Ecologically-Based Rodent Management 15 Years On: A Pathway to Sustainable Agricultural Production

Author(s): Singleton, Grant R. | Abstract: Food security is a major concern at a global level. The impacts of rodents pre- and post-harvest are legendary, as too are their incursions on the day-to-day lives of people. As vertebrate pest managers we need to move beyond the rhetoric and provide effective management approaches. If on an annual basis we can reduce by 5% the food that rodents eat and spoil globally, then this could save 70 million tons of grain. From the 1960s to the mid 1990s the dominant paradigm for rodent control was the widespread use of chemical rodenticides. Rodent biologists were forced to rethink this reliance on chemical rodenticides because of human health and safety issues, lack of efficacy, detrimental effects on non-target species, and the development of resistance to the anticoagulant rodenticides. Some 15 years ago, ecologically-based rodent management (EBRM) was formally described based on adaptive research conducted to manage irruptions of mouse populations in Australia and rats in Southeast Asia. EBRM builds on foundation work conducted in the 1940s and 1950s by ecologists such as Elton, Chitty, and Davis; research that was marginalized with the advent of cheap and effective rodenticides. EBRM has had a significant impact since its formulation: it has been formally adopted by the governments of Indonesia and Vietnam as their national policy for rodent management in agricultural systems, and is the main rodent management paradigm in at least 30 countries. A challenge is to address not only chronic rodent problems in agricultural landscapes but also the acute outbreaks that cause tremendous impacts on rural communities. An important component of EBRM has been the incorporation of sociological research. I provide a retrospective view of what has been achieved by ecologists and sociologists over the past 15 years, identify countries where progress has been promising, and then provide thoughts on some promising global research challenges.