Invasive Species Specialist Group of the IUCNSpecies Survival Commission

Thus, betw~~n 31 March and 4 April,both IUCN and SCOPE held back-to-back meetings in San Mateo, Califor-nia, to discuss this work.IUCN's meeting brought together arange of experts and perspectives oninvasives management. Agreementwas reached on priorities for the newinvasives initiative, and a start wasmade on planning for future actions.The SCOPE workshop specificallyaddressed invasive species and global

change. Participimts conside!ed po-tential responses of invaders tochanges in cliniate and many other pa-rameters. A publication is proposedas a result of this meeting.

Sponsored by:

.Manaaki WhenuaLandcare Research

ISSN: 1173-5988

The Global Environment Facility(GEE) of the World Bank has allo-cated funds to the Global Invasive

Species Programme (GISP)-co-.ordinated by SCOPE (Scientific Co~-

rnittee on Probl~ms of the Environ~ment), and in which IUCN is a majorpartner. The programme will run forover 2 years and will involve a seriesof meetings and publications on vari-ous aspects of invasives and their im-pacts. The team's goal is to enablelocal, national, and multi~nationalcommunities to diaw on the best avail-able tools to improve pest preventionand control systems immediately, andto identify priorities for the develop-ment ,?f new 1ools needed to achievelonger term success. "Despite over acentury of organised work on pestprevention and control", the qIsPbrochUre explains, "the wor14 colil-munity today lacks many of the es-sential technical tools to overcomethis problem. Moreover, many of thetools that do exist are no~ fully acces-sible to all nations". GISP is organ-ised into a series of sections includ-ing: ecology, pathways, early warn-

ing, prevention, rapid assessment,economic assessment, risk analysis,legal/institutional arrangements, andmanagement/control. Most of theseinvolve ISSG members.

IUCN'bad already resolved to makeinvasives one of its primary foci forglobal action. This plan was an-flounced by Director General DavidMcDowellin the latestissueofWorldConservation. He writes: "The World~onservation Union already has awide variety of activities relating toinvasives, ranging from the technicalwork of SSC, to the policy work ofthe Biodiversity Programme and theEnvironmental Law Centre. to fieldactivities in East Africa and else-where. Now we are launching anewUnion-wide initiative to bring thesetogether" .

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rolled up from the dirt, the roll is set afire, and the outsideburns, but on the inside of the roll some of the stems thatare unburned may grow into a new plant. There is also aconcern that in rolling the plant, perhaps some stems getstuck-between roots, under logs-and begin to spreadout. .

Pohnpei is a small volcanic island in the eastern CarolineIslands, located in the western Pacific's Federated Statesof Micronesia. It is the highest island and second largestin the Caroline Island chain.Subsistence agriculture is the predominant occupation ofthe island inhabitants. Rainfall is high! with as much as4820 millimetres falling within 300 days per year.

No one has tried to find out how to do away with thisplant. It reproduces very quickly and is most difficult 10kill. Clearing it away will only bare 1he earth and causedebris to become abund~t.

Many different alien plant species have been introducedto the island by people who come t6 Pohnpei as visitors,as well as by island peoples who travel back and forth.Invasive plants are now considered tobe one ofPohnpei'sbiggest problems. Getting rid of invasive plants is quite apredicament to us Pohnpeians.Wedelia trilobata (pohnpei:tuhke ongohng) is one of the plants that is deemed to beamongst the worst of all the invasive plants that have beenintroduced to the island.

We, the CCOs ofWoan Kepin Semwei, expect help fromplaces that can find out how to slow or stop the growthand spread of this plant. We believe that lack of action tocontrol this plant will result in great difficulties for thenatives of Pohnpei.

On Pohripei there is also a vigorous grass which peoplefear spreading onto their land. The name of this grass inPohripeianis reh padil (paddle grass?). Wedelia trilobataalso usually covers and kills it.

According to our practical knowledge, we CommunityConservation Officers (CCOs) certainly believe that thewide spread of this tuhke ongohng will soon destroy ourown important grasses and herbs that are useful for localPohnpeian medicine. Even Waun Kepin Semwei, part ofthis island which is a reserve, has different types of plantswhich were introduced and have spread quickly from onearea to another, killing important and useful native plants.

According to my own observations, if there is nothing doneto remove w: trilobata, there wiU be difficulties for nativegrasses, weeds and plants which are used for localPohnpeian medicine because they will be consumed bythe spread of this plant.As Wedelia trilobata grows and lengthens, it falls over

and sprouts new roots and sends out new shoots andbranches that also grow up and fall over. Thus the plant'smain body develops into a tangled cover, up to four inchesthick, covering all the grass and killing it.

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The main body of this plant is just like thin s1:rings thatcover the ground. The leaves ar~ a little forked and perhaps2.5 inches long. The flower has yellow oval :ray floretssurrounded by bracts and the inflorescence center is madeup of disk florets.

During one workshop of CCOs, which was held fromOctober 21- 31, 1997, there was training on monitoringand management. In this workshop, during the small groupsessions, one group made it an objective forCCOs to solveproblems, No best solution was found to. deal with thebasic problems with this plant. Some CCOs spoke ofburning it~but it will be difficult to try this. The reason isthat when this plant is cleared by cutting with a knife,some of the stems stay on or below the ground and continueto grow. When clearing the land, people roll up the plantand cut it into rolls of screen because of the ways that theplant runs together and piles up. When it is finished being

/oanis SantosCommunity Conservation OfficerWKS Pohnpei FSM 9694/Tel: +691-320-6885

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Perhaps in some parts of the world, in different countries;itrnight be an important plantor herb. Research has beenobtained on Wedelia trilobata {tuhke ongohng) anddiscoveries show that it is used as a medicine, but in themeanti~e the medicine is not for us the Pohnpeians.Traditionally it is used in other countries while for usPohnpeians it is destroying our land, and banishing ourown herbs, grasses and plants which are important for ourown local medicine and other purposes.

The White-spotted tussock moth Orgyiathyellina was discovered infesting a sevensquare kilometre area of Auckland's easternsuburbs in ~prilI996. The insect, a memberof the family Lymantriidae (which includesgypsy moth and Douglas fIr tussock moth), isa native of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China.It is not regarded as a serious pest in its nativerange, but given its family relationships andthe unpredictability of exotic insects in newenvironments, it was considered a potentiallyserious threat'to New zealand's forests andtrees.

The insect over-wintered as egg ~asses during1996 on plants, fences, houses, and outdoorfurniture within the infected area. These eggswere expected to hatch in the spring and the .

fIrst generation of caterpillars to then pupateproducing flight-capable females and malemoths. The moth would give rise to t.wofurther generations over the summer. the finalfemale adults being unable to fly and layingover-wintering eggs wherever they pupated.

The operational strategy aimed to treat, by upto six aerial applications of Btk, a total areaof 40 square kilometres centred on the.jnfestedarea. Applications were spaced about sevendays apart and beginning soon after egg hatch.The objective was to ens:ure that all caterpillarswere exposed to at least three applications ofBtk before they entered the fourth larval instar.However the unexpectedly protracted egghatch and the survival of some flfst-generationlarvae led to?ine sprays by DC6 aircraft overthe 40 square kilometres and a further 14helicopter applications to the much smallerinfested area (approximately 300 hectares),finishing in April 1997. In addition, weeklyground sp;raying of Qlore than 200 infes.tedproperties was carried out.

Once the infested area had been defined, andall available infonnationasseinbled both fromoverseas experience and observations ~nAuckland, a response strategy was developed.This strategy involved an interim decision toattempt to eradicate the pest, and it set inmotion operational planning to beimplemented in the spring of 1996. At thesame time research was commissioned toclarify the risk, evaluate controlQptions, and

develop monitoring systems..

Feeding trials showed the caterpillars had astrong preference for plants in the rose familyincl\1ding pip and stone fruit, but also for~ple, birch and willow. Amenity, shelter, andresidential garden trees were seen as primarilyat risk. Horticulture, and forests wherefavoured plants such as blackberry grew, couldalso be affected.

The spraying strategy had an immediateimpact on population levels of the insect, andground searching for residual infestationsbecame less and less effective. This problemhad been identified early in the prograrrimeand the search for a more effective monitoringtool already had high priority. Efforts focusedon the development of a synthetic pheromone,the chemical attractant the female moth emitsto attract a male.

The organic pesti"ide Bacillus thuringiensisvar. kurstaki (Btk) was found to be effectiveagainst the caterpillar, particularly in the firstthree of the six instars of its development.With confirmation that the inf~station wasconfined to a seven square kilometre area, andconcentrated in a single square kilometre, itwas agreed that eradication would beattempted and the Operation Evergreen Teamunder the Ministry of Forestry's JohnHandiside was born.

All commercially-available lymantridpheromones had been tested to no avail, andthen despite a m~jor effort by New Zealandresearchers and colleagues at Simon FrazerUniversity in Canada. which found a solution,this was not in time for the 1996-97 spray

Left: (top) flightless female, (middle) male,(bottom) winged female.

Above: fully grown caterpillar-cimspicuous withred and black colouring and four prominenttufts of creamy hairs on its back. (30 mm).

programme. Monitoring over this time wascarried out using live caged female mothsfrom the Forest Research Institute in Rotorua,ca. 250 kilometres away, where thousands ofinsects were reared for host testing, sprayevaluation, pheromone research and fieldmpnitoring. The rearing, transport, handlingand deployment of all live insects had to meetstrict quarantine requirements and alwaysinvolved some risk.

information initiative involving all aspects ofthe media, public meetings and one-on-oneresponse; and extensive health monitoring andreview including the establishment of anarchived database which all individualss?bject to spraying were encouraged to join.

The 1997-98 programme has involved thedeployment of 7000 synthetic pheromonetraps over 2000 pro~rties and risk sites. Trapsare inspected every two weeks from thebeginning of December to mid June. As at laieMarch no male moths have been caught. It ishoped to continue monitoring for at least thefIrst generation of the 199&-99 season if nomoths are caught. DeSpite strict vegetationcontrols imposed soon after the infestationwas discovered, the possibility the insect hasbeen transported to a new site eannot beexcluded. It is hoped that with increased publicawareness any such eyent will be detectedearlier than the original infestation.

In December and January 1996-97, 68 fIrst -

generation male moths were caught in 46 trapsof an array of 250. The catches were tightlyfocused in the "hot zone II of the infested area.

During April a further six male moths werecaught, arguably late second or early thirdgeneration individ~als. Monitoring continuedinto late June with no further catches.

The programme was far more complex thanis evident from this brief article. Managementof spray application alone involved advancedflight control, mapping and aircraftmonitoring techniques, so that schools andbusinesses could be advised by the controlcentre just minutes in advance of the aircraftpassing oveL All aircraft were calibrated todeliver five litres of Btk per hectare anddeposition monitoring was carried out for allflights. Researchers sampled Btk build-up onvegetation and in soil, modelled depositionpatterns and droplet size, provided hourlyweather predictions for flying, modelledpopulation change, and monitored eggembryonic development to predict egg hatch.

Finally if the~e is any single attribute that h~characterised Operation Evergreen it isteamwork, teamwork, teamwork.Cooperation between researchers, operationspeople, communications staff, contractors, andmost of all the people of the eastern suburbs.This is one programme where the Gry "peopleare our greatest resource" is truly appropriateand so much more than a platitud~ in a 'glossyannual report.

Gordon Bosking,

Chief Forestry Officel;New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and

ForestryFax: +64-7.;345-6861

The programme also inv?lved two other keycomponents: a public communication. and

For some time emphasis has rightly been placed on therole of ballast water as a vector by which exotic, aggressive,andecologically-damaging marine taxa can be translocatedto estuarine, harbour and shallow near-shore environmentsfar from their native territories. There are numerous, well-documented examples from Australasia, Europe andelsewhere, with attention usually focusing on perceivedor identified detrimental impacts of the new arrivals.However, it has also been recognised that many marinefouling organisms have long since achieved a globaldistribution through natural methods. Some of this mayhave occurred without human intervention and by way ofattachment to logs, seaweed and pumice passively driftingat the whim of the wind, wave, tide and current, or byhitching a ride on turtles and other active marine animals.Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that terrestrialvertebrates and invertebrates may be transported in asimilar fashion-the iguanas of Fiji may have reached theSouth West Pacific in this way. It has even been speculatedthat the human species may have reached northernAustralia by accidental rafting on floating islands of soil,matted roots and vegetation torn from Papua New Guineariverbanks in times of flood.

repeated claim that >75% of marine pollution has a land-based source, there can be little doubt that locally, asignificant proportion of marine debris may have its originsin nearby offshore maritime activities. Most plastics floatand are highly durable in seawater, and herein lie potentialsurrogates for the substrata provided in nature by floatinglogs, seaweeds and pumice, as well as some surface-dwelling, free-swimming marine animals.

Studies of beach-cast pelagic plastics on shores of theWestern Atlantic (Florida, Bermuda and the Caribbean)as well as around northern New Zealand, eastern Australia,the South West Pacific and subantarctic islands, haveshown that they also can support a varied community ofencrusters and fouling epibionts as well as attract a diversemotile biota. The comniunity is similar to that associatedwith Sargassum and other drifting seaweeds; although withrequced species richness and diversity.

More than 100 epibiont species have now been identifiedQn beached plastic. They are mostly hard-shelled andcrustose organisms including barnacles, tube .worms,bryozoans, and bivalve molluscs as well as foraminiferansand coralline algae .together with hydrozoans, ascidiansand rare corals. This rec.otd, however, is somewhat biasedas soft fleshy organisms do not long resist desiccation anddisintegration once exposed to harsh beach environments.Studies of freshly-arrived plastic on Florida beaches andfouling history Qf PET bottles moored in shallow near-shore marine waters of the Leigh Marine Reserve north ofAuckland, New Zealand, have emphasised that the intialcolonisers, following biofilm development, are filamentousalgae, hydroids and other fleshy epibionts. .In addition adiverse motile biota, typified by crabs, amphipods,polychaete worms and gastropods as well as rare isopods,shrimps, limpets, chitons and echinoderms is recordedfrom freely-floating plastics. Several fish species andmarine mammals are also drawn to pelagic plastics,

Bryozoans are the most common taxon on marine debrisaround northern New Zealand, with at least 60 identifiablespecies. Of these, 28 had no previous local record, althoughmost were known from eastern Australia and the KermadecRidge, In several instances bryozoan colonies were

Over the past three decades or more, concern has developedover the general health state of the oceans and the extentto which surface waters and shorelines everywhere .havebeen progressively fouled by marine debris (collectivelydefined as "...manufactured or processed solid wastematerial entering the marine environment from anysource..."). The ocean surface's often filthy state was.clearly revealed by observations made in 1970 byHeyerdahl during the raft Ra lI's westward drift acrossthe North Atlantic. Almost thirty years later there is noevidence that the situation has improved, given recentstatements by the rowers Hamill and Stubbs after theirsuccessful passage from Tenerife to Barbados through thevery same waters. Uqsightly accumulations of marinedebris are now known from the most remote and generallyinaccessible shores, eg. unhabited Oeno and Ducie Atollsand Henderson Island in the Pitcairn Group, as well asseldom visited subantarctic islands.Marine debris is dominated by persistent syntheticmaterials, most of which are plastics. Despite the often

6

plastic may represent considerably less potential thanballast water for introduction of aggressive, habitatdestroying/modifying alien taxa, but this does not mean itshould be ignored. In addition, there are the scarcelyacknowledgedrisk5 to terrestrial ecosystems of the coastalzone. There are matters here to be addressed by thosehaving stewardship and management responsibilities forsensitive coastal estate-particularly for areas havingheritage status, high conservation values or harbouringendangered species, whether marine or terrestrial,

Membra!'lipora tuberculata x 80

sexually mature and could have reproduced whilst livinga pseudoplanktic lifestyle on their adopted floating island,While most of the marine debris epibiontsso far identifiedare local benthic taxa there are several examples illustratingtranslocation potenti.al. Florida debris carried a previouslyunrecorded bryozoan (Thalampore'la sp.) bearing closesimilarity to a species described from Brazil. Similarlythe well known tropical Indo-Pacific oyster, Lophacristagalli has been recorded twice in New Zealandwaters-on marine debris in both instances. Thecosmopolitan, warm-water low latitude bryozoan,Membranipora tuberculata now dominates beach-castmarine debris around northern New Zealand and iscommon on South Pacific island and eastern Australiashores. This species was only earlier recorded in isolatedinstances during the late 1960s and 1970s-and on alloccasions substrata were plastic. As improbable as it mayseem, plastic debris coQld transport terrestrial organismspicked up during earlier episodes of stranding, A toy plasticboat, drifting ashore on an infrequently visited islandapproximately four kilometres off the northern NewZealand mainland, carried viable seeds of several plants,including one species not known from the island. It alsohas been suggested that rats and predators such as catsand stoats as well as other vertebrate and invertebrate pestscould be rafted across open water in similar fashion.The environmental threats posed by marine debris are oftenviewed at an emotive level, involving cosmetic andaesthetic factors as well as those arising from wildlifeentanglement and ingestion. This brief revjew suggeststhat there are other aspects warranting attention. Pelagic

Murray GregoryDepartment of Geology, The University of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019, Auckland, New ZealandTel;; +64-9-373-7599x7680Fax; +64-9373-7435E-mail; m.gregory@auckland.ac.nz

Lopha cristagalliattached to nylon rope,

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Prior to the advent of the first Polynesian settlers intoSamoa some 3000 years ago, all plants found in thearchipelago were native species (ie. they had all arrivedby natural means) and nearly all the land was covered withforest-the major exceptions being recent lava flows, thescrub-covered peaks ofTutuila and Ta'u, the littoral strand;and successional areas of disturbance caused by high windsof hurricanes. Thus, the vast majority of native plants were(and still are) adapted to living in undisturbed, relativelyshaded environments. Although none of the native plantscould have been called a weed (which can be defined asany plant growing out of place, i.e., growing where itinterferes with the activities of humans), some speciespresent did have characteristics typical ofweeds-i.e. fastgrowth in sunny places, rapid means of dispersal, and

prolific reproduction.

own. Many of them, such as taro, b~anas, and breadfruit,cannot even reproduce by themselves and have to beP!opagated by vegetative means (e.g. stem cuttings,rhizomes, etc.). Prior to the arrival of the first Europeans(which is the beginning of the "European era" that is bestdefined as starting in 1830-the year Europeanmissionaries first arrived), the only weedy species thatimpacted the environment were about 28 accidentalPolynesian introductions, about 7 intenti9nal Polynesianintroductions that became naturalised (e;g. Dioscoreabulbifera, the bitter yam), and perhaps as many as 16 nativeplants that were preadapted to die sunny conditions created

by Polynesian a~riculture.However, with the arrival of Europeans came a flood ofnew alien plants. Those intentionally brought during thelast two centuries are termed intentional modern (orEuropean) introduc(ions if they were purposefully brought,or accidental modern { or European) introductions if theirtransport to Samoa was unintentional. Over the last 168years scores of new plants have been added 10 the weedflora, and the total number of weeds noW present in Samoais now about 240 (a few more than reported a deCade agoby Whistler 1988). .Polynesia has a history of severe we,ed problems. In places,such as the smaller islands of Hawai'i, virtually no nativelowland vegetation remains. In Samoa, however, the nativelowland vegetation was fairly intact until a few decadesago, particularly on the big island of Savai'i.But with thedevelopment of a commercial timber industry in 1968 andmajor population pressure on the natural resources, thesituation in Samoa has rapidly deteriorated. Part of this isdue to recently introduced (i.e. in this century) weeds.

Some of the alien weed species are restricted to sunny,disturbed places and make aIi impact mostly on croplandsand pastures. The most common and economicallyimportant of these species in Samoa include Mikaniamicrantha, Paspalum conjugatum, Ruellia prostrata,Bidens alba, Hyptis rhomboidea, Mimosa pudica, Mimosainvisa, Stachytarpheta urticifolia, Commelina diffi4sa, andKyllinga polyphylla: Other species,. however, are able toinvade native forest-usually somewhat disturbed!orest-and either retard natural plant succession or cause otherproblems for the ever-shrinking areas of natural vegetation.The most important of the weeds that are invasive in nativeforest are the secondary forest trees Funtumia elastica(African rubber tree), Castilla elastica (another rubbertr~e), and Albizia chinesis, the shrubs Clidemia hirta(Koster's curs~) and Cestrum nocturnu1;n (night-bloomingcestrum); the vines Mikania micrantha (mile-a-mihutevine) and Passiflora laurifolia ) (an edible passionfruit);and the grasses Ischaemum timorense, Paspalumconjugatum (t-grass), and Brachiaria mutica (Californiagrass). Any listing of problem forest weeds would alsohave to include Merremia peltata, a high-climbing native

However, everything changed with the arrival of the firstPolynesian settlers in Samoa. Forests were cut down orburned in order to provide space and light for the cultivationof the non-native plants, referred to as Polynesianintroductions, that were brought in Polynesian voyagingcanoes. Some of these plants, such as yams, tapa, and redhibiscus, were intentionally brought in to be used for food,material purposes, decoration, or medicines. These canbe termed intentional Polynesian introductions. Others,however, were accidental arrivals, typically transported asseeqs in soil around root crops, or burs stuck to clothingor animal fur; these can be termed accidental Polynesianintroductions.Most of the alien (introduced) plants were no problem forthe environment since they lacked the characteristics thatwould allow them to spread and become naturalised on their

R

vine that can smother secondary vegetation.In the past, only the weeds that caused problems forfarmers and ranchers received attention. However, it is clearthat weeds causing ecological problems are also importantand in need of attention. While it is not usually the case,agriculture development sometimes is a major cause ofecological problems, such as the introduction of thepotential crop plant Funtuiniti elastica (which proved ofno value as a rubber tree, but is a major forest weed).

This lack of attention to forest weeds and potential forestweeds is still the case today. One example is: theintroduction by an aid agency of a rattan species intoSamoa as a possible sQurce of rattan cane. The plant isarmed with vicious spines that would create majorproblems for anyone working in or walking through theforest if the plant becomes naturalised, but pleas for itselimination from research cultivatioI:thave gone unheeded.Clearly there is a need to determine what the major forestweeds are and how they can be controlled. There is also amajor need to prevent future plant introductions frombecoming a problem.

Art Whistle1;

Isle Botanica, Hawaii, USA

Fax: + I -808-945-9334

E-mail: whistler@hawaii.edu

Paspalum conjugatum ("T -grass")

9.

G a aaThe flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands areremarkably fortunate in the relatively late arrival of humansto this isolated archipelago, lying some 600 miles west ofSouth America and composed of 15 major islands andmany islets and rocks. But now they are feeling the effects.

islands. The current population is estimated at 15,000,with an annual increase of over 8% during the 1990s.Increased population, especially with increased wealth,meant an increase in the amount of cargo arriving, withthe concomitant increased risk of introductions.

The islands are presumed to have been pristine when theywere discovered in 1535 by the Spanish. The discoverywas accidental and the islands remained largely unvisitedun~il the late J600s, when British buccaneers foundGalapagos to be a useful refuge after their attacks uponSpanish ports and galleons. At most, however, they canhave been responsible for the introduction of rats or mice.

Regulations today prohibit the importation of animals andplants. Fanners, particularly those who raise cattle, havebeen happy enough to comply, since their animals, (at leastuntil recently, when an isolated outbreak of foot -and-mouthdisease was detected), are known to be free of such diseasesas brucellosis and tuberculosis.

Nevertheless, the regulations ar~ neither obeyed byeveryone, nor strictly enforced. In March 1998, theEcuad()rianCon~ess passed a Special Law for Galapagoswhich aims to promote conservation and includes, amongmany other topics, provisions regarding control ofintroduced species and quarantine. A new system ofinspection and quarantine is ready, but implementation isonly preliminary; full implementation will need substantialinvestment for infrastructure, training, and education. Thusfurther intentional, although illegal, introductions havebeen made with the result that canine parvovirus hasrecently appeared, as have Newcastle and Marek'sdiseasein chickens. The notorious plant kudzu (Pueraria-speciesas yet unconfirmed) was discovered in the highlands ofSanta Cruz a few years ago. Fortunately, it was found byan officer of the Provincial Agriculture Department andthe head of Botany at the Charles DarWin ResearGh Station,so it was eliminated before it could spread (periodicmonitoring and control is still necessary).

Major visitation, colonization. and, consequently,introductions came in the 1800s. Whaling ships visitedthe archipelago in large numbers from the early 1800s untilabout 1860. Although their greatest impact was on thetortoise populations-which they took for food in suchhuge quantities that many races were brought to the brinkof extinction and two races were killed off completely-whalers are undoubtedly responsible for the introductionof black rats (Rattus rattus) and domestic cats to someislands.

In 1832, ECuador claimed the Galapagos and establisheda colony on Floreana. The settlers brought food crops anddomestic animals, such as cattle, horses, burros, pigs, andchickens. The Floreana colony failed and some settlersmoved to other islands. Some domestic animals were takenalong, but the cultivated crops and m~y animals, nowferal, remained, Futher c91onization attempts were madehere and on other islands, with further intentionalintroductions of food crops and domestic animals. Cargo vesse~ come from the mainland with a wide array

of materials, including lumber, sacks of potatoes andonions, stalks of bananas, and cardboard containers thatmay harbor any number of insects. Fresh vegetables alsoarrive in air cargo.

Today, by decree promulgated in 1959, 97% of theGalapagos Archipelago is NatioQal Park. The re~aining.3% (parts of Floreana, San Cristobal, Isabela, and SantaCruz Islands and all of Baltra Island) are inhabited.Baltra, a low, arid island, is a military reserve, but the otherinhabited islands each contain a port village and anextensive agricultural zone in the highlands.

Some thirty years ago, cargo boats arrived once every 3-6months; today they, arrive weekly. Similarly, air traffic wasone flight per week about twenty'years ago, coming to theair strip on Baltra. Now there is an additional airport onSan Cristobal and a small airfield for interisland flightson Isabela. Flights occur daily to both Baltra and SanCristobal. On some days, during high tourist seasons, threeflights arrive at Baltra.

With the increase in tourism in the past two decades and,in 1991, 1he beginning o.f a very lucrative fishery for seacucumbers (illegal as of this writing), the pop~lation ofGalapagos began to explode, as people flocked to the

10

The introductions today tend to be of inconspicuous-andtherefore all the more insidious--0rganisms. Around 1988a vespid wasp (Polistes versico'or), from the mainland,was discovere:d on Floreana, probably introduced with astalk of bananas. Today it occurs throughout the entirearchipelago, its dispersal undoubtedly aided by fishingboats and/or tour vessels, many of which carry stalks ofbananas~very attractive to these wasps--0n the backdeck. In 1994, another vespid wasp {Brachygastralecheguana) was found in the port village of Santa Crui.A biting black fly (Simulium bipunctatum), in'troduced toSan Cristobal around 1989, may find dispersal moredifficult, since its larval stage requires running fresh waterand San Cristobal is the only island with a constantlyrunning stream. The c~shiony-cotton scale: {/ceryapurchasi) was introduced to San Cristobal, probably withornamental plants in the early 1980s; it has now spread toseveral other islands.

ecosystem: for example, endemic snakes are rare whereintroduced cats occur; black rats are the suspected causeof the extinction of several native rice fat s~cies; tortoisehabitat has been devastated by goats; agriculture has alteredbiological communities in the highlands; and the numberof introduced plant species will soon equal-and perhapssurpass-the number of native species.

The major threat facing G~lapagos ecosystems today.comes from introduced organisms. Tomorrow's problemsmay be here already-we simply don't know how manynewly introduced organisms there are, nor what problemsthey may cause in the future. What we do know is that theproblems will be difficult and costly to control.

Gayle Davis-MerlenHead of Library and Publications,Charles Darwin Research Station, Galapagos IslandsPostal address: Casilla J7-01-3891, Quito, EcuadorE-mail: gdavis@fcdarwin.org.ecThe effects of introduced organisms on native Galapagos

species are just what one would ex~ct in an insularSee Aliens issue 1, March 1995, for an earlier report from Galapagos

:~,'

However, goat sign was found on the lowest south.ern"slopes of Alcedo in 1979, indicating that either they wereinde,ed "able to cross this natural barrier or were introducedto the north side of the isthmus by humans. Within the last15 years, this population has exploded and dispersedthroughout Alcedo. Goats have also been reported on bothDarwin and Wolf Volcanoes; these may have dispersedfrom Alcedo or been released directly by humans,

The island of Isabela in the Galapagos Archipelago isplagued by feral animals, and some of its naturalcommunities are already seriously modified due toenormous browse pressure by feral goats ( Capra hircus ),Urgent action to restore the natural communities of Isabelais of vital importance to the conservation of biodiversityof native species and communities in this unique WorldHeritage Site. Galapagos is the largest remainingarchip~lago in the world with the vast majority of itsspecies extant (approximately 95% ). This is because thearrival of humans and the spread of introduced organismsare relatively recent phenomena. However! the recentspread and explosion of the goat population on Isabela,the largest of the islands, has already had major impactson the ecosystem and may push many el:ldemic species tothe brink of extinction.

Approximately half of all remaining Galapagos tortoiseslive on the three northern volcanoes of Isabela; eachvblcano with its own subspecies, taxonomically distinctfrom the othe;rs. The explosion and spread of the goatpopulation is endangering all of these populations. Failureto control the goat population and eventually eradicate itwill result in permanent ecological destruction, threateningmany of the endemic species currently thriving on Isabela.

The island of Isabela (458,812 ha.) contains more thanhalf of the total land area of the archipelago and moreendemic species than any other island in the Galapagos.Although most of these endemic speciesoccu! elsewherein the archipelago, Isabela has a greater concentration ofendemic species than the other islands (40% of the endemicvertebrate species and 66% of the endemic plant species).Many of these populations are now seriously threatened.An innovative research and management program isimperative to ensure the survival of the island' s native floraand fauna.

ID 1995, the Charlesbarwin Foundation (CDF)and theGalapagos National Park Service (GNPS) began theIsabela Project, The proj~ct goal, to restore the island toas near a pristine condition as p6~s.ible, implies restoringfully the biodiversity of Isabela and its.natural ecologicaland evolutionary processes, in the absence of introducedspecies, whilst accqmmodating and incorporating thecommunity of southern Isabela. Since 1995, goat controlin critical tortoise habitat and semi-annual monitoring ofthe flora and fauna on Alcedo Volcano has occurredregularly. In 1997 two areas on the southern rim of Alcedo(approximately 300 m2 and 500 m2) of the threatenedendemic tree fern ( Cyathea weatherbyana ) were fenced;in addition, approx.imately 200 Zanthoxylum andToumefortia trees were wrapped with chicken wire toprotect them from goats. These trees are critical to theformation of drip pools where tortoises drink and restduring the dry season.

While northern Isabela (Alcedo, Darwin, Wolf, andEcuador Volcanoes ; appro~mately 250,000 ha.) is entirelywithin the Galapagos National Park, southern Isabela(Cerro Azul and Sierra Negra Volcanoes; approximately210,000 ha.) has a small urban zone (111 ha.) and asomewhat larger rural zone (3457 ha.), both on the southernhalf of Sierra Negra. Primarily due to its human pop~ation,southern Isabela has had, for many decade&, largepopulations of feral animals (goats, cattle, horses, donkeys,pigs, dogs, cats, and rats), while northern Isabela has hadfew (donkeys on Alcedo, and cats and rats on all of northernIsabela). Northern Isabela is separated from southernIsabela by the Perry Isthmus, a natural barrier of rougha' a lava, approximately) 2 km across (from Elizabeth Bayto Cartago Bay), and 12 km from north to south. The PerryIsthmus has few pockets of yegetatio~ and was consideredan effective barrier to keep the goats and other feral animalson southern Isabela from crossing to northern 1sabela.

In September 1997, the lsabela Project conducted aworkshop i~ Galapagos to develop a plan to .stop theecosystem degradation on Isabela through eradication offeral ungulates. Fourteen experts on introduced speciesfrom New Zealand and the United States convened withseveral experienced and knowledgeable representative~ ofthe CDF and GNPS for nine days of intensive groupmeetings, with visits to several sites on no$ern Isabela.The unanimous conclusion of the participants, experts ineradication of goats and other vertebrate pests, and

12

restoration of isl,ands, was that era,dication is definitelythe preferred approach, both ecologically and financially.

Project Coordinator (GNPS/CDF)and facilitated by PeterJenkins of Biopolicy Consulting. Other participants in theworkshop were:JoharirtahBarry, Charles Darwin Foundation, Inc.; Brianand David Bell, Wildlife Management International Ltd,New Zealand; Vernon Byrd, US Fish and Wildlife Service,Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge; KarlCampbell, Charles Darwin Research Station, GalapagosIslands, Ecuador; Colin Clarke, Conservation ActionInternational Ltd, New Zealand; Bruce Coblentz, OregonState University; Felipe Cruz, Galapagos National ParkService; Tony DeNicola, White Buffalo, Inc.,USA; SteveEbbert, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska MaritimeNational Wildlife Refuge; Mike Fall, National WildlifeResearch Cenrer,US Department of Agriculture/Animaland Plant Health Inspection Service; Tom Fritts, USGeological Survey, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Natio~alMuseum of N atural History, Smithsonian Institution, USA(member of CDF); James Innes, H~licopter WildlifeManagement, USA; Norm MacDonald, Pr~ Hunt/Department of Conservation, New Zealand; GrahamNugent, Manaaki Whenua~Landcare Research, NewZealand; John Parkes, Manaaki Whenua~LandcareResearch; Bill Simmons, Animal Control Products Ltd,New Zealand; Howard Snell, Charles Darwin ResearchStation, and University of New Mexico; Fabricio Valverde,Galapagos National Park Service.

A detailed plan; consisting of three phases, was developed.The objectives of the plan are to:1. Enhance the management and operational capacity ofthe GNPS and the CDF for this and future c"onservation

projects.2. Eradicate ungulates from northern Isabela.3. Prevent the reinvasion of northern Isabela by ungulatesfollowing their eradication.4. Develop a restoration plan for southern Isabela.

Phase I of the plan prepares for the eventual eliminationof all ungulates from northern Isabela, .fills data gapscritical to a successful eradication camp~gn,accomplishesinterim protection, and enhances the capacity of the GNPSto manage and operate pest control and eradicationprograms. Phase II details an appropriate strategy, whichis to progressively eradicate the ungulates, as rapidly andefficiently as possible, from all of Isabela Island north ofPerry Isthmus and to maintain that isthmus as a bufferagainst further immigration from the south. Phase n relieson highly skilled contractors and state-of-the-arttechnologies developed during the last few decades forlarge-scale ungulate management arid control projectsthroughout the world.Phase III, begun during and continuing after the eradicationobjective is achieved, calls for continued monitoring forintroduced ungulates and preventative actions to protectnorthern Isabela from further introductions.

Linda J. Cayot

Charles Darwin Research Station I Galapagos National

Park Service, Casilla 17-01-3891, Quito, EcuadorE-mail: Icayot@fcdarwin.org.ec .

Peter Jenkins

Biopolicy Consulting,PO Box 772, Placitas, New Mexico 87043, USAE-mail: jenkinsbiopolicy@msn.com

The e~timated total cost of the plan is $US 8.5 millionover the next four years. Completion of this plan will be amajor step f?rwardin the restoration of the island of Isabelaand the protection of natural ecological processes withinthe Galapagos National Park.The workshop was organized by Linda Cayot, the Isabela

13

Tales.

Cautlonary . . .

At the end of February, an Inadvertent transfer tookplace-a transfer of bats-from France to England. OnZ6 February, five Nathusius' pipistr~lle (Pipistrellusnathusius) were discovered in a timber truck carrying oakplanks from Normandy. This seems to be only the fourthoccurrence of the species in the UK, but because of therabies risk, it was decided either to send them back toFrance for release, or to euthanase them, despite their fullprotectiop allover Europe. So with the authorization ofthe French government, the help of the Fr~nch mammalsociety and the collaboration of our British colleagues, itwas possible to drive the bats to Dover, put them in theshuttle under the Channel, pick them up in Calais, France,and drive them back safely to their Norman~y home, wherethey were released in early March.

Mountainous Amami-Oshima island, with an area of 719kin2, and dominated by broadleaved evergreen fo~ests, issituated in the northern Ryukyu lsland archipelago andhas a highly endemic fauna. A mongoose speciecs(Helpestes auropunctatus) was introduced 10 the islandaround 1979 to control the poisonous snake (Trimeresurusjlavoviridis) and the rat (Rattus rattus). The mongooseswere first introduced at northern N aze City and areexpanding in all directions at the rate of 1km/year.At present they occur in every district of the island, thoughthe highest population densities are found over a quarterof the island; to. the southeast of Naze and covering thecentral part of ~e island. One estimate of the populationsize in 1993 was about 100,000, although this figure seemsexaggerated:There is great concern that the mongoosepreys upon the endemic and endangered animal species.So far, remains of the Amami rabbit, Ryukyu spiny rat,Watase shrew and Ryukyu robin have been found in thestomach contents and droppings of the mongoose, and anattack on the ne~t of Ridth's jay was observed. A1~0 thedistribution pattern of the Ryukyu spiny rat, Amamiwoodcock and, to some extent, the Ryukyu rabQit, suggeststhat these species are affected by the mongoose. TheEnvironment Agency launched a five- year project ( 1996-2000) to investigate the current situation and to findappropriate schemes to control the mongoose, and directedJapan Wildlife Research Center to carry out the project.The Environment Agency project aims to find a measureto eradicate the mongoose, butcurreilt1y the budget is toosmall It is possible that populations of endemic specieswill decline during the project. With our findings we arenow trying to convince the governments (central andprefectural) to spend enough money.

Raccoon's sojourn in France

On 2 April 1998, a container of resin for tyres was openedin the city of Le Havre, Normandy. A raccoon (Procyonlotor), exhausted but alive, walked out of it and started todrink at once in a small water pool on the ground. After ashort enquiry, it was learnt that the container had beenclosed on 25 February, five weeks earlier, in Houston,Texas, USA, The container-had been shipped across theAtlantic Ocean, arrived at harbour in Anvers, Belgium,and was trucked to Le Havre. The raccoon is now beingkept in quarantine in Normandy, and seems to berecovering from its journey. What to do with it?Besides these cases, how many are we missing ?

Francois MoutouE-mail: vaalJ2@calva.net Nobuo Ishii

Japan Wildlife Research CenterE-mail: nishii@jwrc.o1:jp

14

.and Solutions?. .

A comment from Rob Cowie of the

Bishop Museum, Honolulu

Samoa too, has recently taken a similar approach to itsGiant African snail problem-by trying to promote theirconsumption. But this has engendered some controversy,and so far the scheme hasn't taken off.My own view is that it may be a bad idea. If yousuccessfully promote eating them, someone from acurrently non-infested area is going to want to get someAfrican snails and breed them to make some money (orperhaps just raise them for personal consumption), so sheor he brings them to the area, som~ escape, and theinfestation has been spread, .

African snails (and many others, including ~. rosea) doharbor Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lung-worm,which if ingested by humans can cause eosinophilicmeningoencephalitis (which is nasty). So the snails mustbe thoroughly cooked. This is a concern, and may be theroot cause of Some people being worried that African snailsare poisonous.

North American raccoon Procyon lotor

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SEOUL, South Korea: -Fried frog, sweet and sour frog,.frog gruel. Introduced at a government -sponsored food-tasting party today, frogs in almost any cooked form seemto be South Korea's answer to its latest pest problem.Biologists have warned that imported American bull frogs-10 times larger than indigenous frogs -are decimatinglocal stocks o~ snakes and other frogs in many lakes,endangering the ecological balance.In the past month, school children and soldiers wereenlisted to help catch bull frogs. But the government hascome up with a novel extenrrination method -eat 'em.The cooked frogs were ~a:mpled by hundreds gatheredoutside the Environment Ministry. Low in fat and caloriesbut high in nutrition, frog meat is a healthy alternative tobeef, the ministry said. While eating frog is not new toKorea, only a few have acquired the taste. Bull frogs wereimported from the United States in the 1980s for their meatbut the attempt at mass marketing fiz~ed. The frogs soonescaped into the wild.Reprinted with permission of Associated Press.Copyright 1997 The Associated Press.

In 1997 the Regional Citizens' Advisory Council of Prince William Sound andthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sponsored a pilot study of the risk ofnonindigenous species introductions associated with oil tanker ballast waterdischarge in Port Valdez and Prince William Sound. The study, conducted bythe Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, included a review of existinginvasion literature relevant to the problem, the sampling and analysis of planktonin both the segregated and oily ballast water of arriving tankers, aDd limited

ballast exchange experiments.

Prince William Sound is a large inland archipelago, Joughly 15,000 squarekilometers in area, located in south-central Alaska at the northern tip of thePacific Ocean. The sound is vital, ecolagically {for the array of marine resourcesit supports) as well as economically {for the industries that rely on thoseresources), and becal,lse 20% of the United States' domestically-produced oilpasses through its waters. In the northeast corner of Prince William Sound isPort Valdez, a roughly 20km-Iong fjord with the smal~ community of Valdezsituated on its northeast shore and theValdez Marine Terminal on the southeast

shore.

A relatively small fleet of oil tankers has made mo~e than 15,000 voyages tothis terminal since it began operations 20 years ago, and tal)kers are currentlyarriving at the rate offoughly 600 per year. These tankers discharge as muchas 40 million metric tons of ballast water annually into the waters of PrinceWilliam Sound. Although proportions and volumes vary widely between ships,rougWy half of that total arrives as segregated ballast water, whic~ is carried inballast tanks and discharged directly .into Prince William Sound and Port Valdez.This volume of segregated ballast discharge ranks Port Valdez third in theUnited States behind Chesapeake Bay and the New Orleans/Mississippi Deltaare!i. The other half is unsegregated, or "oily" ballast carried in cax:go tanksand pumped ashore to a ballast water treatment facility before being dischargedinto the Port.

The vast majority of these tankers cirrivefrom u.s. West Coast domestic portswhich are themselves invaded by nonindigenous species. The balance of trafficcomes from Far EaSt ports, and on these voyages ballast exchanges are required.Voyage durations from the West Coast vary from as little as three days fromPuget Sound to a little over a week from southern California. SiIiceno ballastis exchanged during domestic voyages, we conclude the average age of thevast majority of the arriving coastal ballast to be five or six day.s.

The major field component of the pilot study consisted of sampling (with an8O-micron mesh net) both the segregated and oily ballast water of 13 tankersthat arrived in V3ldezduring a two~week period ia late May and early June of1997. We found that the oily ballast water contained very little, if any, viableplankton, which would seern: to all but eliminate that medium as a potential

vector for: introductions.But the segregated ballast samples revealed a rich and abundant medley ofcoastal plankton, including polychaetes, barnacles, and copepods. At least 69different taxonomic groups were identified. By multiplying the p1anktoadensities times the amount of b&tlaSt water in the tankers, we estimate that 244

16

million organis~s are being released on average by these ships on each voyage.The plankton samples included four species of Asian copepods which we couldpositively identify as nonindigenous. While we have no evidence that thesespecies have become established in Alaska, it is n<;>w clear that NIS or highlyinva:deq source ports are being transported alive and in good condition to PortValdez. .

We were able to conduct two ballast excbange experiments in this pilot stildythanks to the cooperation of SeaRiver Maritime, one using a 150% volumeflow-through exchange, and the second Rsed a 300% volume flow-throughexchange. Both experiments showed that exchange is effective at reducingvarious plankton groups by between 70% and 90%.However, there was no indication that the higher percentage of exchange wasmore effective. For coastal plankton taxa, the exchanges were very effective inreducing organisms, although total numbers of organisms remained high asoceanic plankton replaced coastal plankton.Still, the process is not 100% efficient. Because of the huge volume of water inthe tarikers, even the small amount of residual coastal plankton in the tanksamounts to large numbers of coastal organisms being transferred in exchangedtanks. Both temperature and salinity of the arriving ballast was found to bequite similar to that of the receiving waters beside the tanker at surface and at1 Ometres depth-well within the tolerances of most of the species in the source

ports.

The pilot study is now being followed up by an expanded,two-year investigationthat includes year-round sampling of segregated ballast, expanded ballast

exchange experiments, survivability studies of ballast plankton, fouling platedeployment, and collection and analysis qf Prince William Sound samples fornonindig e n ous s peci es .Funding fofthis expanded work comes from the U .S. National SeaGrant CollegeProgram, the Regional Citizens' Advisory Council, the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService, and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company (which operates the trans-Alaska pipeline and Valdez Marine Terminal).

Both the pilot study and the extended study represent a highly collaborativeeffort between oil shippers, Alyeska, regulators, scientists and non-profitorganizations, although a distinguishing feature of this investigation is that itoriginates from the concern of local citizens and-is led by those citizens in theform of the Regional Citizens' Advisory Council. As this study continuesthrough fall of 1999, we hope to collect the necessary information for a detailedanalysis of the risks, mechanisms, and patterns of species introductions forPrince William Sound.

Joel A. Kopp

Project ManagerPrince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council

P. 0. Box 3089, Valdez, AlaskQ 99686 USA

Tel: + 1-907-835-1940

Fax: + 1-907-835-5926

E-mail: kopp@pobox.alaskQ.net

17

underway on the San Benitos, Todos Santos and NatividadIslands. The San Benitos Islands, which are 38 miles westof the Vizcafilo Peninsula, are threatened by introducedrabbits, goats and burros. Introduced herbivores havenearly dxjven an endemic species of succulent (Dudleyalinearis) to extinction. On the Todos Santos islands whichare approximately 90 kilometres south of the U.S./Mexicanborder, introduced cats and rabbits threaten the native floraand fauna. Predation by feral cats and perhaps competitionwith rabbits have likely driven the Todos Santos endemicpackrat (Neotoma anthonyi) and an endemic subspeciesof rufous-crowned sparrow (Aimophila ruficepssanctorum) to extinction. In addition, an endemicsubspecies of deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatusdubius) has been heavily preyed on by feral cats.Eradication programs for these islands are nearingcompletion and are taking place in conjunction with a studyon the ecosys(em ~ffects of introduced herbivores. OnNatividad Island, ICEG is working with the VizcafnoBiosphere Reserve and local fishermen to gather naturalhistory data on the black-vented shearwater (Puffinusopisthomelas), a little-known Baja Califomi'a endemicwhich is thought to have experienced dramatic populationdeclines. These data will be used by managers of theVizcafno'Biosphere Reserve to help protect the black-vented shearwilter and other species on Natividad Island.

Due partly to their arid climate;, many of the over 150islands and islets of Northwest Mexico have, until recently,experienced minimal human use and impact. However,introduced mammals are present on various islands in thisregion and threaten endemic species with extinction. Forexample, of the nine island vertebrate extinctions in NWMexico, eight have been caused by introduced maminals.However, despite the recent increase in human use anddisturbance, these islands remain ~elatively intact incomparison to most temperate or tropical island groupsthroughout the world. ~

AtlNE'srequest, we are working with CCREAR to planan introduced mammal removal project, for theRevillagigedos Archipelago Biosphere Reserve. On theseremote islands introduced cats, sheep, pigs and rabbitsdirectly or indirectly threaten at least 16 endelriic speciesor subspecies with extinction. One species, the Socorrodove (Zenaida graysoni) is extinct in the wild but survivesin a captive population which is being managed for theintroduction once cats are removed. Our first planning tripwill take place this year,

In the last few years these islands have benefitted from adeveloping collaboration between the Mexican InstitutoNacioital de ECologia (INE) which manages the islands,several academic institutions and a number of NGOs.Amongst the NGOs most active in island conservation are:CCREAR (Comite Cientifico para la Conservacion yEstudia Archipelago Revillagigedo ),. ConservationInternational Mexico, ISLAS, Pronatura, The NatureConservancy, WWF and The Island Conservation &Ecology Group (ICEG). ICEG is a binational non-profitorganisation of conservation biologists, educators andpublic officials working to protect biological communitieson Islands in NW Mexico and Southern CaJifornia. Weundertak~ projects that have a clear conservation benefit,are lacally based and are supported by the Mexicangovernment. The U.S. office is headed by Bernie Tershyand Don Croll in Santa Cruz, California. The Mexicanoffice is headed by Jose Angel Sanchez Pacheco inGuegero Negro, Baja California Sur.Over the past {our years ICEGhasworkedwith INE andUniversidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) toremove introduced black rats and feral cats from threeimportant seabird nesting islands off Baja California:Asuncion and San Roque Islands in tbe Vizcafno BiosphereReserve and CoronadoNorte Island near the u.s./Mexicoborder. Since removal of introduced mammals, seabirdshave begun to recolonise and expand their breedingcolonies on these islands. While conducting theserestorations, we have improveQ our introduced mammalremoval techniques and trained Mexican and U .S.studentsin island conservation techniques. We have alsocollaborated with INE and NGOs on draft managementand education plans for island reserves in NW Mexicoand have provided technical aid to colleagues at UNAM,who successfully removed mammals from Rasa andIsabela Islarid in the Gulf of California. In SouthernCalifornia we developed a plan to eradicate ship rats fromAnacapa Isi~d in the Channel Islands National Par)c.Currently island research and restoration projects are

Finally ICEG is developinDatabase for the NW Mexicmake available over the WWthe systematic prioritisationconservation action, which car

develops.

Josh DonlanI and Anna Weinstein2I Biology Department, Earth and Marine Sciences

Building, Santa CruZ, California 95064

Fax: + 1-408-459-4882

2The Island Conservation and Ecology Group,

E-mail: annaw@islandconservation:org

18

9 an Island Conservation

o region, which we plan to

W. This database will aid in

of islands for research and

1 be improved as the database

Another upcoming meeting with which ISSGis involved,is the Society fQr Conservation Biology's Annual Meeting,to be held for the flfSt time in the Southern Hemisphere,in Sydney, Australia. TheISSG is convening a half-daySymposium, y.rith 10 invited speakers, entitled:"Conservation issues of invasive species in Australasiaand the Pacific" (see page 22).

The "Draft IUCN Guidelines for the Prevention ofBiodiversity Loss due to Biological Invasion" have nowpassed to Wren Green fpr final polishing before riltifiGationis soughtfromlUCN's Council.

The Invasive Species Specialist Group has been growingin size, as well as in the scope of projects being undertaken.The "over 80 members are involved internationally indiverse projects, all with the aim of preventing newinvasions, reducing the impacts of current ones andeducating people about the impacts of this generally little-known threat to biodiversity. Early 1998 has been a timeof great worldwide concentration on invasives, with groupmembers taking part in several meetings. Among thesewere two with a global focus held in San Mateo, California

(see front cover).In addition,-ISSG sent a representative, Rod Hay, to theMay CITES Animals Committee meeting held in Caracas,Venezuela. His aim was to follow up the close liaisonbetween ISSG and CITES which was proposed at the lastCITES Conference of the Parties.

lWo excellent invasives-awareness publications have justbeen produced. IUCN's latest World Conservation is acomprehensive, 64-page, double issue on invasives. It issuperb, with its many colour photographs, for publicadvocacy use. The publication is global in its coverage,and many articles have been written by group members.The second publication is an eye~catching fold-outbrochure which explains the Global Invasive SpeciesProgramme (GISP) (see front cover). This is being co-ordinated by SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problemsof the Environment), with IUCN, CAB'International,andthe United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aspartners. The brochure charts the background, componentsand tools of this international team now being organisedto prepare a global strategy for addressing the invasivespecies problem. It is for advocacy and fundraisingpurposes and is being widely distributed.

To help with this i>rocess,and also address the increasingneed for infonnation on invasives, ISSG now has a website,nested within the IUCN pages and accessible at:http : / /iucn. o rg/themes/ ssc/p ro grams/invasive s/iss g/This office has received steadily-increasing numbers ofrequests for background as well as specialist infonnation,fromjournalists, governments, NGOs and other agencies.The draft guidelines can be read from the ISSG website.The site also features an introduction to the group,descriptions of projects, plus links to other interesting andrelevant sites.

The Aliens-llistserver is thriving, and with 473 subscribersis one of the most active within IUCN.And finally, Aliens has been attracting some positivefeedback and is now in its fourth year. Please continue tosend in ~otes, reports and comments to your newsletter sothat we can continually improve its usefulness to readersworldwide. The deadline for Aliens 8 is 30 September.

Sarah Lowe and Mick Clout

10

.

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O ., , Ant~fctic Peninsula

Ross Sea

~

introduction is related to human activity. Many avianpathogens can contaminate the meat or eggs of poultry aswell as food products conWining these substances. Cookingor freezing does not necessarily kill the virus. A possiblesource of introduction could be careless or inappropriatedisposal of poultry products, allowing access byscavenging buds such as thecsouth polar skua.

In spite of a climate relatively inhospitable to most.oftheEarth ' s species, introduced aliens are ~ unexpectedly real

threat in the Antarctic. The introduction of pathogens cou.dhave devastating effects oppreviously unexposed coloriiesof birds or seals. Acclimatisation of introduced plants oranimals could affect ecological integrity. All introductions,including micro-organisms, and even those that are notdirectly harmful to natives, detract from Antarctica'sscientific and intrinsic values. Increasing potential fortranslocations within the Antarctic adds to the problems.

Australia has agreed to host a meeting (see box opposite)ill Hobart to consider options for monitoring and managingresponses to the disease, .Meanwhile, the AustralianAntarctic Division has recommended 'that its researchersand visitors not take poultry products into the field, andthat iliey thoroughly clean all footwear; clothing, and fieldgear before going from one site to another. Of specialconcern are tourists or researchers who travel from onecolony to illlother, and who may spread the pathogen toother colonies, or even to regions a great distance away.

PATHOGENSRecently, research discovered serological evidence ofInfectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) in Adelie andemperor penguins in the vicinity of Australia's Ant.arcticMawson Station (Nature J5 May 1997). The biologicalsignificance of IBDV in those species is not known at thisstage. In poultry it is a serious disease, causing immunedeficiency and/or death in chicks. The impact of the diseasein an immunologically-naive population of birds couldrange from reduced productivity of the birds to localextinction of the species. Although clinical disease wasnot apparent in either species of penguin, furtherinvestigation is warranted. The presence of seroreactorsin the population near Mawson station and their absencein the chicks from a remote colony suggest that the

INTRODUCED ORGANISMSNowadays, if Antarctic research discovers micrp~organisrnsthat also occur in temperate zones, it has becomequasi-impossible to determine whether such species occurnaturally, or whether they have been introduced stuck toskin, boots, helicopter skids or airplane wheels of aprevious generation of researchers or explorers. The

-Antarctic Continent is vast, but the icefree zones are

lin1ited-and hardly any have been untouched by humans.At the micro level, Antarctica has already lost its

pristineness,

Antarctic Flora and Fauna) expressly prohibit theintroducti<;>n of non-native flora and fauna, except inaccordance with aperi:nit. Pennits may only be issued forthe importation of domestic pl~ts, and laboratory animalsand plants including viruses, bacteria, yeasts and fungi.Any introduced flora or fauna must be incinerated orremoved from the Antarctic Treaty area. In addition, AnnexII requires the incineration or removal of all poultry parts(originally brought into Antarctica for f()od) to avoid thespread of disease.

The introduction of higher taxa into the Antarctic includesaccidental imports like insects (cockroaches ), rats and miceon ships, andnon-accidental presences such as plants and'pets' OQ tourist ships and Government Stations. Recentanecdotal information confinns that pets may include adog, budgerigars and tropical fish; even a cat has apparentlybeen seen; Rats, mice, and insects are all obvious threat tosubantarctic islands as they may "escape" and becomeestablished. Cats or dogs, even as pets, could do damageto native birds anywhere. More surprising is the increasingevidence of higher organisms able to establish themselvesin the Far South. Of particular concern are grasses andother plants reported growing "wild" in the vicinity ofseveral Stations, not just on King George Island, but alsoon Continental Antarctica. Live mvertebrates, includingearthworms, potworms, mites and fly-larvae werediscovered in imported soil discarded by a Station in theSchirmayer Oasis.

CONCLUSIONOn paper, the measures to prevent iptroductions inAntarctica appear strong, and indeed there have been fewerintroductions into this region than we might have feared.But this is no time for complacency. At present, complianceis not absolute and accidental introductions add to theconcern. Climate has "ameliorated" in ma,ny locations,allowing new species to take hold. Increased numbers ofpeople are visiting Antarctica, thus increasing the potentialfor introduction as well as translocation. We can onlyexpect that the threat from invasive organisms in Antarcticawill grow.

RULES AND REGULAnONS -The "Agreed Measures for the Conservation of AntarcticFlora and Fauna" and more recently the AntarcticEnvironmental Protocol Annex II (Conservation of

MajDe PoorterIUCN Antarctic Advisory Committee (AAC)Fax: +64-9-3737-432E-mail: depoorter@auckland.ac.nz

21

25-28 August 1998Australian Antarctic Division Headquarters,

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

The Australian Antarctic Division Is homepage states: "The objectives of the workshop are to identifythe potential for disease incursion into Antarctica's wildlife, and to deve)op a series of recommenda-tions to be presented to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting to reduce the risk of such introduc-tions and limit the consequences of any disease establishment and spread. The workshop will focus ondiseases of birds and seals breeding within the Antarctic Treaty area and will consider both endemicand exotic diseases. It will also take into account scientific information relating to diseases of wildlifein the subantarctic". One specific topic to be addressed is the changing risks in introduction of disease,such as tourism and global climate change. Read more at: http://www-aadc.antdiv.gov.au/

human~impacts/disease-workshop/ or fax Dr Kerry Knowles at +61-3-6232-3351

Pacific Marine

Taxonomy Expertise

Diseases of Antarctic

Wildlife- Wor kshop

See page 21

c.J New Zealand's National Institute ofWater andAtmospheric Research (NIWA), based inWellington, should have been included in theAliens 6 register of institutions with Pacifictaxonomic expertise:z

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14 July 1998

MacQuarie University, Sydney, Australia.

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Conservation issues of invasive species inAustralasia and the Pacific. .

Symposium S14Scheduled as part of the Society for Conser-vation Biology's Annual Meeting (13-16 July1998), and convened by IUCN's SSC and theInvasive Species Specialist Group, this half-day symposium features invited speakers ona rimge of topics:

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In 1992,NIWA subsumed the former NZOceanographic Institute, the foremostrepository in New Zealand for oceanographic

data,NIWA:.holds New Zealand's 1argest wet collectionof marine invertebrates: from the entire NewZealand region, tropical Pacific islands, andthe Ross Sea (more than 100,000 jars, andseveral million specimens);.has both specialist expertise in a number ofmarine groups (Bryozoa, Polychaeta,Porifera, Echinodermata, Copepoda,Cephalopoda and toxic microalgae) andgeneralist taxonomic expertise in additional

groups;.publishes a major taxonomic monographseries: Memoirs of the NZ OceanographicInstitute, recently renamed NIWABiodiversity Memoirs.

0

For further information, consult:

http:llwww.niwa.cri.nz,

DrDennisP. GordonProgramme Leader:Marine Biodiversity & SystematicsTel: +64-4-386-0388Fax: +64-4-386-2153E-mail: gordon@storm.niwa.cri.nz

.Mick Clout-Differential impacts of invasive spe-cies on animals and plants in NZ;.Jacqueline Beggs-New Zealand's wasp

invaders;..Robert Cowie-Homogenisation of Pacific Islandland snail faunas;.Jean-Yves Meyer-Conservation impacts ofMiconia calvescens;~ Greg Keighery--'Biodiversityeffects of invasive

plants, pathogenic fungi and fragmentation onmegadiverse flora of sw Australia;.Barbara Wilson-cinnamon fungus in sclerophyllcommunities-a spatial model;.Danielle Risbey-Feral cats, foxes and nativemammals in Australia;.David Towns-Reintroduction of ~e NZ lizardsafter eradication of rats;.Graeme Gillespie-Role of introduced trout inthe decline of Australia's spotted tree frog;.R,obert Creese-Introduced marine inverteDrates

in Australasia.Cane Toad Book

~For further symposium details contact:

Sarah Lowe

E-mail: s.lowe@auckland.ac.nz

Sydney conference website:

http : I Iwww. bio.mq. edu.aulconsbiolz

Christopher Lever has been commissioned towrite a book with the working title "The CaneToad: the history and ecology of a successfulcolonist\'. He would welcome notification, atthe following fax number or e-mail, of anyreferences in the literature of the early 1980s,as well as recent personal information on anynaturalised populations.Fax: +44-1344-891744E-mail: Christopher@linnean.demon.co.uk

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Brown Treesnake

Research Symposium

27-29 July

Tapa Tower, Hilton Hawaiian Village,

Waikiki, HawaiiAlien Introductions

Symposium in Wales"Researchers developing techniques to con-trol brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) havenot met in an organised forum since 1993.There have been substantial advances in theunderstanding of brown treesnake biology andthe development of contrOl techniques for thispest species since then. The 1998 BrownTreesnake Research Symposium is intendedto provide such a'forum, Over thirty federal,territorial, state, university, military and pri-vate researchers have committed to present theresults of their efforts in a public forum".

10 September 1998

The Zoological Society is organising a day.long symposium on "Alien introductions andtheir impact on native species" at the BritishAssociation meeting in Cardiff, UK.Speakers will include David Macdonald, PaulPearce-Kelly, Pigger Jackson, MorrisGosling, Johnathon Baillie and Baz Hughes.For further details contact:

Professor L M Gosling

Directo1; Institute of Zoology

Zoological Society of London

Tel: +44- 17 I -449-6600

Fax: +44-171- 586-2870

E-ntail: I.m.gosling@ucl.ac.uk

The Program Schedule includes:0 basic biology0 trapping strategies and snake movements0 attiactants0 dispersal events

opopulation biology0 barriers

osnake de~tor dogs0 other tools limiting dispersal0 large scale conttol0 unmet research needs for operational control

(Source: Sy~posiumbrochure)

Aliens newsletter to

appear on WWW

Tom Moritz, affiliated with the CaliforniaAcademy of Sciences and University ofCalifornia at Berkeley, has kindly offered topost Aliens to the web. The newsletter willbe accessible, in a few weeks time, as eithera .gif file, or a plain text file, at web address:http:llelib.cs.berkeley .edu.docs/query .shtml(under "newsletters"). Links will be set up fromboth the SSC pages and ISSG:s own website.

Contact:Dr Earl Wm. CampbellUSDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife ResearchCentel; Hawaii Field Station,Box 10880, Hilo,Hawaii 96721, USATel: + 1-808-961-4482Fax: + 1-808-961-4776E-mail: 76130.3ll@compuserve.com

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a

(Translated from French}

presence of these species may be asfar reaching as the disturbance ofd~ades of equilibrium between flora,fauna, soil and waters. And this oftenresults in a reduction of species andin modification of tourist itinerariesdependent on visual values. Butmanagers of central African protectedareas are already confronted withnumerous problems such as thepreservation of their sites againstpoaching. As the battle againstinvasiye species has not beenprioritised, it's usually the case that'no action is taken until it's too late torepair damage caused by thesespecies. This has ~ecome a realchallenge in the daily management ofthe protected areas.

Central Africa is a regionchafacterised by dense humid forestecosystcems. The two main activitiesin this region are manifested in theexploitation of this great tree-coveredmassif by forestr:Y and agriculture.

the lower,ng of oxygen levels infreshwater bodies.White it is true that traditionalmedicine utilises the young leaves ofChromolaena odorata as an infusionfor the treatment of abdominal colic,coughs and fever, the" quantity usedis minimal and will not contribute toany reduction in the plant'sdominance.

Today, more than in the past, severalspecies of plants are attracting theattention of f~ers, foresters andother related interest groups. Two ofthese plants may be consideredinvasiye in central Africa due to theirspread and dominance within theregion: CJrromolaena odorata andEichornia crassipes (water hyacinth).These can be observed, respectively,associated with human activity, andin most of the waterways of the

region.

While the countries of central Africalink their efforts through theConference sur les Ecosystemes deForets Denseset Humides d' AfriqueC~ntrale (CEFDHAC) for sustainablemanagement of forest ecosystems,Chromolaena odorata could beperceived as a type of "gangrene"which prevents natural regenerationof forests. In the meantime, in thefallow plots of. itinerantagriculturalists in the rainforestregions, this plant has .become asignificant component of naturalsuccession and many peasantsconsider it to be, at once, one of theworst weeds and one of the plants thatimproves soil quality for the growingof specific crops such as groundnutand maize.

Chromolaena is native to tropicalAmerica. According to Gautier(1992), this plant was introduced tocentral Africa from the 1960s onwards(Cameroun from 1961, CentralAfrican Republic 1963, Congo-Brazzavill~ 1965, and Corigo-Kinshasa from 1975).

Even if Chromoalena odorata is noton the agenda of the SecondCEFDHAC, the participants at thismeeting, and notably the ministers incharge of central African forests,

parliamentarians, technicians, ONG,and the private sector, won't miss thechance for discussions in the cQrridorsabout this important question ofinvasive species, Isn 't this a challengefor terrestrial and aquatic biological

diversity?

In th'e waters of central Africa,Eichomia crassipes has shown itselfin recent years to be a dominantaquatic plant. Not only has it blockedcertain waterways, but has alsocontributed to the decline of certainfreshwater fish species as a result of

Invasive plants are also aggressive incertain protected areas of savanna andeven forest, and ca:use damage tonatural resources. Thetransformations effected by the

Bikini Won wa MusitiCharge de Programme,IUCN/Central AfricaB.P. 5506 Yaoun4e/CamerounE-mail: rocaii@kq.iucn.org

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The following organisations are gratefully acknowledged for their support ofthe Invasive Species Specialist-Groupaiid in the production of Aliens:

The World Conservation Union

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research Ltd,National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,TOTAL Foundation, andUniversity of Auckland School of Environmental and Marine Sciences

Printed on 100% r~ycled paper @

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