Authors: Chad C Hanson Wesley J Jolley Grace Smith David K Garcelon Bradford S Keitt Annie E Little Karl J Campbell
Publish Date: 2014/10/02
Volume: 17, Issue: 4, Pages: 977-986
Abstract
Projects to eradicate invasive species from islands are a high priority for conservation Here we describe the process used to successfully eradicate an introduced carnivore on an island where a native carnivore of similar size was also present We primarily used padded leghold live trapping to capture feral cats Felis silvestris catus Trapped feral cats were transported offisland and housed in a permanent enclosure on the continent We used additional methods such as tracking dogs and spotlight hunting to detect and remove moredifficult individuals Project implementation caused no significant negative impacts to the endemic San Nicolas Island fox Urocyon littoralis dickey population Mitigation measures included onsite veterinary resources modified padded leghold live traps conditioned trap aversion a trap monitoring system and personnel training To confirm eradication we utilized camera traps and sign search data in a model to predict project success A key part of the success of this project was the partnerships formed between NGOs and government organizations With support from the partnership the use of innovative technology to improve traditional trapping methods allowed feral cats to be removed effectively in the presence of a native species occupying a similar niche This project shows that strong partnerships innovative methods and use of technology can provide the conditions to eradicate invasive species when major barriers to success existA special thanks to Bill Wood for assistance in refining the trapping techniques used in this project This project was funded by the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program Field work was conducted by IC staff Larry Bennett Jake Bonham KJC Nathan Fowler Tommy Hall CCH WJJ Erik Oberg Rory Stansbury David Will Bill Wood and IWS staff Hower Blair DKG Daniel Jackson Kari Signor Thomas Thein Jessica Sanchez Leslie Witter and Winston Vickers Greg Baxter and 2 anonymous reviewers improved an earlier draft of this manuscript The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the view of the US Fish and Wildlife Service
Keywords: