Macquarie Island and eradication efforts have attracted media attention. Below are two scientific papers that might provide useful perspective. Note that the vegetation paper presents data only up to 2011 when rabbit eradication began. Caution might be advised regarding media reports of effects since then.--David Duffy
Robinson, S. A. and Copson, G. R. (2014), *Eradication of cats (Felis catus) from subantarctic Macquarie Island.*Ecological Management & Restoration, 15: 34–40. doi: 10.1111/emr.12073 *Keywords*: cage trap;cat;eradication;Felis catus;leg-hold trap;Macquarie Island *Summary* The feral Cat (Felis catus) population on Macquarie Island was targeted for eradication between 1996 and 2002, with 761 cats captured during this period. After 22 years of cat control from 1974 integrated with control programmes for other pests, effort intensified for 2 years before a dedicated eradication programme began in 1998. The primary knock-down for the eradication used cage trapping and shooting, with most surviving cats captured with leg-hold traps. A total of 6298 field days and 216 574 trap nights were recorded in this operation. Factors contributing to the success of the programme included extensive planning, increased staff numbers at critical times, better access to remote areas of the island, introduction of leg-hold traps, sufficient operational funding and good collaboration between government agencies operating on the island. The programme would have benefited from earlier deployment of detector dogs and better posteradication monitoring of a broader range of native species impacted by cats. The successful eradication of cats from Macquarie Island, being the second largest achieved to date, provides valuable experience for cat eradication attempts on other large remote islands. This programme relied on ground-based techniques with minimal use of poisons and provides possible options for sites where broad-scale poisoning, or where aerial distribution of poisons, cannot be used. ------------------------------ Whinam, J., Fitzgerald, N., Visoiu, M. and Copson, G. (2014), *Thirty years of vegetation dynamics in response to a fluctuating rabbit population on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island.* Ecological Management & Restoration, 15: 41–51. doi: 10.1111/emr.12076 *Keywords:* conservation management;disturbance;ecosystem processes;island management;pest animals;World Heritage Areas *Summary* Australia's sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island is presently undergoing one of the most ambitious vertebrate pest eradication programmes ever undertaken. The anticipated success of this programme will release the island's tundra-like vegetation from well over a century of grazing and disturbance from House Mouse (Mus musculus), Ship Rat (Rattus rattus) and most significantly European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). This study describes results from 30 years of vegetation quadrat monitoring (prior to the most recent and comprehensive pest eradication programme) when lower level pest animal control programmes were underway. Plant species were assigned to one of five distinct functional plant groups: Indigenous short-lived perennials, Introduced short-lived perennials, Indigenous perennials rarely grazed by rabbits, Indigenous perennials occasionally grazed by rabbits and Indigenous long-lived perennials heavily grazed by rabbits, with one species, Agrostis magellanica, analysed as a sixth monospecific group. Results from monthly rabbit counts were used to compare changes in abundance of these six groups under different rabbit populations. It was found that there were three distinct phases of rabbit activity during the study period, indicated by (i) an initial very high count year in 1980–1981, followed by (ii) 20 years of low counts ending in 2001–2002 after which (iii) counts rose to medium/high until the commencement of the eradication programme in 2010–2011. Vegetation composition and progression were distinct for these three rabbit count phases. The first four of the plant functional groups decreased under lower count periods and increased in cover under higher rabbit count periods. Agrostis magellanica appears to respond primarily to interspecies competition and is disadvantaged under extended periods of low rabbit numbers. Indigenous long-lived perennials heavily grazed by rabbits, which includes the large tussocks and megaherbs, is inversely related to rabbit numbers. During the study period, there has also been an overall decline in plant species richness with average species count per quadrat falling by between 0.6 and 2.7 taxa. This study attempts to address the observed vegetation change from this long-term monitoring, to discuss other potential contributing factors and to use the results to predict likely future vegetation changes after eradication of vertebrate pests -- Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit Botany University of Hawaii 3190 Maile Way Honolulu Hawaii 96822 USA 1-808-956-8218
