 A 2005 report by the NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center indicated that the increased rat presence had led to a decline in both crab and bird populations, causing a corresponding increase in both vegetation and coconut palms.This report urgently recommended eradication of rats so that vegetation might be reduced and the island might return to its "pre-human" state.The island was discovered by Alvaro Saavedra Cedrón on 15 November 1528.