Five years after the ground-breaking invasive rat removal program in the Acteon-Gambier Islands, a monitoring mission takes the pulse of the wildlife recovery.

Five years after a vast rat removal operation on Acteon and Gambier islands, by an international conservation team, endangered bird populations are on the rise and still, there are no signs of rats.

In conjunction with the BirdLife International and Island Conservation, the Societe d’Ornithologie de Polynesie (SOP Manu) returned to the Acteon and Gambier island groups last month to inspect Vahanga, Tenarunga, Temoe, and Tenararo. Five years after the project was implemented, how is wildlife recovering?

While the endemic fauna and vegetation are showing signs of better health, the presence of invasive species for several decades has scared away many colonies of seabirds.

It will take longer for them to come back. They need a lot of quiet.”

Tehani Withers, project manager for the SOP Manu.

Since these species evolved without predators, the birds, like many island species, have not developed defenses against them, nor the need to reproduce quickly. This is especially true for seabirds, including petrels, shearwaters, or oceanites, that nest on islands and take years to mature.

Once one of the most widespread birds in the Pacific—the Polynesian Ground-dove, also known as Tutururu—is considered one of the rarest birds in the world, with fewer than 200 surviving individuals. The success of the operation on Acteon and Gambier, doubled the species available habitat, and now populations are increasing from six individuals observed in 2017, to fifteen or twenty per island.

It’s rising slowly but surely,” welcomes Tehani. “Once we have identified them, we would like to move them to Temoe, which would be interesting as a fourth habitat for them, especially since there are no rats or cats on this atoll.”

SOP Manu, Birdlife International, and Island Conservation are also working on a much more ambitious project to restore seven uninhabited islands in the Marquesas Islands, which would protect no less than 2,500 hectares and five endangered bird species. For now, the partners are excited to see this incredible species recovery and another successful case of preventing extinctions.

Source: Tahiti Infos