Abstract
AbstractReintroducing species into landscapes with persistent threats is a conservation challenge. Although historic threats may not be eliminated, they should be understood in the context of contemporary landscapes. Regenerating landscapes often contain newly emergent habitat, creating opportunities for reintroductions. The Endangered St Croix ground lizard Pholidoscelis polops was extirpated from the main island of St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, as a result of habitat conversion to agriculture and predation by the small Indian mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus. The species survived on two small cays and was later translocated to two islands. Since the 1950s, new land-cover types have emerged on St Croix, creating a matrix of suitable habitat throughout the island. Here we examined whether the new habitat is sufficient for a successful reintroduction of the St Croix ground lizard, utilizing three complementary approaches. Firstly, we compared a map from 1750 to the current landscape of St Croix and found statistical similarity of land-cover types. Secondly, we determined habitat suitability based on a binomial mixture population model developed as part of the programme monitoring the largest extant population of the St Croix ground lizard. We estimated the habitat to be sufficient for > 142,000 lizards to inhabit St Croix. Thirdly, we prioritized potential reintroduction sites and planned for reintroductions to take place during 2020–2023. Our case study demonstrates how changing landscapes alter the spatial configuration of threats to species, which can create opportunities for reintroduction. Presuming that areas of degraded habitat may never again be habitable could fail to consider how regenerating landscapes can support species recovery. When contemporary landscapes are taken into account, opportunities for reintroducing threatened species can emerge.
Highlights
The majority of island endemics lost to invasive exotic mammals over the past years have been reptiles, amphibians and birds (Sax & Gaines, )
An alternative way of addressing persistent threats is to understand them in the context of contemporary landscapes that have emerged since losses originally occurred
We studied the Endangered St Croix ground lizard Pholidoscelis polops, which was extirpated from . % of its historic range on the main island of St Croix after the introduction of the small Indian mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus
Summary
The majority of island endemics lost to invasive exotic mammals over the past years have been reptiles, amphibians and birds (Sax & Gaines, ). A conservation goal is to reintroduce species to the islands from which they were extirpated. Even where threats such as invasive predators continue to persist on islands, reintroduction may be possible. Original threats need to be addressed, but they should be understood in the present context. There may be opportunities for reintroductions into emergent habitats and natural refugia that were not present during historic extirpation events. This can apply to islands where landscapes are regenerating, even when some historic drivers of extinction such as invasive predators are still present
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