Invasive Species Program

The Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office’s Invasive Species Program was formally established in 2002 to coordinate the prevention of the establishment of introduced invasive species that negatively affect or have the potential to affect the USFWS trust resources and their habitats within the Pacific Ecoregion. The program supports development and implementation of control techniques for incipient and established invasive species populations as well as providing cross-programmatic technical assistance for habitat restoration and species recovery.

Some Invasive Species programmatic areas of focus are invasive marine algae and aquatic species (fish, invertebrates, and amphibians such as bullfrogs), invasive non-native terrestrial plants, insects and pathogens, mammalian predators (rats, mice, mongooses and feral cats), mosquito-borne diseases (avian influenza and West Nile virus), and feral ungulates (pigs, deer, and goats).

Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS)
Invasive Species Program AIS staff work with internal and external partners to prevent, control, mitigate and eradicate aquatic invasive species in the Pacific and other related invasive species determined, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, State and Federal Partners, and the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force that may have negative impacts on trust resources. In the Hawaiian Islands, technical assistance provided by AIS staff has resulted in USFWS support of the “Supersucker” mechanical removal tool for invasive marine algae control; support of an Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator in the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Aquatic Resources; implementation of the Hawai‘i Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan; coordination of AIS workshops; and raising awareness of critical invasive species prevention, detection, and identification training (e.g., electrofishing certification and Triploid Grass Carp Inspection/Certification).

AIS staff are instrumental in capacity building among agencies and providing leadership with regard to nonnative invasive fish control, mitigating invasive species impacts to trust resources in aquatic environments (e.g., fish exclosures and bullfrog management), pathway risk management through implementing Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles, and participating on several invasive species advisory committees in Hawai‘i and the Pacific Islands.

Fish and Wildlife Biologist Jeffrey Herod with nonnative tilapia fish species - Photo credit Holly Herod/USFWS

Avian Influenza
Avian influenza is endemic in wild populations of waterfowl and many other species of birds. The emergence and spread of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Asia has elevated concerns about potential expansion of this virus to Pacific Islands and the Americas. Largely due to speculation that migratory birds are vectors, state and federal wildlife agencies, have been called upon to develop an early detection system to determine if and when the virus arrives.

Surveillance efforts in the Pacific have been a collaborative effort between the US Department of Agriculture (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Wildlife Services) in Hawai‘i and Guam, US Geological Service, Hawai‘i Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, PCS, DMWR and the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office Invasive Species Program. Samples (primarily fecal) have been collected chiefly from shorebirds in Hawai‘i, Territory of Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Marshall Islands and Palau using a variety of capture methods. The most commonly sampled species have been Pacific golden plovers, ruddy turnstones, Philippine turtle doves (Guam) and mallard ducks. Of the more than 4,000 samples collected to date, no HPAI has been detected.

Partners collect bird fecal samples in Guam to test for Avian Influenza - Photo credit Shelly Kremer/USFWS

Brown Tree Snake
The introduction of the brown treesnake to the Territory of Guam has caused significant ecological, economic and human health impacts. Priorities of the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office Invasive Species Program are to prevent the introduction of the brown treesnake to other Pacific islands, and to control the snake population on Guam.

Invasive Species Program staff provides coordination for multi-agency brown treesnake control efforts regionally and nationally through the legislatively mandated Brown Treesnake Working Group, and has one staff member permanently stationed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands within the Division of Fish and Wildlife dedicated to brown treesnake issues. This position is funded by the Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs and managed through a cooperative agreement between the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office.

Brown treesnake entering a trap - Photo credit Jeff Newman/USFWS

Mammalian Predators
Introduced rodents (several species of rats and mice), the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), and feral cats (Felis catus) have had devastating impacts on oceanic islands worldwide. The continued presence of these species in the Hawaiian Islands for example, has profound impacts to native plant and animal communities, and is a serious impediment to native species recovery efforts.

Long-term, landscape-scale rodent management has been historically used in agricultural situations, and is being accomplished to a limited extent for conservation purposes. In addition, successful introduced rodent eradication efforts on islands have a fairly extensive history. The Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office Invasive Species Program provides partner agencies and other stakeholders with technical assistance in implementing control strategies targeting introduced rodents for the protection and conservation of native species. A successful integrated control program requires strong support and continued cooperation among Hawai‘i conservation land stewards, industry and the public.

Rat damage to the fruit of endemic hoawa - Photo credit © Jack Jeffrey/USFWS

For more information:
Dan Clark
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office
300 Ala Moana Boulevard
Room 3-122
Honolulu, HI 96850
(808) 792-9400
(808) 792-9581 fax