4 ms·

The situation is not the same. Mosquitos, rodents, flies, and swallows weren't recently introduced species in China.

eesmith 3y ago
As better comparables: 1) the eradication of pigs on Tikopia ("around 1600, the people agreed to slaughter all pigs on the island, and substitute fishing, because the pigs were taking too much food that could be eaten by people" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikopia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikopia) 2) the more recent eradication of all goats, pigs, and donkeys from some islands in the Galapagos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Isabela https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Isabela and https://www.galapagos.org/conservation/project-isabela/ https://www.galapagos.org/conservation/project-isabela/)
cratermoon 3y ago
Perhaps the experience with rabbits in Australia is a better comparison, then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia
- clouddrover 3y ago
  What comparison are you making? That rabbits are also a problem like the introduced species in New Zealand are a problem? It's true, they are. It's harder to exterminate all the rabbits because Australia is a much bigger geography than New Zealand.
  - cratermoon 3y ago
    > It's harder to exterminate all the rabbits because It's a given that size of the landmass is not the issue. See for example wild pigs, chickens, and other introduced species in Hawaii.
    - eesmith 3y ago
      > It's a given that size of the landmass is not the issue There are many factors - landmass is only one of them, but it's definitely one of them. As the article points out: ] It is a tall order. The largest island to have removed all rats is South Georgia, a 170km (105-mile)-long territory in the South Atlantic. New Zealand conservationists believe the feat can in due course be achieved in an area larger than the UK. What is your point? There are definitely successful examples of the eradication of a recently introduced species that was severely damaging the ecosystem, where the ecosystem started to recover after the eradication. https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/stamping-out-invasive-species-has-successful-track-record-on-islands-study-finds/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/stamping-out-invasive-spec... says "Their analysis includes 1,550 attempts on nearly 1,000 islands, and it reveals that 88% of these projects were successful" and specifically listing species and ecosystem benefits in in the Galápagos, Palmyra Atoll, and Chagos Archipelago. That there are examples where recently introduced species haven't been eradicated despite a century of trying, or examples where the ecosystem or food-production capability was damaged due to human attempts to eradicate a long-established local species, are rather different points, yes?

As better comparables: 1) the eradication of pigs on Tikopia ("around 1600, the people agreed to slaughter all pigs on the island, and substitute fishing, because the pigs were taking too much food that could be eaten by people" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikopia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikopia) 2) the more recent eradication of all goats, pigs, and donkeys from some islands in the Galapagos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Isabela https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Isabela and https://www.galapagos.org/conservation/project-isabela/ https://www.galapagos.org/conservation/project-isabela/)

cratermoon 3y ago

Perhaps the experience with rabbits in Australia is a better comparison, then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia

clouddrover 3y ago
What comparison are you making? That rabbits are also a problem like the introduced species in New Zealand are a problem? It's true, they are. It's harder to exterminate all the rabbits because Australia is a much bigger geography than New Zealand.
- cratermoon 3y ago
  > It's harder to exterminate all the rabbits because It's a given that size of the landmass is not the issue. See for example wild pigs, chickens, and other introduced species in Hawaii.
  - eesmith 3y ago
    > It's a given that size of the landmass is not the issue There are many factors - landmass is only one of them, but it's definitely one of them. As the article points out: ] It is a tall order. The largest island to have removed all rats is South Georgia, a 170km (105-mile)-long territory in the South Atlantic. New Zealand conservationists believe the feat can in due course be achieved in an area larger than the UK. What is your point? There are definitely successful examples of the eradication of a recently introduced species that was severely damaging the ecosystem, where the ecosystem started to recover after the eradication. https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/stamping-out-invasive-species-has-successful-track-record-on-islands-study-finds/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/stamping-out-invasive-spec... says "Their analysis includes 1,550 attempts on nearly 1,000 islands, and it reveals that 88% of these projects were successful" and specifically listing species and ecosystem benefits in in the Galápagos, Palmyra Atoll, and Chagos Archipelago. That there are examples where recently introduced species haven't been eradicated despite a century of trying, or examples where the ecosystem or food-production capability was damaged due to human attempts to eradicate a long-established local species, are rather different points, yes?