Invasive alien species on European islands : eradications and priorities for future work

Abstract

A high proportion of European endemic species occur in island ecosystems, and many threatened species are affected by invasive alien species. Tackling biological invasions on European islands is therefore crucial for protection of regional biological diversity and, in many cases, for the well-being of local human communities. Europe is one of the richest regions of the globe, but despite its formal commitment to halt the regional loss of biodiversity by 2010, the level of action to prevent, eradicate or control invasive alien species on islands has been so far very scant. In order to provide an updated list of attempted eradications and tools to support a more efficient decision making, a database on invasive species on the islands of Europe has been implemented. It contains information on eradication programmes, the presence of alien species, and native species directly impacted by these. The scope of the database extends over biogeographic borders of the region and covers the outermost territories of Europe. Data have been collected by reviewing scientific literature, unpublished data provided by experts, and reports produced by signatory countries of the Bern Convention. Data on islands have been acquired through cooperation with the Global Islands Database (GID). In Europe, 224 eradication programmes have been carried out on 170 islands, of these eradications 86% have been successfully completed, mostly targeting rats (68%). We discuss options for future work, including prioritisation of actions based on an analysis of island data, threatened species, and key invasives.