So if a pregnant rat got on the island, we would need to know right away to mount a meaningful response.”Īn animation of a rat detection in Ventura Harbor, just feet away from the ferries that provide daily service to the islands. “Just one pair of rats can produce up to 15,000 descendants in a single year. “Rats are prolific reproducers,” said Rindlaub. The key to preventing damage to the fragile island ecosystem is early warning, before visiting rats have the chance to settle in and wreak havoc on Santa Cruz, said Nathaniel Rindlaub, a software developer with TNC. TNC staffers know that just one or two of these furry gnawers making their way off a visiting tourist, commercial, or naval vessel could threaten wildlife with disease and predatory behavior, setting back decades of conservation investment. Rats have historically been kept off Santa Cruz Island, and that has been by design. A map of Santa Cruz Island, part of a five-island chain off the Southern California coast.Īlthough islands represent only 5% of total land mass on our planet, more than 60% of extinctions have taken place on islands-an outcome driven in many places by invasive species like rats.
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