With the removal of invasive rats from Palmyra Atoll, its native vegetation is making a grand comeback

New research published in PLoS ONE this week demonstrates dramatic positive benefits for native trees following rat removal at Palmyra Atoll, a magnificent National Wildlife Refuge and natural research laboratory located about 1000 miles south of Hawaii.

Forty million miles of major roads crisscross the Earth's continents -- enough to circle the planet 1,600 times. For humans, these thoroughfares are a boon, enabling them to move with ease from place to place. But for migrating animals who are also hemmed in by dams, rivers, shipping lanes, urban development and agriculture, they create another barrier.

Unexpected discovery opens new possibilities for mosquito control.

UCSB biologists document the secondary extinction of a disease-carrying mosquito following rat eradication on Palmyra Atoll.

The elimination of the biting pests was an added bonus after researchers unleashed a rat-eradication endeavor on the tiny islands.