Effects of quinestrol and levonorgestrel on populations of plateau pikas, Ochotona curzoniae, in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

BACKGROUND: Plateau pikas ( Ochotona curzoniae , Hodgson, 1858) are viewed as a pest in the Tibetan Plateau meadow ecosystem when their population densities are high. Traditional culling using rodenticides often poses a high risk to non‐target species and even to humans. In this study, an investigation was made of the infertility effects of quinestrol (E), levonorgestrel (P) and a combination of the two (EP, ratio E:P = 1:2) on plateau pikas during 2007 and 2008. RESULTS: Treatment with E or EP significantly decreased the pregnancy rate of female pikas in 2007. In 2008, there was a cross‐year effect that still suppressed male reproduction in treated groups. Treatment with E obviously reduced the reproduction of pikas but not their population abundance in 2007; the reduction in population size was significant in 2008. CONCLUSIONS: Single baiting of quinestrol in early breeding season reduced the reproduction and population size of pikas throughout 2007. The effect of infertility lasted into the next breeding season through a cross‐year effect, which resulted in a significant reduction of population size in 2008. Quinestrol is a very promising non‐lethal approach to managing pika populations; however, several factors need to be investigated further to improve the practicality of this method. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

The need to implement the landscape of fear within rodent pest management strategies

Current reactive pest management methods have serious drawbacks such as the heavy reliance on chemicals, emerging genetic rodenticide resistance and high secondary exposure risks. Rodent control needs to be based on pest species ecology and ethology to facilitate the development of ecologically based rodent management (EBRM). An important aspect of EBRM is a strong understanding of rodent pest species ecology, behaviour and spatiotemporal factors. Gaining insight into the behaviour of pest species is a key aspect of EBRM. The landscape of fear (LOF) is a mapping of the spatial variation in the foraging cost arising from the risk of predation, and reflects the levels of fear a prey species perceives at different locations within its home range. In practice, the LOF maps habitat use as a result of perceived fear, which shows where bait or traps are most likely to be encountered and used by rodents. Several studies have linked perceived predation risk of foraging animals with quitting‐harvest rates or giving‐up densities (GUDs). GUDs have been used to reflect foraging behaviour strategies of predator avoidance, but to our knowledge very few papers have directly used GUDs in relation to pest management strategies. An opportunity for rodent control strategies lies in the integration of the LOF of rodents in EBRM methodologies. Rodent management could be more efficient and effective by concentrating on those areas where rodents perceive the least levels of predation risk. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

棕背(鼠平)巢区及对林木鼠害防治意义的研究

采用重捕标志法研究了棕背巢区,巢区面积7月份平均为250.89 m2,9月份平均为284.21 m2,雌雄间和季节间差异显著。棕背有集群分布现象。结合巢区面积和活动距离对鼠害防治布点规格与防治灭鼠率的关系进行了分析。     

Competing seed consumers drive the evolution of scatter-hoarding: Why rodents do not put all their seeds in one larder

Competition for food resources amongst animal seed dispersers and pilferers has driven dispersers to increasingly innovative seed-caching methods.We determined cache sizes in the field as well as seed cache recovery ability of a scatter-hoarding mouse, Acomys subspinosus, and compared these results to its seed competitor, the seed predator Rhabdomys pumilio.We found that up to 76% of A. subspinosus caches in the field contained one seed and that A. subspinosus was able to find caches of all sizes equally well under wet and dry soil conditions. In contrast, R. pumilio was able to find caches of all sizes in wet soil conditions but recovery success of small caches (single-seed) was poor in dry soil conditions. This suggests that scatter-hoarding may have evolved in A. subspinosus as an anti-pilfering strategy. This strategy would likely work best in dry conditions, where cache pilferers have difficulty locating small caches.     

我国林业鼠(兔)害发生现状及防治技术研究进展

林业害鼠(兔)是我国4大类林业有害生物之一,对林业生产和生态建设造成严重危害,探讨其分布范围、发生现状及防治措施对保护我国森林资源具有重要的理论和实践意义.文中论述了我国林业害鼠(兔)的主要种类、发生现状、分布范围、危害程度,并简要回顾了不同防治措施的发展历程,总结归纳了取得的防治效果及近年来涌现出的新技术、新药剂,指...     

D型肉毒素水剂毒饵控制鼠害的药效试验

使用D型肉毒素水剂毒饵对克拉玛依农业开发区荒漠鼠害进行药效试验,结果表明:D型肉毒素剂量达到300万毒价时,对害鼠可起到很好的防治效果,投药6 d后,灭鼠效果达到91.8%。因此,通过合理投放此种鼠药,可使鼠害防治在以保护生态环境为前提的情况下,取得降低成本和有效防治的双重效果。     

International Harmonization of Nomenclature and Diagnostic Criteria (INHAND) progress to date and future plans

The INHAND Proposal (International Harmonization of Nomenclature and Diagnostic Criteria for Lesions in Rats and Mice) has been operational since 2005. A Global Editorial Steering Committee (GESC) manages the overall objectives of the project and the development of harmonized terminology for each organ system is the responsibility of the Organ Working Groups (OWG), drawing upon experts from North America, Europe and Japan.Great progress has been made with 9 systems published to date – Respiratory, Hepatobiliary, Urinary, Central/Peripheral Nervous Systems, Male Reproductive and Mammary, Zymbals, Clitoral and Preputial Glands in Toxicologic Pathology and the Integument and Soft Tissue and Female Reproductive System in the Journal of Toxicologic Pathology as supplements and on a web site – www.goreni.org. INHAND nomenclature guides offer diagnostic criteria and guidelines for recording lesions observed in rodent toxicity and carcinogenicity studies. The guides provide representative photo-micrographs of morphologic changes, information regarding pathogenesis, and key references. During 2012, INHAND GESC representatives attended meetings with representatives of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Enterprise Vocabulary Services (EVS) to begin incorporation of INHAND terminology as preferred terminology for SEND (Standard for Exchange of Nonclinical Data) submissions to the FDA. The interest in utilizing the INHAND nomenclature, based on input from industry and government toxicologists as well as information technology specialists, suggests that there will be wide acceptance of this nomenclature. The purpose of this publication is to provide an update on the progress of INHAND.     

Rodent abundance triggered switch between the relative mutualism and predation in a rodent–seed system of the subtropical island forest

Density-dependent non-monotonic species interactions are important in maintaining ecosystem stability and function, but empirical evidences are still rare. Rodents, as both seed dispersers and seed predators, have dual effects on plant regeneration and may result in non-monotonic rodent-plant interactions. According to the non-monotonic models, the relative positive or negative effects of rodents on seedling establishment can be measured based on the positive or negative association of seedling recruitment rate and rodent abundance. In this study, we investigated the fates of acorns of Quercus serrata by tracking tagged seeds on 21 fragmented subtropical islands in the Thousand Island Lake, China. We found that the proportion of germinated seeds of all released seeds showed a dome-shaped association with rodent abundance per seed. The proportion of removed seeds and cached seeds showed a saturated- and a weak dome-shaped association with rodent abundance per seed, respectively. Our results demonstrated a clear empirical evidence that rodent abundance per seed triggered a switch between the relative mutualism and predation in a rodent–seed system. Our study implied that the observed non-monotonic interactions between plants and animals may play a significant role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function. We appeal for more investigations of the complex non-monotonic interactions in various ecosystems.     

典型黄土残塬沟壑区啮齿动物群落分布格局及其时空动态

为研究典型黄土残塬沟壑区啮齿动物群落的分布格局及其对环境变化的响应,于1990—2020年对山西省隰县林草区、沟底作物区、塬面作物区和塬面果园区4种不同样区的啮齿动物群落进行调查,分析不同时间段啮齿动物的群落结构、多样性特征和空间生态位。结果显示,研究期间隰县啮齿动物整体密度呈高—低—高的趋势,由1990—1994年的12.71%逐步下降到2005—2009年的3.39%,之后又上升至2015—2020年的7.83%;作物区的啮齿动物群落多样性特征与林草区、塬面果园区的多样性特征有显著差异,而沟底作物区和塬面作物区的啮齿动物群落多样性特征无显著差异;不同啮齿动物间的Pianka空间生态位重叠指数显示啮齿动物对环境资源的需求和利用有一定的差异性。表明生境类型会影响啮齿动物群落的分布格局,而环境的变化是导致其格局变化的重要因素。     

黑龙江省东南部林区6种啮齿动物食性分析

为了准确掌握黑龙江省东南部地区对农林危害比较严重的啮齿动物的食性及食物量,以便更好地、有针对性地灭鼠,从而为林业部门预防鼠害提供科学依据,于2010年3月—2011年1月通过实地考察,对捕获的鼠进行解剖,并结合实验室喂养进行食物量测定。结果表明,种子和浆果是树栖型种类啮齿动物的主要食物,约占70%左右;而地栖型种类啮齿动物的食物存在明显的季节性和地域性差异。