It's been 10 years since Macquarie Island was declared pest free
June 18, 2024 10:45 PM Subscribe
From plague to pest-free haven: The ambitious plan that prevented an environmental catastrophe. It's been 10 years since Macquarie Island was declared pest free. Scientists say the transformation of the World Heritage-listed area has been extraordinary, but new threats are on the horizon.
Having not yet read the article, nor noticed the poster, rory's comment initially made me think that the pest eradication was done using cassowaries. Now that would have made for an eponysterical post.
posted by It is regrettable that at 5:51 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]
posted by It is regrettable that at 5:51 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]
The coda on emerging threats is the sort of thing that makes me slightly uncomfortable about restoration programs. Global warming may be caused by human interference, but avian flu is not. Are we to keep these locations in stasis, immune from natural evolution?
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:17 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:17 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]
see also, similar progress in South Georgia Island
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 7:35 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 7:35 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]
Avian flu is not caused by humans, but it is expanding through livestock herds which certainly are. Additionally it wouldn’t have put native bird populations at as much risk if human-introduced pests hadn’t already lowered their numbers.
I don’t think there is always a clear distinction between what is human-caused and what isn’t.
But I do think some cases are clear: in this case human-introduced small mammals were a (fixable!) problem.
posted by nat at 8:25 AM on June 19 [3 favorites]
I don’t think there is always a clear distinction between what is human-caused and what isn’t.
But I do think some cases are clear: in this case human-introduced small mammals were a (fixable!) problem.
posted by nat at 8:25 AM on June 19 [3 favorites]
On the subject of keeping locations in stasis, I had an interesting conversation a while back with someone who worked in the German government on environmental conservation. One of the things they talked about that was a mind blowing moment for American me was the complexity of deciding what the appropriate goals should be for conserving ecosystems that have changed dramatically multiple times over the course of thousands of years of human habitation.
Deciding appropriate goals for areas that have been subject to human intervention for much less time seems easier, if not always easy.
posted by Pemdas at 8:46 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]
Deciding appropriate goals for areas that have been subject to human intervention for much less time seems easier, if not always easy.
posted by Pemdas at 8:46 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]
But I do think some cases are clear: in this case human-introduced small mammals were a (fixable!) problem.
Just to be clear I am 95% in favor of returning habitats to the way we found them. 5% says the surrounding habitats changed naturally during the interim and returning a particular part to the old habitat might not be a good thing.
Islands are nice because there is reasonable isolation from surrounding habitats, although even there the surrounding fish supply may have relocated for a number of reasons.
One of the things they talked about that was a mind blowing moment for American me was the complexity of deciding what the appropriate goals should be for conserving ecosystems
My aunt worked for many years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and says the same thing. The complexity is off the charts.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:18 AM on June 19
Just to be clear I am 95% in favor of returning habitats to the way we found them. 5% says the surrounding habitats changed naturally during the interim and returning a particular part to the old habitat might not be a good thing.
Islands are nice because there is reasonable isolation from surrounding habitats, although even there the surrounding fish supply may have relocated for a number of reasons.
One of the things they talked about that was a mind blowing moment for American me was the complexity of deciding what the appropriate goals should be for conserving ecosystems
My aunt worked for many years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and says the same thing. The complexity is off the charts.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:18 AM on June 19
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posted by rory at 2:39 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]