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The status of weed biological control in Vanuatu

Available Online

Bule, Sylverio

Day, Michael D.

Biological control of weeds in Vanuatu began in 1935, with the introduction of the tinged Teleonemia scrupulosa to control Lantana camara. To date, nine biological control agents have been intentionally introduced to control eight weed species. Seven of these agents have established on their respective hosts while an eighth, Zygogramma bicolorata, an agent for Parthenium hysterophorus has only recently been released and establishment is unlikely.

The cane or marine toad, rhinella marina (Anura, Bufonidae): two genetically and morphologically distint species.

Available Online

Acevedo, Aldemar A.

Cipriani, Roberto

Lampio, Margarita

Rhinella marina is a Neotropical toad that has been introduced widely worldwide. Its toxic effects to frog-eating predators threaten the native and domestic fauna of some regions where it has been introduced. Despite previous studies suggesting two genetically distinct cryptic species within R. marina, one east and one west of the Andes, its taxonomic status remained unresolved due to the absence of morphological complementary evidence. For the first time, data from two mitochondrial genes (ND3 and CR) and 23 morphometric landmarks are combined to evaluate the taxonomic status of this species. Our results support the hypothesis of two separate evolutionary lineages within R. marina and demonstrate that these lineages have significantly diverged in skull shape. We identified two distinct morphotypes, one eastern and one Andean western, with no overlapping morphospaces. The geographic pattern of genetic variation was consistent with a stable structured population with no evidence of recent demographic or geographic expansions. The concordance between the observed geographic patterns in morphometric and genic traits calls for the recognition of two species under R. marina name.

Massive yet grossly underestimated global costs of invasive insects

Available Online

Albert, Celine.

Barbet-Massin, Morgane.

Bellard, Celine.

Bradshaw, Corey J.A.

Courchamp, Franck.

Fournier, Alice.

Leroy, Boris.

Roiz, David.

Salles, Jean-Michel.

Simard, Frederic.

Insects have presented human society with some of its greatest development challenges by spreading diseases, consuming crops and damaging infrastructure. Despite the massive human and financial toll of invasive insects, cost estimates of their impacts remain sporadic, spatially incomplete and of questionable quality. Here we compile a comprehensive database of economic costs of invasive insects. Taking all reported goods and service estimates, invasive insects cost a minimum of US$70.0 billion per year globally, while associated health costs exceed US$6.9 billion per year. Total costs rise as the number of estimate increases, although many of the worst costs have already been estimated (especially those related to human health). A lack of dedicated studies, especially for reproducible goods and service estimates, implies gross underestimation of global costs. Global warming as a consequence of climate change, rising human population densities and intensifying international trade will allow these costly insects to spread into new areas, but substantial savings could be achieved by increasing surveillance, containment and public awareness.

Invasive mammal eradication on islands results in substantial conservation gains

Available Online

Jones, Holly P.

More than US$21 billion is spent annually on biodiversity conservation. Despite their importance for preventing or slowing extinctions and preserving biodiversity, conservation interventions are rarely assessed systematically for their global impact. Islands house a disproportionately higher amount of biodiversity compared with mainlands, much of which is highly threatened with extinction. Indeed, island species make up nearly two-thirds of recent extinctions. Islands therefore are critical targets of conservation. We used an extensive literature and database review paired with expert interviews to estimate the global benefits of an increasingly used conservation action to stem biodiversity loss: eradication of invasive mammals on islands. We found 236 native terrestrial insular faunal species (596 populations) that benefitted through positive demographic and/or distributional responses from 251 eradications of invasive mammals on 181 islands. Seven native species (eight populations) were negatively impacted by invasive mammal eradication. Four threatened species had their International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List extinction-risk categories reduced as a direct result of invasive mammal eradication, and no species moved to a higher extinction-risk category. We predict that 107 highly threatened birds, mammals, and reptiles on the IUCN Red List6% of all these highly threatened specieslikely have benefitted from invasive mammal eradications on islands. Because monitoring of eradication outcomes is sporadic and limited, the impacts of global eradications are likely greater than we report here. Our results highlight the importance of invasive mammal eradication on islands for protecting the worlds most imperiled fauna.

Will climate change impact the potential distribution of a native vine (Merremia peltata) which is behaving invasively in the Pacific region?

Available Online

Kumar, Lalit

Taylor, Subhashni

Merremia peltata is a species with uncertain status in the island nations of the Pacific region. It has been designated introduced and invasive in some countries whereas it is considered native in others. Recent increase in its abundance across some island landscapes have led to calls for its designation as an invasive species of environmental concern with biological control being suggested as a control strategy. Climate change will add to the complications of managing this species since changes in climate will influence its range limits. In this study, we develop a process-oriented niche model of M. peltata using CLIMEX to investigate the impacts of climate change on its potential distribution. Information on the climatic requirements of M. peltata and its current geographic distribution were used to calibrate the model. The results indicate that under current climate, 273,132 km2 of the land area in the region is climatically unsuitable or marginal for M. peltata whereas 664,524 km2 is suitable to highly suitable. Under current climate, areas of climatic suitability for M. peltata were identified on the archipelagos of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. By the end of the century, some archipelagos like Fiji, Hawaii, New Caledonia and Vanuatu will probably become more suitable while PNG and Solomon Islands become less suitable for M. peltata. The results can be used to inform biosecurity planning, management and conservation strategies on islands.

National Ballast Water Management Strategy 2016-2020 Cook Islands

Waste Management and Pollution Control, BRB

Available Online

Government of Cook Islands

The importance of coastal and marine environments to every aspect of the lives of Pacific Islanders cannot be overstated. Pacific Island Countries (PICs) maintain resource rights and management responsibilities for over 30million square kilometres of ocean, equivalent to the total land area of Canada, China and the USA. The total population of coastal pacific islanders is only 2.6 million. There are 11 square kilometres of ocean for each Pacific Islander. Jurisdictionally, the ocean is 200 times more significant to the average Pacific Islander than it is to the average global citizen.

Global threats from invasive alien species in the twenty-first century and national response capacities

Climate Change Resilience, BRB

Available Online

Blumenthal, Dana M.

Bradley, Bethany A.

Dukes, Jeffrey S.

Early, Regan

Gonzalez, Patrick

Grosholz, Edwin D.

Ibañez, Ines

Lawler, Joshua J.

Miller, Luke P.

Olden, Julian D.

Sorte, Cascade J.B.

Tatem, Andrew J.

Invasive alien species (IAS) threaten human livelihoods and biodiversity globally. Increasing globalization facilitates IAS arrival, and environmental changes, including climate change, facilitate IAS establishment. Here we provide the first global, spatial analysis of the terrestrial threat from IAS in light of twenty-first century globalization and environmental change, and evaluate national capacities to prevent and manage species invasions. We find that one-sixth of the global land surface is highly vulnerable to invasion, including substantial areas in developing economies and biodiversity hotspots. The dominant invasion vectors differ between high-income countries (imports, particularly of plants and pets) and low-income countries (air travel). Uniting data on the causes of introduction and establishment can improve early-warning and eradication schemes. Most countries have limited capacity to act against invasions. In particular, we reveal a clear need for proactive invasion strategies in areas with high poverty levels, high biodiversity and low historical levels of invasion.

Invasive species baseline surveys and feasibility studies, Huvalu Forest, Niue

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

Dr. Butler, David J.

This report was prepared as one of the outputs of the GEF PAS project Prevention, eradication and control of invasive alien species in the Pacific islands funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and executed by Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Niue (DAFF). It was designed to contribute to two activities in Niues programme within this project: 1. Develop and establish long term monitoring and GIS for areas with important native biodiversity that may be impacted by invasives. Huvalu Conservation Area, which is the subject of a project within the Regional Forestry and Protected Areas Management Project (FPAM), was identified as the key area for survey. 2. Conduct a pilot feasibility study for ten priority weed or vertebrate eradication targets.

Species conservation in the Pacific Islands: taking effective steps forward

Brodie, Gilianne

Kami, Taholo

Miller, Cara

Pippard, Helen

Pacific species face heightened levels of threat due to the relatively small size, fragility and rapid environmental changes from human development and invasive species in many Pacific Island Countries and Territories.

Battling Invasive Species in the Pacific: Outcomes of the Regional GEF-PAS IAS Project Prevention, control and management of invasive species in the Pacific islands

Biodiversity Conservation, BRB

Available Online

SPREP

Pacific islands intimately connect land and sea. Rats, cats, and other invasive species quickly destroy these links, particularly by predating on native forest seeds, forest birds, sea birds, and other vital ecosystem components. Effective management of invasive species is key to protect terrestrial and marine systems, supporting their function and increasing their resilience to change.

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