Cocos Island brown treesnake invasion baiting and trapping pilot study data

In October of 2020, a new population of invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) was discovered on the 33-ha island of Cocos Island, Guam. Trapping and bait fate pilot studies (NWRC QA-3106 and QA-3340) were conducted to evaluate potential eradication tools for this species. These studies sought to evaluate the usefulness of toxic baiting with acetaminophen-treated carrion baits and cage trapping, which are common tools for the control of brown treesnakes on mainland Guam. From December 2020 through April 2021 multiple bait types and bait presentations were used on 9 transects along existing paths and trails, including on the ground, suspended in the canopy emulating aerial bait applications, and in four plastic-tube bait station configurations intended to exclude nontarget species. All baits were monitored weekly with time lapse cameras and the following data recorded for the baiting study: location, type of presentation, bait and dosage of acetaminophen (0 or 80 milligrams), date and time of first bait monitoring image as well as the date and time of the take or ending period, and the species that took the bait. For the pilot trap study we tested two trap types (99 of each) commonly used on Guam and compared trapping success with live versus dead mouse lures. Traps were checked approximately every 2 weeks between June and August 2021 and the following data recorded: trap location, type and condition of lure, nontarget captures found in the traps, trap damage caused by nontarget species, and snake captures (which was only one in this study).
Evaluate the utility of trapping and baiting for eradication of a newly-discovered population of invasive brown treesnakes on Cocos Island, Guam.
For more information about this study and these data, see Siers et al. (2024). These data were originally published on 10/05/2023. On 03/01/2024, the metadata was updated to include more details for the recently published article.