Above: Prof. Peter Ryan spotting seabirds on deck. Photo by John Graham

The Leadership for Conservation in Africa (LCA) Unlocking Nature series invites a diverse range of speakers to share their conservation stories with global audiences. On the 7th of October 2021, Professor Peter Ryan, Director of the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town, and Chair of the Mouse-Free Marion Scientific and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) presented an illustrated talk on the conservation of Marion Island.

In his presentation, titled “After the cats…tackling mice on Marion Island”, Peter told the compelling story of the devastating impact mice are having on the ecology of Marion Island, the development of techniques that have enabled operations to successfully eradicate mice and other rodents from large sub-Antarctic islands, and the plans underway to rid Marion Island of its mice to restore this globally important sub-Antarctic ecosystem. The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session, with Peter and Anton Wolfaardt (Mouse-Free Marion Project Manager) answering the audience’s many questions. A recording of the presentation can be viewed here and can also be found in the interviews section of the website.

You can help save Marion Island’s seabirds by donating to the ‘Sponsor-a-Hectare’ crowdfunding initiative.

 

Robyn Adams, MFM Communications Officer and Project Assistant, 19 October 2021