Defining eradication units to control invasive pests

Summary

• 1
  Pest eradication is an important facet of conservation and ecological restoration and has been applied successfully to invasive rat species on offshore and oceanic islands. Successful eradication requires the definition of a target population that is of manageable size, with low recolonization risk. We applied a molecular genetic approach to the identification of populations suitable for eradication (eradication units) to provide a new tool to assist the management of brown rats Rattus norvegicus on South Georgia (Southern Ocean).
• 2
  A single eradication attempt on South Georgia (4000 km²) would be an order of magnitude larger than any previously successful rat eradication programme (110 km²). However, rats are demarcated into glacially isolated populations, which could allow sequential eradication. We examined genetic variation at 18 nuclear microsatellite loci to identify gene flow between two glacially isolated rat populations. One population, Greene Peninsula (30 km²), was earmarked for an eradication trial.
• 3
  Genetic diversity in 40 rats sampled from each population showed a pronounced level of genetic population differentiation, allowing individuals to be assigned to the correct population of origin.
• 4
  Our study suggests limited or negligible gene flow between the populations and that glaciers, permanent ice and icy waters restrict rat dispersal on South Georgia. Such barriers define eradication units that, with due care, could be eradicated with low risk of recolonization, hence facilitating the removal of brown rats from South Georgia.
• 5
  Synthesis and applications. We propose that the molecular definition of eradication units is a valuable approach to management as it (i) provides a temporal perspective to gene flow, which is important if dispersal events are rare; (ii) allows an eradication failure (i.e. surviving individuals) to be distinguished from a recolonization event, opening the way for adaptive management in the face of failure; and (iii) can aid the management of pest species in habitat continua by resolving meta-population dynamics, so guiding pest eradication/control strategies. This study further illustrates the developing array of applied ecological issues in which molecular techniques can help guide management.