Invasive rats wiped from Alaska's Hawadax Island spark dramatic bird resurgence
After a two-century-old rat invasion was eliminated from Hawadax Island, native seabird numbers surged by more than 200 % within two years.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, together with The Nature Conservancy and Island Conservation, launched a helicopter-borne rodenticide campaign in 2008 to eliminate Norway rats that colonized Hawadax Island after a Japanese shipwreck in the 1780s. After confirming the absence of rodents, officials declared the island rat-free and began extensive wildlife surveys. Within two years, bird populations such as glaucous-winged gulls, rock sandpipers, black oystercatchers and tufted puffins increased by at least 200 %, with gull nests tripling.
The resurgence has also revived intertidal ecosystems, as seabird guano enriches soils and aids native plant growth. The recovery prompted the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to restore the island’s Aleut name, Hawadax, in 2012. The project is now cited as a model for invasive-species removal worldwide.
Why it matters
It shows how targeted eradication of invasive rodents can quickly restore fragile island ecosystems and biodiversity.
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