Eradication Archives - Island Conservation

Nature flourishing on Ngerkeklau, Palau after first-ever successful drone-based eradication in Micronesia

Island community partners with international organizations to restore biodiversity and build climate resiliency by removing invasive rats. Native plants and animals are recovering and thriving on Ngerkeklau, which forms part of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean, thanks to the first successful drone-based rat eradication in Micronesia. The project, led by global nonprofit Island Conservation […]

Written by Island Conservation on July 19, 2023

Con X Tech Competition: Prevent Extinctions, Win $20,000

The Con X Tech Prize is a competition for bold new ideas in conservation technology. Win up to $20,000 for your innovative ideas aimed to help prevent extinctions. Are you an innovator? A creative thinker? Always have a trick up your sleeve and a clever idea to solve the latest problem that stands in the […]

Written by Island Conservation on June 5, 2018

Thanks to Eradication Plans, Future Bright for Redonda Island

Conservationists plan to restore Redonda Island by removing damaging invasive species. Redonda, a Caribbean island that is part of Antigua and Barbuda, was once a brilliant ecosystem. The island is home to a variety of plants and animals including endemic lizards. It’s also an Important Bird Area (IBA), meaning that it supports globally significant seabirds. Due […]

Written by Sara on September 2, 2016

Invasive Ants are Gone for Good on Tiritiri Island

The New Zealand Department of Conservation has successfully eradicated invasive ants from Tiritiri Matanga Island, New Zealand. If ants have ever invaded your home, you know what a nuisance they can be–it can be very difficult to completely get rid of these persistent pests. Now imagine trying to eradicate ants from an entire island. Sound impossible? It’s […]

Written by Sara on June 24, 2016

Research Highlights the Importance of Conservation

Researchers find that humans have been altering the natural environment for thousands of years, call for conservation action. Recognition and criticism of man’s harmful impact on the natural world is becoming more and more prominent. Though this awareness may seem recent, the fact of human-induced environmental destruction is not. Research from the University of Oxford reveals that humans have […]

Written by Sara on June 24, 2016

Malinoa and Motu Tapu Islands Restoration Success in the News

Loop Tonga recently covered our successful operation to protect native biodiversity on the islands of Malinoa and Motu Tapu in Tonga, Polynesia by removing invasive rats. The project to restore Malinoa and Motu Tapu was carried out by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Island Conservation and the Government of Tonga. On May 24, 2016, the partners […]

Written by Sara on June 3, 2016

Video: Ambitious Conservationists Set Out to Restore Antipodes Island

Island Conservation is teaming up with partners to remove invasive mice from Antipodes Island. The mice have altered the biodiversity of the island by preying on native plant and animal species–they have already wiped out two insect species. The Million Dollar Mouse restoration project aims to put an end to the destruction caused by these invasive […]

Written by Sara on May 23, 2016

The Recovery of Tromelin Island

In the beginning, Tromelin Island, a small, remote land mass off the coast of Madagascar, was a healthy home for a variety of bird and plant species. The island was beautiful and thriving until one day when people accidentally introduced rats. The island’s ecosystem began to collapse–six of the eight bird species native to the island could not cope […]

Written by Sara on May 10, 2016

50 Years of Rodent Eradication–Here’s What We Learned

When rats are introduced to islands, the damage they do to the ecosystem is staggering. They become unnatural predators. Ground nesting birds, for example, are directly threatened by the invasive rats. Not equipped to defend against the new predators, these vulnerable species face endangerment and extinction. Brown Booby Parent and Chick on Palmyra Atoll, Line Islands. Photo by […]

Written by Sara on March 29, 2016

Maine’s Islands Return to Normal After Removal of Invasive Hares

When snowshoe hares were introduced by people to Hay Island, Maine, they reproduced rapidly and began to damage the natural habitat. The invasive hares made their way to Kent Island and began to take over there as well. Their presence reduced a dazzling diverse forest to just wood fern and raspberry. The loss of trees was met by […]