James Russell

Tag: James Russell

Crisis in the Fernando De Noronha Archipelago

Human exploration has led to the transportation of species around the globe. Now, on islands such as Fernando De Noronha we can see the impact of our actions. A wave of extinctions of endemic, island species has followed every human colonization event. Conservation biologist, James C. Russell, led a case study in the Fernando De […]

Written by on September 12, 2019

Life at the Southern Limits of New Zealand

James Russell visits Stewart Island to find out how people feel about the proposed efforts to remove invasive predators. By: James Russell Rakiura/Stewart Island is the southernmost inhabited point of New Zealand. Here, islanders carve out an existence for themselves among the harsh but beautiful environment. I was visiting to understand how the community feels […]

Written by on September 25, 2017

Protecting the Nest from the Parasitic Pin-tailed Whydah

The Pin-tailed Whydah, a parasitic bird, could put native Antilles and Hawaiian island species at risk. The word “parasite” often brings to mind an image a small worm, but sometimes, parasitic species are not what you imagine. Such is the case for the Pin-tailed Whydah, which is one of only about 100 parasitic bird species […]

Written by on August 4, 2017

James Russell Rounds up New Research on Island Invasives

James Russell explains findings from two newly released scientific papers that highlight the importance of biosecurity. By: James Russell Invasive alien species are the major threat to islands by most metrics, and two open access papers published recently highlight this threat in different ways. In Nature Ecology and Evolution Wayne Dawson and colleagues identify global hotspots of […]

Written by on July 28, 2017

Wake-up Call for Imperiled Species!

Conservationists, including Island Conservation’s Director of Science Nick Holmes, speak at the Island Invasives Conference 2017 press briefing. How early would you get up to prevent extinctions? Whether we’re filming the dramatic recovery of Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge, or participating in an international online press conference, a 04:30 wakeup call is par for the course […]

Written by on June 30, 2017

Protecting Native Wildlife of the Hauraki Gulf Islands

The small islands of the Hauraki Gulf might not seem that impressive, but protecting their native species is important for New Zealand biodiversity conservation. Islands account for only 5% of landmass on Earth, but their protection is vital for preserving biodiversity and preventing extinctions. On many small islands around the world, invasive rats threaten ecological health by eating […]

Written by on June 9, 2017