Rabbits devastate island wildlife

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The removal of cats in 2000 caused "catastrophic" damage to the ecology of a sub-Antarctic island, a study says.

Since cats were removed from Macquarie Island, rabbit numbers have soared, and the animals are now devastating plants.

Cats previously kept a check on rabbits but were eradicated because they were also eating seabirds, scientists relate in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

The Australian government plans to eradicate rabbits, rats and mice from the island, a World Heritage Site.

The rabbits have now caused so much damage to the island's flora that the changes can be seen from space.

The scientists behind the research say conservation agencies must "learn lessons" from the episode.

Dana Bergstrom gets close and personal with some of Macquarie's penguins

"Our study shows that between 2000 and 2007 there has been widespread ecosystem devastation and decades of conservation effort compromised," said Dana Bergstrom from the Australian Antarctic Division.

"The lessons for conservation agencies globally is that interventions should be comprehensive and include risk assessments to explicitly consider and plan for indirect effects, or face substantial subsequent costs."

In this case, one element of the cost is the 24m Australian dollars ($17m,