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388
100000
Area of islands successfully eradicated
from brown rats (log ha)
10000
1000
100
10
P. Genovesi
Fig. 22.3 Eradications
of Rattus
rattus in New
Zealand: increasing
size of islands
successfully eradicated
(modified
from Veitch 1995)
1
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
igate the impacts of invasive alien species and also significant advances in
technical aspects of eradications (Veitch and Clout 2002). For example, the
development of second-generation anti-coagulant poisons has made it possible
to increase the size of islands from which rats have been successfully eradicated.
This was confirmed by the successful removal, completed in 2003, of
the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) from sub-Antarctic Campbell Island (over
11,000 ha), by far the largest area in the world successfully eradicated from
rats (Fig. 22.3).
22.1.3 Outcomes
Successful eradications can lead to significant effects in terms of recovery of
native species and habitats. Rat eradications from islands have promoted the
recovery of many colonial nesting seabirds, including the storm petrel
(Hydrobates pelagicus) and the Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) in
the Mediterranean (Martín et al. 2000), or of terrestrial bird species such as
the dunnock (Prunella modularis), the wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) and the
rock pipit (Anthus petrosus) (Kerbiriou et al. 2003).
In many cases, the removal of alien species is an essential prerequisite for
subsequent recovery programs. For example, the recently completed rat eradication
from Campbell Island was considered an essential condition for starting
a recovery program for the endemic Campbell Island teal (Anas nesiotis),