photo: Steve Cranwell French Polynesia and Fiji: Saving imperilled birds by eradicating invasive, exotic fauna

Conservation Value:

Due to the impacts of invasive species, 35 species of birds are endangered in French Polynesia. This project aims to eradicate invasive species at three disparate sites.  If successful, this will stop the decline of many endemic birds and other local species, and ultimately to restore biodiversity to the natural ecosystems on the three islands.

Threats:

Historically the greatest threat to biodiversity on oceanic islands, particularly in the South Pacific, has been the arrival of species not native to these islands. For endemic birds, which tend have small populations, introduced mammals, birds, and herpetofauna prey on them, destroy their habitats, or out-compete them for nesting cavities or food resources. This project works to control or eradicate some targeted invasives including the common myna and the cane toad that only just arrived on Rotuma in Fiji in the past two years, before they take hold and spread; introduced rats and cats on seven islands in the Marquesas; and rats and goats on Rapa in southern French Polynesia.  See details on invasive species impacts in this project’s three sites in the “In More Depth” section below.

Actions & Results:

The following actions started in 2019 and work is proceeding with some timeline seetbacks that resutled from Covid restrictions.  In French Polynesia and Fiji, our project with BirdLife International and Société d’Ornithologie de Polynésie in remote islands in the South Pacific aims to eradicate invasive species that can quickly drive endemic species of birds to extinction. The invasive species targeted include rats, feral goats, common mynas, and cane toads. In Rotuma, mynas have been contained and are down to a very few birds, while all of Rapa’s islets are now goat-free and measures continue to control rats. Rats are a serious problem on most of the world’s islands, having arrived by ships since man began exploring in canoes. They are the single largest threat to seabirds.

• Capture and eradicate an estimated 10+ pairs of common myna birds and complete a cane toad survey and assessment on Rotuma Island, Fiji (Delayed to November 2021.)
• Remove cats and rats (with rodenticide) in the Marquesas, while establishing a captive population of the Marquesas ground dove and Marquesas monarch.
• Goat removal program in Rapa island was delayed due to Covid restricdtion but has since been completed on two of the three islands targeted to save the Rapa shearwater from extinction.