Hobart

Seminar Abstract

Friday 1 February 2008, 11.30am (Tas time)
CSIRO Auditorium, Hobart

Keith Springer
Project Manager
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service

Macquarie Island: Pest Eradication Project

Macquarie Island has had a number of vertebrate species introduced since discovery by sealers in 1810. Some have established wild populations and have had a significant negative impact on native biota. Weka and feral cats were eradicated in 1989 and 2000 respectively. Rabbits, ship rats and house mice remain. Rabbits are responsible for extensive vegetation loss with follow-on impacts on slope stability and reduced breeding success for burrow-nesting seabirds. Rodents predate birds eggs and chicks, invertebrates and also consume large numbers of plant seeds, impeding seedling recruitment.

Conservation managers worldwide are taking an increased interest in the discipline of island pest eradication, with a number of islands successfully cleared of a range of invasive species; including goats, cats, rabbits, ship and Norway rats, mice, sheep and cattle. An eradication project aimed at removing rabbits and rodents from Macquarie Island has commenced, following funding of the project by the Tasmanian and Australian governments. This presentation describes the island and the impacts of introduced pests, and outlines the eradication plan to remove them.

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Location:
CSIRO = Marine Laboratories Auditorium, Castray Esplanade, Hobart

For further information, or to schedule a seminar, contact:
To schedule a seminar, contact:
Bernadette Sloyan, (Oceanographic seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5152
Thomas Kunz, (Biological seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
(03) 6232 5076
Natalie Dowling, (Fisheries Modelling) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
(03) 6232 5148
Jillian Enraght-Moony, (seminar administrator) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5320
Sandra Zicus, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC (03) 6226 7888
Margaret Hazelwood, Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies (IASOS) University of Tasmania (03) 6226 2971

Last updated 25/01/08