Kararehe Kino - Vertebrate Pest Research, Issue 21
January 2013 — How science can contribute to a pest-free NZ
In this issue
Eradicating invasive species on big inhabited islands
John Parkes has been investigating whether pest-free New Zealand will divert pest managers from practical solutions and waste a lot of money, or whether it is in fact feasible.
Will reinvasion stymie large-scale eradication of invasive mammals in New Zealand?
Is eradication of invasive mammals, such as possums, mustelids and rodents, over very large areas of New Zealand just a matter of scaling up from what has been achieved on near-shore islands or in fenced sanctuaries?
Measuring progress and declaring ‘success’ in broad-scale eradications of wildlife pests and disease
Modelling can be used to predict, prior to the eradication effort, the amount of low-cost surveillance that will be required throughout and after control ends.
An ecological game to enhance the pest-free New Zealand debate
Developing a novel approach to better inform individuals and increase communication between science and the public using a computer game based on possum interactions with forest, choices for managing possums, and the consequences of such choices.
Landscape influences on possum dispersal
A ‘landscape genetics’ approach to identify the main landscape features that influence possum dispersal at large regional scales and provide an indirect measure of connectivity between possum populations across a landscape.
Spillover and edge effects in pest control
Knowing the spatial extent of edge and spillover effects in regard to pest management goals and conservation outcomes is important but the effects are not well understood.
Pest control across boundaries
Biodiversity monitoring to test whether the area protected by pest control is larger or smaller than the area poisoned (a ‘core effect’ vs. ‘halo effect’) and whether the size of the protected area varies for different native species and native vegetation.
Scaling up pest animal control with aerial baiting – what’s your poison?
Using aerial baiting raises questions about the environmental effects of the toxins. Objective information about the toxins likely to be used is needed to underpin discussion of the benefits and risks of striving to be pest-free.
The increasing problem of rabbits
Successful and affordable rabbit control is more likely to be achieved if the effectiveness of the existing biological control agent, rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus, can be regained and maintained.
Can rabbit control reduce feral cat numbers at a regional scale?
One of the most important factors affecting the abundance of predators is the availability of their prey.
Local elimination – a necessary stepping stone to dreams of national freedom from vertebrate pests
To achieve eradication over large areas of New Zealand without using fences will require either scaling up operations to cover an entire island in one operation or finding a way to progressively ‘rollback’ pest populations.
Applying the seven rules for eradication to pest-free New Zealand
Achieving eradication from very large islands such as Stewart, Chatham or Great Barrier or defendable areas of the mainland such as Banks Peninsula using a framework of seven ‘rules’
Recent publications
Some recent vertebrate-pest-related publications.
