House mice(Mus musculus domesticus Schwarz&Schwarz,1943)are monitored in Australia and China to track changes in mouse population densities and forecast their potential damage to cereal crops.The present study com...House mice(Mus musculus domesticus Schwarz&Schwarz,1943)are monitored in Australia and China to track changes in mouse population densities and forecast their potential damage to cereal crops.The present study compared population indices based on the number of different mice caught and overall trap success from live-trapping with an oil card index(OC)and a tracking index(T)for monitoring mice in sorghum crops immediately before crop maturation.T was measured as the percentage of track board covered with mouse footprints night-1,and OC as the percentage of card removed by mice night-1.The reliability of these abundance indices was quantified by Pearson correlation coefficient with the trappable population size(Ñ),which was estimated by capture-recapture over eight consecutive nights on 175×5 trapping grids,in sorghum crops on two properties on the Darling Downs,Queensland.Because of differences among individual mice in capture probability,Model Mh of program MARK was used to account for such heterogeneity and to estimate the size of each mouse population.The number of individual animals caught was more strongly correlated withÑthan trap success and,therefore,might be a more reliable index;the data suggest that three trapping occasions provide optimal precision for this index.T correlated significantly withÑonly at sites where the canopy of sorghum plants was closed,and its use should,therefore,be restricted to this habitat.OC did not correlate withÑbecause none or very little of the cards was eaten at low to moderate mouse densities.T and the number of animals caught over three trapping nights are recommended for monitoring mice in sorghum crops immediately prior to crop maturation.展开更多
A large-scale outbreak of the house mouse populations occurs in grain growing in Australia on average once every four years.High densities of mice cause major yield losses to cereal crops,and low to moderate densities...A large-scale outbreak of the house mouse populations occurs in grain growing in Australia on average once every four years.High densities of mice cause major yield losses to cereal crops,and low to moderate densities of mice also cause some losses.Several predictive models based on rainfall patterns have been developed to forecast mouse density.These models carry some uncertainty and the economic value of basing management actions on these models is not clear.Baiting is the most commonly used method and zinc phosphide and other rodenticide bait are effective in reducing up to 90%of mouse populations.Ecologically-based best farming practice for controlling mice has recently been developed on the basis of long-term field studies of mouse populations.No effective biological control method has been developed for mice.However,grain growers still cannot make economically rational decisions to implement control because they do not know the pest threshold density(D_(T))above which the economic benefits of control exceed the economic costs of control.Applied predator-prey theory suggests that understanding the relationship between mouse density and damage is the basis for determining D_(T).Understanding this relationship is the first research priority for managing mouse damage.The other research priority is to develop a reliable method to estimate unbiased mouse density.展开更多
文摘House mice(Mus musculus domesticus Schwarz&Schwarz,1943)are monitored in Australia and China to track changes in mouse population densities and forecast their potential damage to cereal crops.The present study compared population indices based on the number of different mice caught and overall trap success from live-trapping with an oil card index(OC)and a tracking index(T)for monitoring mice in sorghum crops immediately before crop maturation.T was measured as the percentage of track board covered with mouse footprints night-1,and OC as the percentage of card removed by mice night-1.The reliability of these abundance indices was quantified by Pearson correlation coefficient with the trappable population size(Ñ),which was estimated by capture-recapture over eight consecutive nights on 175×5 trapping grids,in sorghum crops on two properties on the Darling Downs,Queensland.Because of differences among individual mice in capture probability,Model Mh of program MARK was used to account for such heterogeneity and to estimate the size of each mouse population.The number of individual animals caught was more strongly correlated withÑthan trap success and,therefore,might be a more reliable index;the data suggest that three trapping occasions provide optimal precision for this index.T correlated significantly withÑonly at sites where the canopy of sorghum plants was closed,and its use should,therefore,be restricted to this habitat.OC did not correlate withÑbecause none or very little of the cards was eaten at low to moderate mouse densities.T and the number of animals caught over three trapping nights are recommended for monitoring mice in sorghum crops immediately prior to crop maturation.
文摘A large-scale outbreak of the house mouse populations occurs in grain growing in Australia on average once every four years.High densities of mice cause major yield losses to cereal crops,and low to moderate densities of mice also cause some losses.Several predictive models based on rainfall patterns have been developed to forecast mouse density.These models carry some uncertainty and the economic value of basing management actions on these models is not clear.Baiting is the most commonly used method and zinc phosphide and other rodenticide bait are effective in reducing up to 90%of mouse populations.Ecologically-based best farming practice for controlling mice has recently been developed on the basis of long-term field studies of mouse populations.No effective biological control method has been developed for mice.However,grain growers still cannot make economically rational decisions to implement control because they do not know the pest threshold density(D_(T))above which the economic benefits of control exceed the economic costs of control.Applied predator-prey theory suggests that understanding the relationship between mouse density and damage is the basis for determining D_(T).Understanding this relationship is the first research priority for managing mouse damage.The other research priority is to develop a reliable method to estimate unbiased mouse density.
