Australia's Tiwi rangers spent two decades fighting invasive fire ants; the island is now declared free of them

Over the last two decades, indigenous rangers in Australia's Tiwi Islands have been working on an eradication and conservation effort that was vital to protect the native lives of the region. Scientists, government actors, NGOs and private enterprise all joined hands to eradicate the invasive tropical fire ant species from Melville Island, as they threatened small animals, vulnerable sea turtle hatchlings and nesting birds.Arrival on landResearch suggests that tropical fire ants sailed across the Pacific Ocean, joining Europeans over the centuries as they landed and colonised landmasses across the world.In the 16th century, when Spanish sailors were sailing from the Americas to Australia, they packed dirt in the bottom of the ships to stabilise them. What they were unaware of was that they were also helping some tiny stowaways aboard. Research suggests that tropical fire ants sailed across the Pacific Ocean, joining Europeans over the centuries as they landed and colonised landmasses across the world.In the early 2000s, tropical fire ants (Solenopsis geminata) were detected on Melville Island in the Tiwi Islands, a picturesque archipelago off the coast of Darwin, the capital of Aus...