Island Conservation
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 first of its kind, a global study measuring how invasive species eradication benefits biodiversity was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and recently covered by Newsweek. A team of thirty scientists, including Nick Holmes, Director of Science at Island Conservation, found that “596 populations of 236 native species on 181 islands benefited from 251 […]
The LA Times recently covered a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that highlights the benefits of invasive species eradication. One of the authors of the paper and Island Conservation’s Director of Science Nick Holmes calls the paper a “story of hope.” The study examined the impacts of eradication projects on islands in New Zealand, Australia, Ecuador, Seychelles, […]
A recent study finds invasive alien species to be the second-biggest cause of extinctions. A 2015 publication states that invasive alien species are the leading cause of extinctions on islands and globally (Tershy et al, 2015). Whether they are identified as the #1 or #2 cause of extinctions, the bottom line is: invasive alien species are […]