Maine’s Islands Return to Normal After Removal of Invasive Hares

Published on

March 29, 2016

Written by

Sara

Photo credit

Sara

When snowshoe hares were introduced by people to Hay Island, Maine, they reproduced rapidly and began to damage the natural habitat. The invasive hares made their way to Kent Island and began to take over there as well. Their presence reduced a dazzling diverse forest to just wood fern and raspberry. The loss of trees was met by the decline of native bird species that nested in them. But a program to eradicate the snowshoe hares has brought the islands back to life.

The response of the plant community to the elimination of an introduced keystone herbivore was immediate and dramatic…Boreal forests that have long provided nesting habitat for birds and other animals are now able to recover and flourish.

Island Conservation Science Maine Island

Aerial view of one of Maine’s Islands.

Read the original article at Nature World News.

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