Rattus exulans (New Zealand Dept. of Conservation)

Rats, Humans, & Their Impacts on Islands: Integrating Historical and Contemporary Ecology   An Interdisciplinary Conference   University of Hawaii, 27-31 March 2007 Final Program

Rat taking fantail chick (New Zealand Dept. of Conservation)

Conference theme

Invasive rats (Rattus exulans, R. rattus, R. norvegicus) are the focus of this conference. It will bring together diverse researchers and build the foundations for an integrated synthesis of the ecology of invasive rodents, informed by disparate lines of research.   We believe that understanding the rat’s role in environmental transformations will highlight critical historical, ecological, and management implications. 

Background

The human colonization of islands dramatically transformed island environments, initiating extinctions, extirpations, and a complex array of ecosystem changes.    Researchers in historical ecology describe these human-induced transformations as a consequence of forest clearing, use of fire, and the establishment of a portmanteau biota.  Rats, perhaps more than any other animal, have been ubiquitous players in these impacts, from the colonization of the Pacific islands to the global expansion of Europeans.  Rats may be the original invasive “species.”  Ecological, paleoecological, and archaeological research has shown the direct and indirect impacts of rats on native flora and fauna, and implicated them in transforming some island environments; yet their impacts on others remain uncertain.  For example, what role do rats play in deforestation or plant and animal extinction?  How do rats’ effects vary with island ecological diversity, biogeography, and history?  Today, it is increasingly important to understand ecological histories and the effects of invasive rats, both because invasions and threats of extinction continue, and because ecological restoration of islands frequently depends on understanding rat ecology as well as predicting the consequences of rat eradication.   Now is an ideal time to determine in what areas contemporary ecology, paleoecology, and archaeology can inform each other and in what areas they cannot.  Addressing these issues will allow development of fine-grained models to better integrate contemporary ecological studies with multiple lines of historical evidence from paleoecology and archaeology.

Format The conference will span five days, and include talks by both both plenary and invited speakers, contributed talks and posters, and a moderated discussion on future directions for research. The optional conference dinner and field trip are fully booked. Registration   Conference fees include morning and afternoon refreshments, lunch on 3/29 and 3/31, and all conference materials:   Early registration (by Nov. 14, 2006) = $200 ($100 for students) Normal registration (by March 1, 2007) = $250 ($125 for students) On site registration (March 27, 2007) = $300 ($150 for students)   Conference dinner (click here) (March 30, optional) = $46 Mid-conference, 1/2-day field trip (click here) (March 29, optional) = $20   Click here for registration forms   Accommodation The Ala Moana Hotel is the official conference hotel.  Rates are $139 for single/double or $179 for triple occupancy (plus 11.96% tax).  Participants should call the Ala Moana Hotel at 808.955.4811 and refer to group number 0622287/Rats and Islands Conference.  Rooms are blocked from 25 March through 1 April and bookings should be made by 25 February.  Free transportation from the hotel to the conference will be provided. Maps and general information Map of Honolulu: UH, Ala Moana Hotel, Willows Restaurant Map of UH: conference venue (Art Auditorium) and parking General information: internet availability on campus, lunch spots, etc. Key dates Call for abstracts: July 17, 2006 Deadline for abstracts: October 2, 2006 Deadline for early registration: November 14, 2006 Deadline for normal registration: March 1, 2007 Conference: March 27-31, 2007 Contacts Don Drake1 and Terry Hunt2   (1Botany Dept., 2Anthropology Dept.) University of Hawaii e-mail: islands@hawaii.edu

Rat attacking hermit crab on Palmyra Atoll (Alex Wegmann) Evidence of rat predation on Prumnopitys ferruginea, New Zealand (J. Wilmshurst)

Sponsors: The University of Hawaii, The Hawaii State Division of Forestry and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii

Last updated: 6 March 2007