Abstract
Alien rat species have severe negative impacts on ecosystems in many regions, including the Ogasawara Islands. In some cases urgent countermeasures are required, for example, when predation by rats endangers populations of seabirds breeding on uninhabited islands. Some countries, notably New Zealand, have had success eradicating rats from islands using rodenticides. In 2007, we attempted to eradicate the black rat Rattus rattus from Nishijima, in the Ogasawara Islands. We achieved almost complete eradication using bait stations and using diphacinone as a roden-ticide; we were also able to minimize risks to non-target animals and secondary poisoning events. Rodenticide has been broadcast aerially in Mukojima and Higashijima, and we are still monitoring the progress of this program. We will attempt to eradicate more alien rats in the Ogasawara Islands by considering geographical factors, operating conditions, and impacts on non-target animals.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Abe T (2007) Predator or disperser? A test of indigenous fruit preference of alien rats (Rattus rattus) on Nishi-jima (Ogasawara Islands). Pac Conserv Biol 13:213–218
Abe H, Ishii N, Itoo T, Kaneko Y, Maeda K, Miura S, Yoneda M (2005) A guide to the mammals in Japan. Tokai University Press, Japan (in Japanese)
Atkinson IAE, Taylor RH (1991) Distribution of alien mammals on New Zealand islands. Contract Report 91/50. DSIR Land Resources, Lower Hutt and Nelson
Chiba S (2007) Morphological and ecological shifts in a land snail caused by the impacts of an introduced predator. Ecol Res 22:884–891
Clout MN, Russell JC (2006) The eradication of mammals from New Zealand islands. In: Koike F, Clout MN, Kawamichi M, De Poorter M, Iwatsuki K (eds) Assessment and control of biological invasion risks. Shoukadoh Book Sellers, Kyoto, pp 127–141
Fukuoka Forest Research and Extension Center (2000) Report on bird monitoring in the national wildlife reserve of Okinoshima from 1985 to 1999
Gross AO (1912) Observations on the Yellow-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon americanus Grant) at the Bermuda Islands. Auk 29:49
Hasegawa H (1992) Present status of seabirds and evaluation of effects of wild goats on them. In: JWRC (ed) Report of an emergency research on effects of the overpopulated wild goat on native plants and animals in the Ogasawara Islands in 1991. JWRC, Tokyo. pp 85–100 (in Japanese)
Hindwood KA (1940) The birds of Lord Howe Island. Emu 40:1–86
Horikoshi K, Suzuki H, Sasaki T, Suzuki N (2007) Impacts on seabirds by alien mammals in Ogasawara Islands. Proceedings of 54th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan, (Ehime) (in Japanese)
Howald G, Donlan CJ, Galván JP, Russell JC, Parkes J, Samaniego A, Wang Y, Veitch D, Genovesi P, Pascal M, Saunders A, Tershy B (2007) Invasive rodent eradication on islands. Conserv Biol 21:1258–1268
Ishii N (1982) Mammals in Minami-Iwojima Islands to. In: Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment (ed) Report on investigation of nature reserves in Minami Iwojima. JWRC, Tokyo. pp 225–249 (in Japanese)
Jayasekara P (2005) The present status of the black rat. In: Kanto Regional Forest Office and Bureau of Environment Tokyo Metropolitan Government (ed) Report on natural environments of Minamijima of the Ogasawara Islands in 2005. pp 65–68 (in Japanese)
Kanto Regional Forest Office (1999) Report on management systems of the wild pigeon Columba janthina nitens and other endangered wild plants and animals in the Ogasawara Islands (in Japanese)
Kato H (2002) Rhaphiolepis indica in Mukojima. Ogasawara Kenkyu Nenpo 25:103–105 (in Japanese)
Kato H, Fujita T, Kawakami K (2008) Nature of Minami-Iwoto and its status 25 years after the last investigation. Abstracts of the 55th annual conference of Japan Ecological Society (Fukuoka) (in Japanese)
Kawakami K (2002) Feral cats and rodents in the Bonin Islands. In: Ecological Society of Japan (ed) Handbook of alien species in Japan, Chijin Shokan, Tokyo, pp 236–237 (in Japanese)
Kitahara E, Sato H (2000) An example of bark predation by Rattus rat-tus on Leucaena leucocephala in the Ogasawara Islands. Forest Pests 49:13–15 (in Japanese)
Kushiro Nature Conservation Office, Ministry of the Environment (2008) Conservation and breeding of the tufted puffin Fratercula cirrhata. Kushiro Nature Conservation Office, Ministry of the Environment. (meeting document, in Japanese)
Lorvelec O, Pascal M (2005) French attempts to eradicate non-indigenous mammals and their consequences for native biota. Biol Invasions 7:135–140
Lowe S, Browne M, Boudjelas S, De Poorter M (2000) 100 of the world's worst invasive alien species: a selection from the Global Invasive Species Database. ISSG, SSC, IUCN, Auckland
Meier G (2003) Eradication of black rats Rattus rattus to enhance breeding success of green turtles Chelonia mydas and other fauna on Sangalaki Island, Kalimantan, Indonesia. InGrip-Report No.1. InGrip-Consulting & Animal Control, Ammerland, Germany
Moors PJ (1985) Eradication campaigns against Rattus norvegicus on the Noises Islands, New Zealand, using brodifacoum and 1080. ICBP Tech Publ 3:143–155
Murakami O, Washitani I (2002) 100 of Japan's worst invasive alien species. In: Ecological Society of Japan (ed) Handbook of alien species in Japan. Chijin Shokan, Tokyo, pp 362–363 (in Japanese)
Nobushima F (2003) Rat predation on vegetation in Hahajima Island. Ogasawara Kenkyu Nenpo 26:33–37 (in Japanese)
Ogasawara Islands Branch Office of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, JWRC (2007) Report of the vegetation restoration in Anijima Island No.2 (in Japanese)
Page A, Meier G (2006) Rat-free habitat doubled in the Chagos Archipelago. Oryx 40:255–260
Robertson HA, Hay JR, Saul EK, McCormack GV (1994) Recovery of the Kakerori an endangered forest bird of the Cook Islands. Conserv Biol 8:1078–1086
Towns DR, Broome KG (2002) From small Maria to massive Campbell: forty years of rat eradications from New Zealand islands. N Z J Zool 30:377–398
Watanabe K, Kato H, Wakabayashi M (2003) Surveys on Rattus rattus predation on native vegetation in the Ogasawara Islands. Ogasawara Kenkyu Nenpo 26:13–31 (in Japanese)
Yabe T (1997) Bark predation on Citrus tankan by Rattus rattus in Amami-Oshima Island. Forest Prot 262:45–47 (in Japanese)
Yabe T (1998) Cities invaded by rats. Chuokoron-sha, Tokyo (in Japanese)
Yabe T (2008) Control of commensal rodents in Japan. Chijin Shokan, Tokyo (in Japanese)
Yamashita N, Tanaka N, Hoshi Y, Kushima H, Kamo K (2003) Seed and seedling demography of invasive and native trees of subtropical Pacific Islands, Japan. J Veg Sci 14:15–24
Acknowledgments
I thank Dr. Shun'ichi Makino at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute and Dr. Tatsuo Yabe at Rat Control Consulting for much useful advice, and I thank local residents of Ogasawara village for their cooperation with and understanding of our rat eradication campaigns. Rat eradication in Nishijima was conducted as a part of the project “Studies on eradication of introduced species and the recovery of ecosystems in the Ogasawara Islands,” and eradications in Mukojima and Higashijima were conducted as a part of “Control program of black rats for restoration of natural habitats in the Ogasawara Islands” sponsored by the Kanto Regional Environment Office of Ministry of the Environment.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hashimoto, T. (2010). Eradication and Ecosystem Impacts of Rats in the Ogasawara Islands. In: Kawakami, K., Okochi, I. (eds) Restoring the Oceanic Island Ecosystem. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53859-2_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53859-2_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-53858-5
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-53859-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)