ALASKA’S RAT SPILL RESPONSE PROGRAM

• Main Authors: Ebbert, Steven M., Sowls, Arthur, Byrd, G. Vernon
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2007
• Subjects: Alaska islands; invasive species; rapid response; rodents; rodenticide; seabirds; ship; shipwreck; Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment; Refuge Islands; Aleutian Island; Alaska
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nwrcinvasive/10; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/nwrcinvasive/article/1009/viewcontent/Ebbert332_337_MVIS.pdf

The introduction of rodents on an island as a new predator usually interferes with natural island biodiversity, particularly on islands without any native mammalian predators. Many Alaskan islands, and most islands in the Aleutian Island region of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR), are free of mammalian predators and are vulnerable to invasion by rodents. Rat introduction to islands can put ground-nesting birds, such as seabirds and endemic landbirds, at risk of extirpation. The refuge is also concerned about additional introductions of house mice. As far as we know, the introduction, or “spilling,” of rats onto refuge islands from ships and cargo was accidental, but probably preventable. This paper is about preventing new rodent invasions, especially rats, on Alaskan islands from shipwrecks, and using our experience on AMNWR as a basis for recommendations about improvements in the future.