Register      Login
Wildlife Research Wildlife Research Society
Ecology, management and conservation in natural and modified habitats
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > WR > WR06026
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 33(6)

Short- and long-term demographic changes in house mouse populations after control in dryland farming systems in Australia

Peter R. Brown
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia. Email: Peter.Brown@csiro.au

Wildlife Research 33(6) 457-466 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR06026
Submitted: 13 March 2006  Accepted: 25 July 2006   Published: 4 October 2006

Abstract

In Australia, outbreaks of house mice (Mus domesticus) cause significant damage to agricultural crops. Rodenticides are used to reduce damage to crops, but the demographic consequences of applying rodenticides are poorly understood. Furthermore, it is not known whether the reduction induced by rodenticides would be similar to that of a natural crash in abundance at the end of mouse outbreaks. I compared the demographic responses of populations of mice to broad-scale field application of fast-acting, acute rodenticides (strychnine and zinc phosphide) in three grain-growing regions of Australia on baited and unbaited sites through live-trapping of mouse populations before baiting and up to four months after baiting. The reductions in population density in each region immediately after baiting were <40%, 92% and 98%. There were few consistent changes in demographic responses across the three regions for bodyweight (no change, increased or decreased), proportion of juveniles (increased or decreased), sex ratio (no change or bias towards females), survival (no change or decreased) and relative body condition (no change or increased). The differences in demographic responses appeared to be related to differences in the efficacy of the rodenticide. A natural crash in densities occurred over a 2–4-week period after baiting and induced a >85% decline in population densities across all regions on baited and unbaited sites. The natural crash caused increases and decreases in bodyweights, a reduction in the proportion of juveniles, male bias, poor survival and poor relative body condition. Poor survival was the only demographic parameter that was consistent for baiting and the natural crash. Five of seven demographic responses for mice during the natural crash were similar to those found in the literature for the decline phase of cyclic vole and lemming populations in the Northern Hemisphere. These results raise the question of whether mouse populations should be baited if a natural crash would occur anyway, but the timing of the natural crash is always uncertain and rodenticides are inexpensive.


Acknowledgments

I thank Lisa Chambers, Micah Davies, Stephen Day, David Grice, Dean Jones, Alice Kenney, Charles Krebs, Greg Mutze, Bill Price, Grant Singleton and Monica van Wensveen for assisting with data collection, and all the farmers for their willing participation in the studies. This research was conducted in accordance with the Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes. Institute AEEC/SEAEC approval numbers were 93/94–-33, 93/94-2, and 01/02-15. I thank CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Bureau of Resource Sciences (Vertebrate Pest Program), and the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage for their financial assistance for these projects.


References

Boonstra, R. , Krebs, C. J. , and Stenseth, N. C. (1998). Population cycles in small mammals: the problem of explaining the low phase. Ecology 79, 1479–1488.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Brown P. R., and Singleton G. R. (2002). Impacts of house mice on crops in Australia – costs and damage. In ‘Human Conflicts with Wildlife: Economic Considerations’. (Eds L. Clark, J. Hone, J. A. Shivik, R. A. Watkins, K. C. VerCauteren and J. K. Yoder.) pp. 48–58. (National Wildlife Research Center: Fort Collins, CO.)

Brown, P. R. , Chambers, L. K. , and Singleton, G. R. (2002). Pre-sowing control of house mice (Mus domesticus) using zinc phosphide: efficacy and potential non-target effects. Wildlife Research 29, 27–37.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Buckle A. P., and Smith R. H. (1994). ‘Rodent Pests and Their Control.’ (CAB International: Wallingford, UK.)

Caughley G. (1977). ‘Analysis of Vertebrate Populations.’ (John Wiley and Sons: London.)

Caughley J., Monamy V., and Heiden K. (1994). Impact of the 1993 Mouse Plague. GRDC Occasional Paper Series No.7. GRDC, Canberra.

Caughley J., Donkin C., and Strong K. (1998). Managing mouse plagues in rural Australia. In ‘Proceedings of the 18th Vertebrate Pest Conference’. (Eds R. O. Baker and A. C. Crabb.) pp. 160–165. (University of California: Costa Mesa, Davis, CA.)

Chambers, L. K. , Singleton, G. R. , and Hinds, L. A. (1999). Fertility of wild mouse populations: the effects of hormonal competence and an imposed level of sterility. Wildlife Research 26, 579–591.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Cooper G., and Woods N. (1996). Efficiency of bait application. In ‘Report on Aerial Baiting with Strychnine during the 1995 Mouse Plague in the Dalby–Goondiwindi Area, Queensland’. (Ed. V. Eldershaw.) pp. 87–94. (Queensland Department of Natural Resources: Brisbane.)

Doncaster, C. P. , Clobert, J. , Doligez, B. , Gustafsson, L. , and Danchin, E. (1997). Balanced dispersal between spatially varying local populations: an alternative to the source–sink model. American Naturalist 150, 425–445.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Johnson G. D., and Fagerstone K. A. (1994). Primary and secondary hazards of zinc phosphide to nontarget wildlife – a review of the literature. DWRC Research Report No. 11-55-005. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Colorado.

Hanski, I. , Hansson, L. , and Henttonen, H. (1991). Specialist predators, generalist predators, and the microtine rodent cycle. Journal of Animal Ecology 60, 353–367.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Kenney A. J., Krebs C. J., Davis S. A., Pech R. P., Mutze G. J., and Singleton G. R. (2003). Predicting house mouse outbreaks in the wheat-growing areas of south-eastern Australia. In ‘Rats, Mice and People: Rodent Biology and Management’. ACIAR Monograph No. 96. (Eds G. R. Singleton, L. A. Hinds, C. J. Krebs and D. M. Spratt.) pp. 325–328. (ACIAR: Canberra.)

Klemola, T. , Tanhuanpää, M. , Korpimäki, E. , and Ruihomäki, K. (2002). Specialist and generalist natural enemies as an explanation for geographical gradients in population cycles of northern herbivores. Oikos 99, 83–94.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Land Conservation Council (1974). ‘Report on the Mallee Study Area.’ (Land Conservation Council, Victoria: Melbourne.)

Montgomery, W. I. (1981). A removal experiment with sympatric populations of Apodemus sylvaticus (L.) and A. flavicollis (Melchior) (Rodentia: Muridae). Oecologia 51, 123–132.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Pech R. P., Hood G., Singleton G. R., Salmon E., Forrester R., and Brown P. R. (1999). Models for predicting plagues of house mice (Mus domesticus) in Australia. In ‘Ecologically-based Management of Rodent Pests’. (Eds G. R. Singleton, L. A. Hinds, H. Leirs and Z. Zhang.) pp. 81–112. (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra.)

Plumb T. W. (Ed.) (1963). ‘Atlas of Australian Resources. Soils.’ 2nd series. (Department of National Development: Canberra.)

Pocock, M. J. O. , Hauffe, H. C. , and Searle, J. B. (2005). Dispersal in house mice. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 84, 565–583.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Singleton G. R., Hinds L. A., Leirs H., and Zhang Z. (1999). ‘Ecologically-based Management of Rodent Pests.’ (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra.)

Singleton, G. R. , Krebs, C. J. , Davis, S. A. , Chambers, L. K. , and Brown, P. R. (2001). Reproductive changes in fluctuating house mouse populations in southeastern Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences 268, 1741–1748.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Singleton, G. R. , Brown, P. R. , Pech, R. P. , Jacob, J. , Mutze, G. J. , and Krebs, C. J. (2005). One hundred years of eruptions of house mice in Australia – a natural biological curio. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 84, 617–627.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Stenseth, N. C. (1999). Population cycles in voles and lemmings: density dependence and phase dependence in a stochastic world. Oikos 87, 427–461.


Stenseth, N. C. , Leirs, H. , Skonhoft, A. , Davis, S. A. , Pech, R. P. , Andreassen, H. P. , Singleton, G. R. , Lima, M. , Machangu, R. M. , Makundi, R. H. , Zhang, Z. , Brown, P. R. , Shi, D. , and Wan, X. (2003). Mice, rats and people: the bio-economics of agricultural rodent pests. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1, 367–375.


Sullivan, T. P. (1979). Repopulation of clear-cut habitat and conifer seed predation by deer mice. Journal of Wildlife Management 43, 861–871.


Sullivan, T. P. , Sullivan, D. S. , and Hogue, E. J. (2001). Reinvasion dynamics of northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) populations in removal areas. Crop Protection 20, 189–198.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sutherland, D. R. , Banks, P. B. , Jacob, J. , and Singleton, G. R. (2004). Shifting age structure of house mice during a population outbreak. Wildlife Research 31, 613–618.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Twigg, L. E. , Singleton, G. R. , and Kay, B. J. (1991). Evaluation of bromadiolone against house mice (Mus domesticus) populations in irrigated soybean crops. I. Efficacy of control. Wildlife Research 18, 265–274.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wilson, D. J. , Krebs, C. J. , and Sinclair, A. R. E. (1999). Limitation of collared lemming populations during a population cycle. Oikos 87, 382–398.


Wolff, J. O. (1993). What is the role of adults in mammalian juvenile dispersal? Oikos 68, 173–176.


Ylönen, H. , Jacob, J. , Davies, M. J. , and Singleton, G. R. (2002). Predation risk and habitat selection of Australian house mice Mus domesticus during an incipient plague: desperate behaviour due to food depletion. Oikos 99, 284–289.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Zadoks, J. C. , Chang, T. T. , and Konzak, C. F. (1974). A decimal code for growth stages of cereals. Weed Research 14, 415–421.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |