Predator Free NZ

Techniques/technologies

Eradication – what about the social impacts?

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Predator Free Great Barrier or Stewart Island? It’s already technically feasible. But is it socially feasible? When it comes to complete eradication of predators on inhabited islands there’s a lot more to consider than just the conservation benefits and technical aspects. People, their livestock, … [Read more...] about Eradication – what about the social impacts?

Detecting predators in the city – what works best?

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Tracking tunnels, chew cards and WaxTags© are commonly used to detect predator presence and monitor abundance, but in recent years there’s been a new tool in the conservation kit – the remote camera. Evaluations of its use are showing that it is a tool with a lot of promise and some significant … [Read more...] about Detecting predators in the city – what works best?

A24 vs Stoats – island experiment deemed a success

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The A24 self-resetting trap has been around for a year or two now, but development of the product and testing of its capabilities continues, along with evaluations of how best to utilise the traps in ‘real world’ predator eradications. Darren Peters from DOC, along with the team from Goodnature have … [Read more...] about A24 vs Stoats – island experiment deemed a success

Conservation geneticists want to build a bridge to DOC

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Conservation genetics has implications for all sorts of conservation measures whether it be choosing the source birds for a translocation to a new sanctuary to ensure sufficient genetic diversity, ‘forensic’ type investigations to identify the source of a newly arrived predator on an island (where a … [Read more...] about Conservation geneticists want to build a bridge to DOC

What’s the story with genetic pest management (GPM)?

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Breakthrough genetic technologies are likely to play a key role in achieving a predator-free future. But it’s important that we understand what the various technologies are now – as they’re being developed - not when they’re about to be implemented. We need to debate the issues and become as … [Read more...] about What’s the story with genetic pest management (GPM)?

Genome-mining to find toxins that are species-selective

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A predator-free New Zealand is going to require landscape scale removal of possums, rats, ferrets, stoats and weasels – and possibly other species such as mice and feral cats as well. The problem – or at least one of the problems – is how do you humanely remove some species without endangering … [Read more...] about Genome-mining to find toxins that are species-selective

Predator scent may be key to developing long-life lures

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When scientists Patrick Garvey (University of Auckland), Alistair Glen and Roger Pech (Landcare Research, Lincoln) tested the response of 18 wild-caught stoats to the scents of bigger, dominant predators, the response of the stoats was the opposite of what they expected. The researchers used towels … [Read more...] about Predator scent may be key to developing long-life lures

Canadian researchers come up with innovative rat-luring techniques

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Rats are a uniquely serious problem on islands such as New Zealand where there has been a rodent-free evolution of our wildlife and plantlife, but scientists around the world are also looking for better ways to control rats because of their disease-carrying and food-spoilage attributes. Black … [Read more...] about Canadian researchers come up with innovative rat-luring techniques