Driving Out Invasive Species On Islands Has Big Benefits – Study

"New research finds that eradicating non-native rats, cats, rabbits and goats is 88% effective in restoring biodiversity".

"Eradicating rats, goats and other invasive animals from islands is one of the most effective tools for protecting wildlife, resulting in dramatic transformations to degraded archipelagos and atolls, according to a new study.

From the dodo to Daudin’s giant tortoise, island species have been disproportionately affected by extinctions, often caused by the arrival of alien species brought by colonisers that killed wildlife found nowhere else on Earth.

Now a new study has given hope that biodiversity loss on islands can be halted and, in some cases, reversed by removing invasive species such as rabbits, cats, goats, mice and rats from these ecosystems to allow native fauna to recover."

Patrick Greenfield reports for the Guardian August 10, 2022.

SEE ALSO:

"From 300,000 Rabbits To None: A Southern Ocean Island Is Reborn" (Guardian)

 

Source: Guardian, 08/11/2022