A 2004 study in Biological Conservation by Jean-Louis Chapuis, Yves Frenot, and Marc Lebouvier found that the introduction of rabbits in 1874 had a major impact on the plant life of the Kerguelen archipelago. Rabbits are usually seen as harmless, like a fluffy pet or a cartoon character, but on a faraway island chain, they changed the landscape in ways that scientists are still studying. The most sensitive native plants, the Kerguelen cabbage and the cushion plant, disappeared from grazed areas.
Some native plants, mainly Acaena magellanica, lost cover, while non-native plants, especially dandelions, spread. The Kerguelen Islands lie in the southern Indian Ocean. There are no airports, so everything and everyone comes by boat. In the past, the islands were a stop for whale and seal-hunting ships. People tried to make the place friendlier by bringing animals and plants from home at different times. The cushion plant and the Kerguelen cabbage, the most sensitive species, became scarce or disappeared. Acaena magellanica took over most coastal areas and formed almost single- species communities. The team also examined how the vegetation recovered. Afterward, the number of plant species rose on both islands. Other native plants showed signs of increasing, but later work suggests that full recovery is slow. Fungi are a natural part of a healthy soil community, so the team took soil samples from three islands and searched for fungal DNA. On Grande Terre, there are rabbits everywhere. On Grande Terre, rabbits are widespread.
The French first recorded the islands in 1772, and today a small group of scientists and engineers live there. Of the 29 plant species native to Kerguelen, few remained in rabbit-grazed areas. The rabbit eradication program began on Île Verte in 1992 and on Île Guillou in 1994. A later study published in 2015 in Biology Letters, led by Johan Pansu, looked beneath the surface. Rabbits were removed from Île Guillou in 1994. Île Australia never had any.
These results are from specific sites on the Kerguelen Islands and thus do not show that all islands will respond in the same manner. Nature does not always heal fast, so it is best to be cautious about moving species from one place to another.
