title: Invasive mammal eradication on islands results in substantial conservation gains.
abstract: 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 List-6% of all these highly threatened species-likely 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 world's most imperiled fauna.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115; Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115; hjones@niu.edu.
authors.forename: Holly P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Island Conservation, Santa Cruz, CA 95060;
authors.forename: Nick D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: BirdLife International, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Stuart H M
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Butchart
authors.affiliation: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060;
authors.forename: Bernie R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Tershy
authors.affiliation: Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331;
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kappes
authors.affiliation: Zoology & Ecology, University College Cork, Corcaigh, Ireland;
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Corkery
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C., Ensenada, C.P. 22800, Baja California, Mexico;
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguirre-Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Ecology Group, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, Palmerston North 4474, New Zealand;
authors.forename: Doug P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Ecology Systematics and Evolution, University Paris-Sud, Orsay 91405, France;
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bonnaud
authors.affiliation: Private address, Floreat, WA 6014, Australia;
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Burbidge
authors.affiliation: Island Conservation, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia;
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Ecology Systematics and Evolution, University Paris-Sud, Orsay 91405, France;
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Courchamp
authors.affiliation: Landcare Research, Lincoln 7608, New Zealand;
authors.forename: Philip E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Cowan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom; Wildlife Conservation Society, Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea;
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cuthbert
authors.affiliation: Alaska National Maritime Wildlife Refuge, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Homer, AK 99603;
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ebbert
authors.affiliation: Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, I-00144 Rome, Italy; Invasive Species Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, I-00144 Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Genovesi
authors.affiliation: Island Conservation, Santa Cruz, CA 95060;
authors.forename: Gregg R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Howald
authors.affiliation: Island Conservation, Santa Cruz, CA 95060;
authors.forename: Bradford S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Keitt
authors.affiliation: Seabird Restoration Program, National Audubon Society, Ithaca, NY 14850;
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kress
authors.affiliation: Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington 6011, New Zealand;
authors.forename: Colin M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Miskelly
authors.affiliation: Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oppel
authors.affiliation: South Georgia Surveys, Beaver Island LandCare, Stanley, FIQQ IZZ, Falkland Islands;
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Poncet
authors.affiliation: Geography Department, Laney College, Oakland, CA 94607;
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rauzon
authors.affiliation: Island Biodiversity and Conservation Center, University of Seychelles, Anse Royale, Seychelles; Island Conservation Society, Pointe Larue, Mahé, Seychelles;
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rocamora
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand; Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C., Ensenada, C.P. 22800, Baja California, Mexico;
authors.forename: Araceli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samaniego-Herrera
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand;
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Seddon
authors.affiliation: Island Conservation, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060;
authors.forename: Dena R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Spatz
authors.affiliation: Science and Capability Group, Department of Conservation, Auckland 1145, New Zealand; Institute for Applied Ecology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Towns
authors.affiliation: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060;
authors.forename: Donald A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Croll
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D058865:Introduced Species; D062312:Islands; D008322:Mammals
keywords: conservation; eradication; invasive species; island; restoration