Rodent Outbreaks: Ecology and Impacts Edited by Grant Singleton, Steve Belmain, Peter Brown, and Bill Hardy 2010 Contents i 00a-Title page.indd i 2010-10-22 17:26 ii Contents 00a-Title page.indd ii 2010-10-22 17:27 The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) was established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations with the help and approval of the Government of the Philippines. Today, IRRI is one of the 15 nonprofi t international research centers supported in part by more than 40 donors: members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR – www.cgiar.org), other government funding agencies, foundations, the private sector, and nongovernment organizations. The responsibility for this publication rests with the International Rice Research Insti- tute. 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Any of the above conditions can be waived if permission is obtained from the copyright holder. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights. Fair dealing and other rights are in no way affected by the above. To view the full text of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc- sa/3.0/ Mailing address: IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines Phone: +63 (2) 580-5600 Fax: +63 (2) 580-5699 Email: [email protected] Web: www.irri.org. Rice Knowledge Bank: www.knowledgebank.irri.org Courier address: Suite 1009, Security Bank Center 6776 Ayala Avenue, Makati City, Philippines Tel. +63 (2) 891-1236, 891-1174, 891-1258, 891-1303 Suggested citation: Grant R. Singleton, Steve R. Belmain, Peter R. Brown, and Bill Har- dy, editors. 2010. Rodent outbreaks: ecology and impacts. Los Baños (Philippines): Inter- national Rice Research Institute. 289 p. Cover design: Juan Lazaro IV Page makeup and composition: Emmanuel Panisales and Grant Leceta Figures and illustrations: Emmanuel Panisales and Grant Leceta ISBNii Contents 978-971-22-0257-5 00a-citation-phil.indd ii 2010-10-22 16:40 Contents Foreword 1 v Foreword 2 vi Acknowledgments vii Rodent outbreaks: an age-old issue with a modern appraisal 1 G.R. Singleton, S.R. Belmain, and P.R. Brown SECTION 1: RODENT OUTBREAKS AND BAMBOO FLOWERING IN ASIA 11 Chronicle and impacts of the 2005-09 mautam in Mizoram 13 K.P. Aplin and J. Lalsiamliana The Chittagong story: studies on the ecology of rat floods and bamboo masting 49 S.R. Belmain, N. Chakma, N.J. Sarker, S.U. Sarker, S.K. Sarker, and N.Q. Kamal The Chittagong story: a regional damage assessment during a rodent population 65 outbreak S.K.M. Ahaduzzaman and S.K. Sarker Rodent population outbreaks associated with bamboo flowering in Chin State, 79 Myanmar N.M. Htwe, G.R. Singleton, A.M. Thwe, and Y.Y. Lwin Rodent outbreaks in the uplands of Lao PDR 99 B. Douangboupha, G.R. Singleton, P.R. Brown, and K. Khamphoukeo SECTION 2: RODENT IMPACTS IN LOWLAND INTENSIVE RICE SYSTEMS 113 IN SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH ASIA Rodent impacts in lowland irrigated intensive rice systems in West Java, Indonesia 115 Sudarmaji, G.R. Singleton, P.R. Brown, J. Jacob, and N. Herawati Rodent outbreaks in South Sulawesi, Indonesia: the importance 129 of understanding cultural norms D. Baco, R. Nasruddin, and H. Juddawi Foreword iii 00bcontents.indd iii 2010-10-22 17:29 Rodent impacts in lowland irrigated intensive rice systems in Vietnam 139 H.N. Huan, V.T.Q. Nga, P.R. Brown, M.T.M. Phung, and G.R. Singleton Socio-cultural factors influencing adoption of ecologically based rodent pest 153 management F.G. Palis, G.R. Singleton, P.R. Brown, N.H. Huan, and N.T.D. Nga Response options to rodent outbreaks following extreme 171 weather events: cyclone Nargis, a case study G.R. Singleton, N.M. Htwe, L.A. Hinds, and W. Soe Analysis of communication pathways and impacts of the Boo! Boo! Rat! 191 campaign R.J.B. Flor and G.R. Singleton SECTION 3: RODENT OUTBREAKS IN OTHER REGIONS: 205 A SEARCH FOR GENERALITIES Rodent outbreaks in Europe: dynamics and damage 207 J. Jacob and E. Tkadlec Rodent outbreaks in Australia: mouse plagues in cereal crops 225 P.R. Brown, G.R. Singleton, R.P. Pech, L.A. Hinds, and C.J. Krebs Rodent outbreaks in New Zealand 239 W.A. Ruscoe and R.P. Pech Rodent outbreaks in North America 253 G. Witmer and G. Proulx Rodent outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa 269 H. Leirs, V. Sluydts, and R. Makundi Appendix Recipes for rodent culinary delights 281 Compiled by Grant Singleton iv Contents 00bcontents.indd Sec1:iv 2010-10-22 17:29 Foreword 1 Rats have long been the scourge of smallholder farmers in many rice-growing regions in Asia and throughout the world. In 1990, the International Rice Research Institute held an international workshop simply called “Rats in Rice,” which assembled rodent experts from around the globe. Unfortunately, at that time, most of the experts were retired or about to retire. The senior editor of this book, Grant Singleton, attended that workshop for his fi rst rat meeting and it must have had an impact on him because, within 4 years, he was back in the Philippines, and over the next decade he ventured into Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar, researching the ecology and manage- ment of rodent pests. I am pleased that some 20 years later he organized a second international rodent conference hosted by IRRI, “Impacts of Rodent Outbreaks on Food Security in Asia,” held on 26-28 October 2009. The conference generated much international interest, including an article in Science in February 2010 as part of a special issue on “food security.” I am particularly pleased that the deliberations of the conference have now been captured in this book. This book is timely because, in recent years, population outbreaks of rodents in the rice-cropping systems of Asia have escalated. There has been precious little formal documentation of the factors that lead to rodent population outbreaks, their impacts, and the successes and failures of management actions, particularly in de- veloping countries. The authors bring together in this publication a more complete picture of rodent outbreaks and their implications. The book examines case studies of the recent rodent outbreaks in Asia with a view to drawing generalities. However, an added strength of the book is that it goes beyond the rice ecosystems of Asia and ventures into other ecosystems in Australia, New Zealand, East Africa, Europe, and North America, to allow readers to compare the factors that generate outbreaks of rodent populations on fi ve continents. I am pleased that our Institute in recent years has been able to take a lead role in Asia for research on rodent biology and management, with a focus on smallholder rice farmers. A book of this stature on rodent outbreaks is long overdue. I also note that there are some recipes for rodent culinary delights in the Appendix. I can honestly say that I have partaken of such a gastronomic experience, and, yes, it tastes like chicken! I strongly endorse this timely book, which literally provides food for thought. Enjoy! Dr. Robert S. Zeigler Director General International Rice Research Institute Foreword v 00-foreword.indd v 2010-10-22 17:24 Foreword 2 In 1934, Hans Zinsser published Rats, Lice, and History, detailing in a rambling but iconic manner the history of typhus fever and its impact on civilization. This was the fi rst of several books to deal with how rats and the diseases they spread have affected the course of history. The elephant missing from the room was of course the role of rats as agricultural pests, a problem that has been less visible to agricultural scientists and too often treated as an insoluble problem designed by the gods to test human resilience. The elephant is now fi rmly in the room, as this book attests. In particular, concerns about food security dominate the early 21st century, and this has focused attention on agricultural pests that take food from hungry mouths as well as spread disease. Rodents have been the favorite study animal for graduate students in developed countries because of their rapid life cycle and convenient size. Medical science with- out rats and mice would be in the Stone Age. Population dynamics without rodents would be in its infancy. Much progress has been made in understanding the ecologi- cal factors that limit rodent populations in temperate climates, and only recently has this knowledge been focused on rodents in tropical and subtropical countries, where agricultural pest problems are most serious. All of this has been achieved by the advent of ecologically based rodent management (EBRM), which has stimulated the progress summarized in this book. But, EBRM has gone beyond the purely ecological dynam- ics of rodent populations to integrate this knowledge with the social sciences that are so crucial to implementing management practices that minimize rodent damage to crops and maximize the productivity of farms and the well-being of farmers.