NYT - Macquarie Island & The Law Of Unintended Ecological Consequences (AKA The DFWI Law)

[hatrack]

With its craggy green cliffs and mist-laden skies, Macquarie Island — halfway between Australia and Antarctica — looks like a nature lover’s Mecca. But the island has recently become a sobering illustration of what can happen when efforts to eliminate an invasive species end up causing unforeseen collateral damage.

In 1985, Australian scientists kicked off an ambitious plan: to kill off non-native cats that had been prowling the island’s slopes since the early 19th century. The program began out of apparent necessity — the cats were preying on native burrowing birds. Twenty-four years later, a team of scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division and the University of Tasmania reports that the cat removal unexpectedly wreaked havoc on the island ecosystem. With the cats gone, the island’s rabbits (also non-native) began to breed out of control, ravaging native plants and sending ripple effects throughout the ecosystem. The findings were published in the Journal of Applied Ecology online in January. “Our findings show that it’s important for scientists to study the whole ecosystem before doing eradication programs,” said Arko Lucieer, a University of Tasmania remote-sensing expert and a co-author of the paper. “There haven’t been a lot of programs that take the entire system into account. You need to go into scenario mode: ‘If we kill this animal, what other consequences are there going to be?’ ”

Seal hunters introduced rabbits to Macquarie in 1878, compounding the invasive species problem on the 21-mile-long island. By 1968, when authorities introduced the deadly Myxoma virus in an attempt to kill off the rabits, the population had reach more than 100,000. The strategy worked; by the 1980s, the rabbit population had fallen to less than 20,000. But that meant that the cats, which had depended on the rabbits as a food source, began eating seabirds instead. To assess the consequences of the cat-killing initiative, the team of ecologists compared satellite images of the island taken in 2000, the year the last remaining cats were killed, with a set taken in 2007. When vegetation dies off, the sharp drop in chlorophyll content reduces near-infrared reflectance in a way that can be recorded.

“You can clearly see the difference between healthy and dead plants in our images,” Mr. Lucieer said. “The live vegetation shows up as bright red.” The scientists also closely studied ground plots to evaluate their plant species composition. The later satellite images revealed a completely different landscape. The booming rabbit population had destroyed the lush grassy expanses on coastal hillsides, nibbling them bare. Exotic grasses and herbs began taking over the naked slopes, forming a dense network of leaves and stems that in some places prevented native seabirds from accessing suitable nesting sites.

EDIT

http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=118740

[XemaSab]

1. This is one of the most depressing things I have ever read

ANSERIFORMES: Anatidae

Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Introduced species
Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa

SPHENISCIFORMES: Spheniscidae

King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus
Gentoo Penguin Pygoscelis papua Near-threatened
Macaroni Penguin Eudyptes chrysolophus Vulnerable
Royal Penguin Eudyptes schlegeli Breeding endemic Vulnerable
Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes chrysocome Vulnerable

PROCELLARIIFORMES: Diomedeidae

Gray-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma Vulnerable
Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris
Sooty Albatross Phoebetria fusca Endangered
Light-mantled Albatross Phoebetria palpebrata Near-threatened
Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans

PROCELLARIIFORMES: Procellariidae

Southern Giant-Petrel Macronectes giganteus Vulnerable
Northern Giant-Petrel Macronectes halli Near-threatened
Southern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides
Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica antarctica
Cape Petrel Daption capense
White-headed Petrel Pterodroma lessonii
Mottled Petrel Pterodroma inexpectata Near-threatened
Blue Petrel Halobaena caerulea
Fairy Prion Pachyptila turtur
Antarctic Prion Pachyptila desolata
Slender-billed Prion Pachyptila belcheri
Gray Petrel Procellaria cinerea Near-threatened
White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis
Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas
Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus Near-threatened
Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris
Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis

PROCELLARIIFORMES: Hydrobatidae

Wilson's Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus
Gray-backed Storm-Petrel Garrodia nereis

PROCELLARIIFORMES: Pelcanoididae

Common Diving-Petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix
South Georgia Diving-Petrel Pelecanoides georgicus

PELECANIFORMES: Sulidae

Australian Gannet Morus serrator

PELECANIFORMES: Phalacrocoracidae

Imperial Shag Phalacrocorax atriceps
Macquarie Shag Phalacrocorax purpurascens Endemic

CICONIIFORMES: Ardeidae

Great Egret Ardea alba
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

FALCONIFORMES: Accipitridae

Swamp Harrier Circus approximans

GRUIFORMES: Rallidae

Weka Gallirallus australis Introduced species Vulnerable
Buff-banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis

CHARADRIIFORMES: Scolopacidae

Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis
Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii
Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus

CHARADRIIFORMES: Laridae

Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
Antarctic Tern Sterna vittata

CHARADRIIFORMES: Stercorariidae

Great Skua Stercorarius skua

PSITTACIFORMES: Psittacidae

Red-fronted Parakeet Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae Vulnerable

PASSERIFORMES: Hirundinidae

Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena

PASSERIFORMES: Turdidae

Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula Introduced species
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos Introduced species

PASSERIFORMES: Fringillidae

Common Redpoll Carduelis flammea Introduced species

http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?lang=EN®ion=aumi&list=clements

[depakid]

2. "A new eradication program being planned targets hundreds of thousands of rats, mice and rabbits."

Trouble is, with rodents you pretty much have to get them all. Leave a few to breed, and the problem's back within a few short years.