There are over 45 vascular plant species and more than 90 moss species, as well as many liverworts and lichens.

The megaherbs Macquarie Cabbage and Macquarie Megadaisy (Pleurophyllum hookeri) and Tall Tussockgrass are beginning to spread and establish across the island (Figure 1). ), Subantarctic Bittercress (Cardamine corymbosa), Waterblinks (Montia fontana) and the introduced Annual Meadow Grass (Poa annua). Annual meadow grass has decreased markedly in abundance away from areas of seal and seabird disturbance, while Mouse-ear Chick Weed (Cerastium fontanum) and Garden Chickweed (Stellaria media) initially increased in abundance between 2011 and 2013 but have since declined. Figure 1. Aside from the obvious recovery of native vegetation there has been a remarkable improvement in the status of several threatened seabird species now breeding much more successfully on Macquarie Island in the absence of rats, mice and rabbits. After baiting a team of hunters and trained dogs combed the island. We will investigate on receipt and take such action which we, in our sole discretion, determine as being appropriate. Integrating ecosystems & industries With the success of Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Program, we are seeing rapid recovery in the breeding habitats of both burrow and surface nesting species. Cats were eradicated from Macquarie Island in 2000 and there ensued many years of talk about removing the final trinity of feral mammals: rabbits, rats and mice. In the event that you find anything on this website to be inaccurate or misleading, or have any complaint about the material, please email emreditor@ecolsoc.org.au. The eradication of rabbits from Macquarie Island has led to a rapid recovery of vegetation on albatross breeding colony slopes, with early improvements in the birds’ reproductive ability, and lessons for future conservation measures. South Australia Weed issues & solutions (coming soon) Biological control, firstly myxoma virus and later calicivirus, had some success in reducing rabbit numbers but was never going to eradicate the feral species. On-ground follow-up with hunters and dogs, which was originally expected to take about three years but took seven months (2012) following the outstanding success of the calicivirus in substantially reducing rabbit numbers. Rabbits came to Macquarie Island with sealers in the early 1800s as a source of food. The previously ubiquitous Subantarctic Buzzy has declined dramatically with competition from other species, while the previously less common Little Burr (Acaena minor) is now more prevalent. They found – and dispatched – 13 rabbits, including those last six in November 2011. Vegetation recovery was well underway by 2013, when vegetation biomass on the island had increased by a factor of five to ten compared with 2011 levels. Urban ecosystems. Article about Ross Sea voyage published by... Gallery 2: Estrecho Magellanes-Puerto Edén, Gallery 3: Canal Messier bis Golfo de Penas, Gallery 4: Bahía Anna Pink bis Puerto Montt, Gallery 3: Antarctic Peninsula – Ross Sea, Gallery 4: Antarctica and South Shetland Islands, Gallery 2: Peter I Island and the Amundsen Sea, Gallery 4: Scott Island – Macquarie Island, National Park Tierra del Fuego, not far from Ushuaia. Dedicated survey effort in coming seasons will provide quantitative estimates of the response of the burrow nesting seabird assemblage to Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Program. Potential benefits of biodiversity to Australian vegetation projects registered with the Emissions Reduction Fund—is there a carbon‐biodiversity trade‐off? Jennie Whinam, Discipline of Geography & Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania Jennie.Whinam@utas.edu.au; 0447 336160. Posted onNovember 8, 2016March 8, 2018AuthorNick. Rabbits had been on Macquarie Island for at least 130 years, having been introduced as a food source by sealers in the late 19th century.They subsequently made themselves at home on this grassy outcrop in the Southern Ocean, destroying vegetation and excavating fragile peat soils. The mortality event was associated with a 25-30% reduction in the breeding populations of both giant petrel species, however ongoing monitoring reassuringly shows both populations to have stabilised and appear to have resumed the increasing trajectory that they were undergoing before the mortality event.
Following the eradication of feral cats in 2000, rabbits and rodents became the dominant pest species on the island. Landscape arts & aesthetics (coming soon) Coastal & marine Rachael Alderman, Wildlife Management Section, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Wildlife and Environment, Rachael.Alderman@dpipwe.tas.gov.au, Australian Capital Territory This prompted a massive island … Contact. Rabbit and rodent invasion European rabbits were introduced to Macquarie Island in the 1870s, while ship rats and house mice were first recorded on the island in the 1890s. They subsequently made themselves at home on this grassy outcrop in the Southern Ocean, destroying vegetation and excavating fragile peat soils. Introduced rabbits, rats and mice have caused widespread and severe ecological impacts on the native flora, fauna, geomorphology and natural landscape values of Subantarctic Macquarie Island. Fire Ecology & Management Large areas of the highly palatable macquarie megadaisy are recovering from rabbit grazing. Macquarie Island is 1500 kilometres southeast of Tasmania and belongs to Australia. Northern Territory
(Photo Kate Keifer). The three introduced plant species on the island, all of which are primary colonisers, have fluctuated in abundance post-eradication. Major impacts include the destruction of almost half of the island’s tall tussock grassland and the depletion of keystone palatable species, a decline in the abundance and or breeding success of a range of seabird species due to habitat degradation, increased exposure to the elements and predation, as well as increased slope erosion. Planning, monitoring & assessment Riparian & stream ecology Tall Tussockgrass (Poa foliosa) was reduced to small pockets or individual plants on steep slopes, whilst the Macquarie Cabbage (Stilbocarpa polaris) was confined to very steep coastal slopes and Prickly Shieldfern (Polystichum vestitum) survived in exclosures. Source: Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project: Evaluation Report August 2014. Pollution issues & solutions (coming soon) Tasmania

Western Australia, Bush regeneration Restoring the ecological integrity of a dryland river: Why low flows in the Barwon–Darling River must flow, Evaluation of intervention aimed at improving reproductive success in Orange‐bellied Parrots Neophema chrysogaster: Lessons, barriers and successes, Modern middens: Shell recycling for restoring an endangered marine ecosystem in Victoria, Australia, Automated broadcast of a predator call did not reduce predation pressure by Sugar Gliders on birds, Short‐term impacts of prescribed burning on Orange‐bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) food plant abundance, A report on a fisheries conflict management training workshop in Laos, Toxic baiting of rabbits, rats and mice using aerial baiting from helicopters across the island conducted over two winters to minimise the risk of mortality for non-target seabirds. The GPS logs of the hunting team during 2013-14 show how thoroughly the island was covered on foot.