Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
tried but usually because they are di cult. Mongoose (mostly Herpestes javanicus )
are found and controlled on many islands in the Pacifi c and Caribbean, but to date
have been eradicated, in 2001, only from 120 ha Fajou Island in Guadeloupe in the
Caribbean (Lorvelec and Pascal 2005). Coypu ( Myocaster coypus ) were eradicated
from East Anglia in England in the 1980s (Gosling and Baker 1989), but have not
been eradicated from other places despite massive control eff orts in Europe and the
USA. North American mink ( Mustela vision ) are also a widespread pest in Europe
and were eradicated from many small (Nordstrom et al . 2002) and one large island
(Hiiumaa at 100,000 ha) in the Baltic in 1999 (Macdonald and Harrington 2003),
and from South Uist (32,026 ha) and Benbecula (8203 ha) in Scotland in 2007
(S. Roy, pers. comm.).
Apart from the single mongoose eradication, other advances are also evident
in the list of new vertebrate species that have been successfully eradicated since
2001. h ese include hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus ) from 88 ha Quail Island,
New Zealand in 2004 (Clout and Russell 2006); feral donkeys ( Equus asinus )
from 58,465 ha Santiago Island, Galapagos in 2004 (Carrion et al . 2007); tur-
keys ( Melaegris gallopavo ) from 24,900 ha Santa Cruz Island, California in 2007
(S. Morrison pers. comm.); and feral pigeon ( Columba livia ) from their range on
part Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos in 2004 (F. Cruz, pers. comm.).
Current actions against alien terrestrial vertebrates are even more ambitious,
with plans to attempt to eradicate Rattus rattus from Pinzon Island (1815 ha); Mus
musculus from Gough Island (6500 ha); both rats and mice from Tristan da Cunha
Island (9600 ha); rabbits, rats, and mice from Macquarie Island (12 800 ha); feral cats
from Guadalupe Island (24,399 ha); North American beavers ( Castor canadensis )
from Tierra del Fuego (7,000,000 ha); ruddy ducks ( Oxyura jamaicensis ) from all
of England; and feral goats from Isabela Island (500,000 ha)—the latter almost
completed (V. Carrion pers. comm.). Advances in control techniques and how
they are specifi cally applied to achieve eradication of vertebrates are discussed in
other chapters in this topic.
4.5 Advances in eradication of weeds
As we discuss in section 4.6.4, eradicating weeds presents some particular prob-
lems. Rejmánek and Pitcairn (2002) used the data from the California Department
of Agriculture on 18 agricultural weed species (a mix of annual and perennial spe-
cies) in 53 separate infestations to show that eradication was likely for small infes-
tations of
1 ha, but that only 33% of those between 1-100 ha were eradicated
and only 25% of those between 100-1000 ha. They suggested that eradication
of infestations over 1000 ha was unlikely to succeed with a 'realistic amount of
resources'.
Recent advances in weed eradication have been mainly conceptual and
theoretical, in an attempt to understand the scale-cost mechanisms behind
Rejmánek and Pitcairn's conclusions, and to extend the conclusions to
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