David (admin), 2 Jun 2009 03:08 pm

Here is the abstract from my article on this. For more information email me (dbry012@aucklanduni.ac.nz). Mainland islands are characterised by intensive pest control techniques and monitoring over a small area to promote indigenous species and ecosystem recovery. Mainland islands in New Zealand were created with the increased knowledge gained from offshore island pest eradication projects and the realisation that these real islands are not enough to retain all, or even most of the nations biodiversity. Official mainland islands with ecosystem based goals have been maintained by the Department of Conservation at six locations since 1995; however other groups have also established similar projects. Mainland islands have been successful in maintaining a variety of indigenous species, though their true benefits lie in the protection and restoration of ecosystem functionality. Mainland islands are also beneficial in raising community awareness and support for conservation as they are typically more accessible than offshore islands. This heightened community support is valuable, as the long-term future of conservation of New Zealand’s biodiversity depends on the public to provide financial and practical assistance. Finally, mainland islands build conservation capacity by providing sites for scientific research and the development of effective pest management techniques, information which can be transferred to other managed areas. Mainland islands face various challenges, due to size restraints, budgetary restraints, difficulties in defining or delineating ecosystems and undesirable ripple effects caused by pest eradication. Recommendations for the future include enhanced public involvement, increasing our understanding of landscape genetics and increasing habitat linkages.