Alifano, Aurora R;Moore, Predensa;Mackin, William;Iverson, John B;Griffiths, Richard;Fabres, Boris;Jolley, Wesley;Holmes, Nick D
The Power of Partnerships: Eradicating Invasive Mice from Allen Cay, The Bahamas
Proc. 26th Vertebrate Pest Conference
2014
Conference Proceedings
78-82
University of California, Davis
Cyclura cychlura inornata
Developing countries often have urgent national commitments regarding protection of biodiversity, but can be experience- or resource-limited to undertake conservation action. The eradication of invasive alien vertebrates (IAV), requiring a specialized set of skills and experience and sometimes significant capital investments, is a case in point. Building international collaborations to eradicate IAVs from islands is a potential approach to enhance the conservation of threatened species within countries that do not have sufficient capacity or funding. Here, we present a case study, the successful removal of invasive house mice from Allen Cay, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas. The goal of the project was to protect Audubon's Shearwaters and improve breeding habitat for the endemic Allen Cay Rock Iguana. The project was collaboratively planned and implemented by two previously unassociated organizations, the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) and Island Conservation (IC). Both organizations brought unique skillsets to the project: BNT provided compliance and local biological expertise, and IC provided eradication project management. Local capacity to implement future eradication projects was strengthened through BNT's ownership and management of the project, and a strong partnership now exists to increase the scale and efficacy of future Bahamian island eradication projects to protect threatened species. Efforts to expand and coordinate an international network of practitioners conducting IAV eradications will require an improved understanding of the threats posed by IAVs, access to technical support, exposure to best practices, and the empowerment of local agencies to invest in the protection of biodiversity on islands.
English
Proc. 26th Vertebr. Pest Conf. (R.M. Timm and J.M. O'Brien, Eds.) Published at Univ. of Calif., Davis. 2014. Pp. 78-82.