Pacific Rim Conservation, Honolulu, HI, USA.
The Nature Conservancy, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
Sci Rep. 2022 Aug 10;12(1):13391. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14982-5.
Islands are global hotspots for biodiversity and extinction, representing ~ 5% of Earth's land area alongside 40% of globally threatened vertebrates and 61% of global extinctions since the 1500s. Invasive species are the primary driver of native biodiversity loss on islands, though eradication of invasive species from islands has been effective at halting or reversing these trends. A global compendium of this conservation tool is essential for scaling best-practices and enabling innovations to maximize biodiversity outcomes. Here, we synthesize over 100 years of invasive vertebrate eradications from islands, comprising 1550 eradication attempts on 998 islands, with an 88% success rate. We show a significant growth in eradication activity since the 1980s, primarily driven by rodent eradications. The annual number of eradications on islands peaked in the mid-2000s, but the annual area treated continues to rise dramatically. This trend reflects increases in removal efficacy and project complexity, generating increased conservation gains. Our synthesis demonstrates the collective contribution of national interventions towards global biodiversity outcomes. Further investment in invasive vertebrate eradications from islands will expand biodiversity conservation while strengthening biodiversity resilience to climate change and creating co-benefits for human societies.
岛屿是生物多样性和物种灭绝的全球热点地区，占地球陆地面积的 5%左右，拥有全球受威胁脊椎动物的 40%和自 16 世纪以来全球灭绝物种的 61%。入侵物种是导致岛屿本地生物多样性丧失的主要驱动因素，但从岛屿上根除入侵物种已被证明有效，可以阻止或扭转这些趋势。该保护工具的全球纲要对于扩大最佳实践和促进创新以最大限度地提高生物多样性成果至关重要。在这里，我们综合了 100 多年来从岛屿上根除入侵脊椎动物的情况，包括 998 个岛屿上的 1550 次根除尝试，成功率为 88%。我们发现自 20 世纪 80 年代以来，根除活动显著增加，主要是由于啮齿动物的根除。岛屿上的根除数量在 21 世纪中期达到顶峰，但每年处理的面积仍在急剧上升。这一趋势反映了去除效果和项目复杂性的提高，从而带来了更多的保护收益。我们的综合研究表明，国家干预措施对全球生物多样性成果做出了共同贡献。进一步投资于从岛屿上根除入侵脊椎动物将扩大生物多样性保护，同时增强生物多样性对气候变化的适应能力，并为人类社会创造共同效益。
