PMID   29995864. S2CID   49669772.
  8. "Marine Threat:Islands & Marine Biodiversity". Revive & Restore. April 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  9. de Wit, Luz A; Zilliacus, Kelly M; Quadri, Paulo; Will, David; Grima, Nelson; Spatz, Dena; Holmes, Nick; Tershy, Bernie; Howald, Gregg R; Croll, Donald A (2020). "Invasive vertebrate eradications on islands as a tool for implementing global Sustainable Development Goals". Environmental Conservation. 47 (3): 139–148. doi: 10.1017/S0376892920000211 . ISSN   0376-8929.
  10. "Pursuing Sustainable Development for Island Communities by Removing Invasive Species". Island Conservation. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  11. "Island Conservation Mission and History" . Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  12. "Battle at the End of Eden". Atlantic Books. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  13. Holmes, Nick (March 27, 2019). "Globally important islands where eradicating invasive mammals will benefit highly threatened vertebrates". PLOS ONE. 14 (3): e0212128. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1412128H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212128 . PMC   6436766 . PMID   30917126.
  14. "169 Islands that Offer Hope for Stemming the Extinction Crisis". Island Conservation. 2019-03-26. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  15. "Clipperton Island: Pig Sty, Rat Hole and Booby Prize" (PDF). Marine Ornithology. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  16. "Island Conservation Action in Northwest Mexico" (PDF). Proceedings of the Fifth California Islands Symposium. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  17. Aguirre-Muñoz, Alfonso; Croll, Donald A.; Donlan, C. Josh; Henry, R. William; Hermosillo, Miguel Angel; Howald, Gregg R.; Keitt, Bradford S.; Luna-Mendoza, Luciana; Rodríguez-Malagón, Marlenne; Salas-Flores, Luz María; Samaniego-Herrera, Araceli; Sanchez-Pacheco, Jose Angel; Sheppard, Jacob; Tershy, Bernie R.; Toro-Benito, Jorge; Wolf, Shaye; Wood, Bill (2008). "High-impact Conservation: Invasive Mammal Eradications from the Islands of Western México". Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 37 (2): 101–7. doi:10.1579/0044-7447(2008)37[101:HCIMEF]2.0.CO;2. PMID   18488552. S2CID   14721860.
  18. "Island Conservation Publications". Island Conservation. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  19. "2020 Annual Report" . Retrieved 20 March 2021., Island Conservation, p. 17.
  20. "Current global AZE members". Alliance for Zero Extinction. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  21. "Director's Corner: Partnership to Prevent Extinctions Strengthened, April 28, 2015". United States Fish & Wildlife Service. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  22. "Partnership to tackle Pacific pests". Birdlife International. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  23. "Advisory Board Members". Island Conservation. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  24. "Restoring Anacapa Island: Seabird Habitat". NPS. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  25. "Anacapa Island thrives after rat eradication". Los Angeles Times. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  26. "Rat eradication restores wildlife to Channel island / Hatching of rare seabird gives hope Park Service plan is working". San Francisco Chronicle. 22 June 2003. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  27. "Vegetation change following rabbit eradication on Lehua Island, Hawaiian Islands" (PDF). IUCN. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  28. "Leahua Island Restoration Project". Island Conservation. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  29. "Hawadax Island (formerly Rat Island)". USFWS. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  30. "'Rat Island' renamed as birds make their comeback". CBS News. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  31. Stolzenburg, William (June 19, 2012). Rat Island: Predators in Paradise and the World's Greatest Wildlife Rescue. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN   978-1608193325. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  32. "Clearing the cats of San Nicolas Island". Los Angeles Times. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  33. "Complex effort to rid San Nicolas Island of cats declared a success". Los Angeles Times. 2012-02-26. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  34. "San Nicolas Island". NOAA. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  35. "Palmyra Atoll Restoration Project Completes Removal of Introduced Rats". The Nature Conservancy. Archived from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  36. "Rodent Eradication". Lord Howe Island Board. 2015-06-21. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  37. "Tetiaroa Atoll". Island Conservation.
  38. "Update from the field: expedition Acteon Gambier". Ornithological Society of French Polynesia. 2015-06-27. Archived from the original on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  39. "Rock Islands Southern Lagoon World Heritage Area". UNESCO. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  40. "Pacific Invasives Partnership". SPREP. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  41. "Invasive Species Council Homepage" . Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  42. "Native Iguanas and Shearwaters saved from invasive mice on Allen Cay". Bahamas National Trust. Archived from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  43. "Restoring Wildlife Habitat on Desecheo Island". USFWS. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  44. "Mona Island Restoration Project". Island Conservation. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  45. "Back from the Brink of Extinction". Island Conservation. 2013-07-24. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  46. Aguilera, Washington Tapia; Málaga, Jeffreys; Gibbs, James P. (2015-01-14). "Conservation: Giant tortoises hatch on Galapagos island". Nature. 517 (7534): 271. Bibcode:2015Natur.517Q.271A. doi: 10.1038/517271a . PMID   25592525.
  47. "Baby giant tortoises hatch in the Galapagos Islands for first time in a century". Mashable. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  48. "Baby Tortoises Born On Galapagos Island For The First Time In A Century". Huffington Post. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  49. "Phase II Galápagos Project: Baiting Pinzón and Plaza Sur Islands". Bell Laboratories. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  50. "Ecological Restoration of North Seymour Island Underway Thanks to Rat Removal". Island Conservation. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  51. Marris, Emma (2019). "Drones unleashed against invasive rats in the Galápagos". Nature. 565 (7741): 543–544. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-00176-z . PMID   30696964. S2CID   59411257.
  52. "Drones help Galapagos tackle rat infestation". BBC News. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  53. "Drones drop poison bombs to fight one island's rat invasions". Wired. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  54. "Registran positiva restauración ecológica en isla Choros" (in Spanish). CONAF. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  55. "Choros Island Restoration Project". Island Conservation. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  56. "Considerations and consequences when conducting aerial broadcast applications during rodent eradications. Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge, 71-78" (PDF). ISSG. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  57. "Considerations and consequences when conducting aerial broadcast applications during rodent eradications. Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge, (62), 51". ISSG. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  58. Hanson, Chad C.; Jolley, Wesley J.; Smith, Grace; Garcelon, David K.; Keitt, Bradford S.; Little, Annie E.; Campbell, Karl J. (2014). "Feral cat eradication in the presence of endemic San Nicolas Island foxes". Biological Invasions. 17 (4): 977–986. doi:10.1007/s10530-014-0784-0. ISSN   1387-3547. S2CID   29574235.
  59. Will, D. (10 September 2005). A trap monitoring system to enhance efficiency of feral cat eradication and minimize adverse effects on non-target endemic species on San Nicolas Island. 24th Vertebrate Pest Conference. Sacramento, California. pp. 78–85. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  60. Ramsey, D.S.L.; Parkes, J.P.; Hanson, C.C.; Campbell, K.J. (January 1985). "Quantifying the success of feral cat eradication, San Nicolas Island". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 35 (2): 163–173.
  61. "Framework for undertaking eradication programs on insular populations of vertebrate pests" (PDF). Island Conservation. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  62. "Complex effort to rid San Nicolas Island of cats declared a success". LA Times. 26 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  63. Samaniego, Araceli; Kappes, Peter; Broome, Keith; Cranwell, Steve; Griffiths, Richard; Harper, Grant; McClelland, Pete; Palmer, Russell; Rocamora, Gérard; Springer, Keith; Will, David; Siers, Shane (2021). "Factors leading to successful island rodent eradications following initial failure". Conservation Science and Practice. 3 (6). doi: 10.1111/csp2.404 . ISSN   2578-4854.
  64. Keitt, B.; Griffiths, R.; Boudjelas, S.; Broome, K.; Cranwell, S.; Millett, J.; Pitt, W.; Samaniego-Herrera, A. (2015). "Best practice guidelines for rat eradication on tropical islands". Biological Conservation. 185: 17–26. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2014.10.014 . ISSN   0006-3207.
  65. "Applying lessons learnt from tropical rodent eradications: a second attempt to remove invasive rats from Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge, Puerto Rico" (PDF). ISSG. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  66. Campbell, Karl J.; Beek, Joe; Eason, Charles T.; Glen, Alistair S.; Godwin, John; Gould, Fred; Holmes, Nick D.; Howald, Gregg R.; Madden, Francine M.; Ponder, Julia B.; Threadgill, David W.; Wegmann, Alexander S.; Baxter, Greg S. (2015). "The next generation of rodent eradications: Innovative technologies and tools to improve species specificity and increase their feasibility on islands". Biological Conservation. 185: 47–58. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2014.10.016. ISSN   0006-3207. S2CID   13516546.
  67. Conservation, Island (2023-05-15). "PRESS RELEASE: Island Conservation and Parallel Flight Technologies partner to revolutionize restoring islands worldwide". Island Conservation. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  68. Scudellari, Megan (2019). "Self-destructing mosquitoes and sterilized rodents: the promise of gene drives". Nature. 571 (7764): 160–162. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-02087-5 . ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   31289403.
  69. "Community Drives Restoration of Floreana Island, Galápagos". Island Conservation. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2021.