Rats, mice and people: rodent biology and management Editors: Grant R. Singleton, Lyn A. Hinds, Charles J. Krebs and Dave M. Spratt Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Canberra 2003 The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) was established in June 1982 by an Act of the Australian Parliament. Its mandate is to help identify agricultural problems in developing countries and to commission collaborative research between Australian and developing country researchers in fields where Australia has a special research competence. Where trade names are used, this constitutes neither endorsement of nor discrimination against any product by the Centre. ACIAR MONOGRAPH SERIES This peer-reviewed series contains results of original research supported by ACIAR, or deemed relevant to ACIAR’s research objectives. The series is distributed internationally, with an emphasis on developing countries. This book was published to coincide with the 2nd International Conference on Rodent Biology and Management, Canberra, Australia, February 2003. This file forms part of ACIAR Monograph 96, Rats, mice and people: rodent biology and management. The other parts of Monograph 96 can be downloaded from <www.aciar.gov.au>. © Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research 2003 Grant R. Singleton, Lyn A. Hinds, Charles J. Krebs and Dave M. Spratt, 2003. Rats, mice and people: rodent biology and management. ACIAR Monograph No. 96, 564p. ISBN 1 86320 357 5 [electronic version] ISSN 1447-090X [electronic version] Technical editing and production by Clarus Design, Canberra Contents Preface 9 Symposium 1: Disease 11 Disease: health effects on humans, population effects on rodents Michael Begon 13 Interaction between rodent species in agro-forestry habitats in the western Usambara Mountains, north-eastern Tanzania, and its potential for plague transmission to humans R.H. Makundi, B.S. Kilonzo and A.W. Massawe 20 Rodent diseases in Southeast Asia and Australia: inventory of recent surveys Grant R. Singleton, Lee Smythe, Greg Smith, David M. Spratt, Ken Aplin and Abigail L. Smith 25 Developments in fertility control for pest animal management Lyn A. Hinds, Chris M. Hardy, Malcolm A. Lawson and Grant R. Singleton 31 Trypanosome parasites in the invading Rattus rattus and endemic rodents in Madagascar Juha Laakkonen, Jukka T. Lehtonen, Haingotiana Ramiarinjanahary and Patricia C. Wright 37 Characterisation of Leptospira isolates from captive giant African pouched rats, Cricetomys gambianus R. Machang’u, G. Mgode, J. Asenga, G. Mhamphi, R. Hartskeerl, M. Goris, C. Cox, B. Weetjens and R. Verhagen 40 Potential of Trypanosoma evansi as a biocide of rodent pests Neena Singla, V.R. Parshad and L.D. Singla 43 A retrospective analysis of a vole population decline in western Oregon, USA Jerry O. Wolff and W. Daniel Edge 47 Pathogen study of house mice on islands reveals insights into viral persistence in isolated populations Dorian Moro and Malcolm Lawson 51 Helminths of the rice-field rat, Rattus argentiventer N.A. Herawati and Sudarmaji 55 Occurrence and pathomorphological observations of Cysticercus fasciolaris in lesser bandicoot rats in India L.D. Singla, Neena Singla, V.R. Parshad, B.S. Sandhu and J. Singh 57 Symposium 2: Conservation 61 Rodents on islands: a conservation challenge Giovanni Amori and Mick Clout 63 Positive effects of rodents on biota in arid Australian systems Chris R. Dickman 69 Feasibility of non-lethal approaches to protect riparian plants from foraging beavers in North America Dale L. Nolte, Mark W. Lutman, David L. Bergman, Wendy M. Arjo and Kelly R. Perry 75 Balancing rodent management and small mammal conservation in agricultural landscapes: challenges for the present and the future Ken P. Aplin and Grant R. Singleton 80 Conservation and management of hydromyine rodents in Victoria, Australia John H. Seebeck, Barbara A. Wilson and Peter W. Menkhorst 89 The use of small mammal community characteristics as an indicator of ecological disturbance in the Korannaberg Conservancy Nico L. Avenant 95 3 Rats, Mice and People: Rodent Biology and Management Activity range and den trees of the brush-tailed rabbit-rat on Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory, Australia Ronald S.C. Firth 99 Rodent outbreaks in the uplands of Laos: analysis of historical patterns and the identity of nuu khii Bounneuang Douangboupha, Ken P. Aplin and Grant R. Singleton 103 How do rodent systematics affect conservation priorities? Giovanni Amori and Spartaco Gippoliti 112 Symposium 3: Behaviour 115 How does rodent behaviour impact on population dynamics? Charles J. Krebs 117 Density-dependence and the socioecology of space use in rodents Jerry O. Wolff 124 Predator odours as reproductive inhibitors for Norway rats Vera V. Voznessenskaya, Sergey V. Naidenko, Natalia Yu. Feoktistova, Georgy J. Krivomazov, Lowell A. Miller and Larry Clark 131 Boreal vole cycles and vole life histories Hannu Ylönen, Jana A. Eccard and Janne Sundell 137 Scent marking in rodents: a reappraisal, problems, and future directions Shawn A. Thomas and Jerry O. Wolff 143 Predator presence affects the reproductive success of prey in outdoor conditions Sergey V. Naidenko, Svetlana V. Naidenko, Larry Clark and Vera V. Voznessenskaya 148 Exploratory behaviour and response to olfactory cues by the Mus musculus species group: implications for the origins of Transcaucasian forms of Mus Elena V. Kotenkova, Alexander V. Ambarian, Andrei S. Kandauro and Natalia N. Meshkova 151 Studies on neophobic behaviour in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout, 1769) from farms in Germany Swastiko Priyambodo and Hans-Joachim Pelz 155 Monitoring activity patterns and social interactions of small mammals with an automated event-recording system: wild house mice (Mus domesticus) as a case study Duncan R. Sutherland and Grant R. Singleton 159 Predation risk and behaviour during dispersal: implications for population dynamics of rodents Andrea E. Byrom 165 Strategies of aggressive fighting reflect degree of sociality in three species of gerbils Ilya A. Volodin and Michael E. Goltsman 169 The influence of predator odours and overcrowded mouse odours on regulation of oestrous cycles in house mice (Mus musculus) Natalia Yu. Feoktistova, Svetlana V. Naidenko, Anna E. Voznesenskaia, Georgy J. Krivomazov, Larry Clark and Vera V. Voznessenskaya 173 Effectiveness of controlling fecundity and survival on rodents with different life history traits Guiming Wang and Jerry O. Wolff 176 Symposium 4: Management—field 181 Management of rodents in crops: the Pied Piper and his orchestra Herwig Leirs 183 Ecologically based management of rice-field rats on a village scale in West Java: experimental approach and assessment of habitat use Jens Jacob, Sudarmaji and Grant R. Singleton 191 Impact of village-level rodent control practices on rodent populations and rice crops in Vietnam Peter R. Brown, Nguyen Phu Tuan, Grant R. Singleton, Nguyen Van Tuat, Tran Quang Tan and Le Thanh Hoa 197 4 Contents Rodent problems in India and strategies for their management A.M.K. Mohan Rao 203 Habitat manipulation and rodent damage control: reducing rodent damage in Australian macadamia orchards John G. White, John Wilson and Kerrilee Horskins 213 Patterns in rodent pest distribution in a maize cropping system in the Kenyan Rift Valley C.O. Odhiambo and N.O. Oguge 217 Prey selection by barn owls in rice fields in Malaysia Hafidzi, M.N. and Mohd NA’IM 220 Robustness of techniques for estimating rat damage and yield loss in maize fields Loth S. Mulungu, Rhodes H. Makundi and Herwig Leirs 224 Effect of land preparation methods on spatial distribution of rodents in crop fields Apia W. Massawe, Herwig Leirs, Winfrida P. Rwamugira and Rhodes H. Makundi 229 Current approaches towards environmentally benign prevention of vole damage in Europe Hans-Joachim Pelz 233 Overcoming rat infestation in Australian sugarcane crops using an integrated approach that includes new rodenticide technology Michelle Smith, Brendan Dyer, Andrew Brodie, Warren Hunt and Linton Staples 238 Review of recent advances in studies of the ecology of Mastomys natalensis (Smith 1834) (Rodentia: Muridae) in Tanzania, eastern Africa R.H. Makundi and A.W. Massawe 242 Conservation of rodents in tropical forests of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Tam, Pham Duc Tien and Nguyen Phu Tuan 246 Testing a biological control program for rodent management in a maize cropping system in Kenya D.O. Ojwang and N.O. Oguge 251 The effects of Tephrosia vogelii and land preparation methods on mole rat activity in cassava fields, Alfred M. Sichilima, M.S. Zulu and Herwig Leirs 254 Changes in community composition and population dynamics of commensal rodents in farmhouses in the Dongting Lake region of China Zhang Meiwen, Wang Yong and Li Bo 256 Evaluation of thiram and cinnamamide as potential repellents against maize-seed depredation by the multimammate rat, Mastomys natalensis, in Tanzania Vicky Ngowo, J. Lodal, L.S. Mulungu, R.H. Makundi, A.W. Massawe and H. Leirs 260 Composition of rodents and damage estimates on maize farms at Ziway, Ethiopia Afework Bekele, H. Leirs and R. Verhagen 262 MOUSER (Version 1.0): an interactive CD-ROM for managing the impact of house mice in Australia Peter R. Brown, Grant R. Singleton, Geoff A. Norton and David Thompson 264 Observations of bamboo flowering and associated increases in rodent populations in the north-eastern region of India N.P.S. Chauhan 267 Rodent removal with trap–barrier systems in a direct-seeded rice community in the Philippines Mario S. dela Cruz, Ulysses G. Duque, Leonardo V. Marquez, Antonio R. Martin, Ravindra C. Joshi and Emmanuel R. Tiongco 271 The use of the barn owl, Tylo alba, to suppress rat damage in rice fields in Malaysia Hafidzi, M.N. and Mohd. NA’IM 274 Pre- and post-harvest movements of female rice-field rats in West Javanese rice fields Jens Jacob, Dale Nolte, Rudy Hartono, Jusup Subagja and Sudarmaji 277 Comparison of different baits to attract rats to traps in rice fields in Bangladesh Nazira Quraishi Kamal and M. Mofazzel Hossain 281 Pest and non-pest rodents in the upland agricultural landscape of Laos: a progress report Khamouane Khamphoukeo, Bounneuang Douangboupha, Ken P.