Increasing the scale of successful invasive rodent eradications in the Galapagos Islands

Abstract

...In 2007, a roadmap for a programmatic step-by-step approach to introduced rodent eradications in Galapagos was developed to prevent imminent extinctions (FCD / SPNG 2007). Each step builds local capacity and knowledge, and each subsequent step involves progressively larger and more complex eradications. In late 2007, a hand-baiting rat eradication on North Seymour Island (184 ha) was successful. We report here on the second step, in 2011, involving the aerial broadcast of bait to target three introduced rodent species on Rabida, Bartolome, Sombrero Chino, and nine smaller islands.