Invasive mammals are the greatest threat to island biodiversity and invasive rodents are likely responsible for the greatest number of extinctions and ecosystem changes. Techniques for eradicating rodents from islands were developed over 2 decades ago. Since that time there has been a significant development and application of this conservation tool. We reviewed the literature on invasive rodent eradications to assess its

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Of the 31 species of exotic mammals that have current wild or feral populations confirmed in New Zealand, at least 25 are actively managed as pests in at least part of their range to reduce their impacts on biodiversity and production values. This paper summarises the current legal status of introduced mammals, the strategic and tactical options to manage them as pests, and their actual management by different agencies, both as pests and as resources. We then discuss some ways in which management agencies might better integrate their actions, record how much is invested in different types of research on the different species, and summarise the main types of problems the research aims to address.

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A major challenge facing pest-eradication efforts is determining when eradication has been achieved. When the pest can no longer be detected, managers have to decide whether the pest has actually been eliminated and hence to decide when to terminate the eradication program. For most eradication programs, this decision entails considerable risk and is the largest single issue facing managers of such programs. We addressed this issue for an eradication program of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) from Santa Cruz Island, California. Using a Bayesian approach, we estimated the degree of confidence in the success of the eradication program at the point when monitoring failed to detect any more pigs. Catch-effort modeling of the hunting effort required to dispatch pigs during the eradication program was used to determine the relationship between detection probability and searching effort for different hunting methods. We then used these relationships to estimate the amount of monitoring effort required to declare eradication successful with criteria that either set a threshold for the probability that pigs remained undetected (type I error) or minimized the net expected costs of the eradication program (cost of type I and II errors). For aerial and ground-based monitoring techniques, the amount of search effort required to declare eradication successful on the basis of either criterion was highly dependent on the prior belief in the success of the program unless monitoring intensities exceeded 30 km of searching effort per square kilometer of search area for aerial monitoring and, equivalently, 38 km for ground monitoring. Calculation of these criteria to gauge the success of eradication should form an essential component of any eradication program as it allows for a transparent assessment of the risks inherent in the decision to terminate the program.

P. S. 1998. Distribution of small mammals along a deforestation gradient in southern Gansu, central China. Acta Theriologica 43: 349-362.Small mammals were surveyed along a deforestation gradient in southern Gansu, China (2300-2600 m altitude), a high endemicity area for human alveolar echinococcosis. Rodent distribution was assessed using removal trapping in six habitat types from timbered forest to farmland and villages, by index transects, and by the collection of specimens by local people.