Rodent biology and management: Current status,opinion and challenges in China

China experiences serious agricultural damages from rodents, and, correspondingly, researchers in China are actively studying rodent biology and management. Following the popularization of ecologically-based rodent pest management and extension of the basic state policy of Ecological Civilization Construction in China, recent efforts in rodent control technologies are mainly focused on eliminating side effects of rodenticides and developing environmentally friendly techniques. Considering ecological functions of rodents to test their interaction with the environment is a promising design for understanding rodent populations in local ecosystems and for developing ecologically-based rodent management. Using ecological phenotypes and applying advanced techniques of molecular biology, genetics, and epigenetics might be useful for illustrating the deep regulatory mechanisms of fluctuations in rodent populations. However, facing the dual characteristics of rodents as pests and their roles as keystone species in many ecosystems, it is still a challenge to establish reasonable local thresholds to balance rodent management with the negative effects of rodent control on the environment in the future.