Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia

Context. Overabundant rodents cause considerable crop damage and, in developing countries of South-east Asia, rodents can be an obstacle to attempts at alleviating poverty. Management is often based on the use of chemicals that can harm non-target species. Therefore, an effective and environmentally...

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Main Authors: Jacob, Jens, Sudarmaji, Singleton, Grant R., Rahmini, Herawati, Nur A., Brown, Peter R.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/166089
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author Jacob, Jens
Sudarmaji
Singleton, Grant R.
Rahmini
Herawati, Nur A.
Brown, Peter R.
author_browse Brown, Peter R.
Herawati, Nur A.
Jacob, Jens
Rahmini
Singleton, Grant R.
Sudarmaji
author_facet Jacob, Jens
Sudarmaji
Singleton, Grant R.
Rahmini
Herawati, Nur A.
Brown, Peter R.
author_sort Jacob, Jens
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Context. Overabundant rodents cause considerable crop damage and, in developing countries of South-east Asia, rodents can be an obstacle to attempts at alleviating poverty. Management is often based on the use of chemicals that can harm non-target species. Therefore, an effective and environmentally benign management approach such as ecologically based rodent management (EBRM) is desirable. Aims. We compared the effectiveness of EBRM to that of conventional management on populations of rice-field rats (Rattus argentiventer). Methods. The study was conducted as a large-scale replicated field trial in lowland irrigated rice fields in West Java, Indonesia. EBRM actions included habitat manipulations, removal of rats with trap barrier systems, coordinated rat-control campaigns and synchrony of cropping on the village level. We measured abundance, population structure, and breeding of rice-field rats as well as rice production and crop damage caused by rats. Key results.Although there was no overall effect of the EBRM treatment on rat abundance, we found decreasing rat abundance in rice-field habitats at the late cropping stage in treated villages and a decrease in body size of rats. In addition, we found fewer reproducing females when EBRM was applied than with the application of conventional methods, whereas male reproductive condition did not decrease. Overall, there was a reduction in mean crop damage when EBRM was applied (4.4 ± 0.4% in treatments v. 2.5 ± 0.4% in experimental controls), which translated into 6% higher rice production. Conclusions. The results demonstrated that EBRM is an appropriate approach to manage overabundant rodents in irrigated lowland rice-based agro-ecosystems and possibly in other agro-ecosystems. This will provide substantial benefits for smallholder farming communities in developing countries and most likely benefits for ecosystem health. Implications. The EBRM approach should be used routinely in irrigated lowland rice crops that are at risk of damage by rice-field rats.
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spelling CGSpace1660892025-12-08T10:29:22Z Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia Jacob, Jens Sudarmaji Singleton, Grant R. Rahmini Herawati, Nur A. Brown, Peter R. barriers crop damage cultural control habitats integrated pest management pest control plant pests population density trapping vertebrate pests rodents rattus argentiventer java indonesia Context. Overabundant rodents cause considerable crop damage and, in developing countries of South-east Asia, rodents can be an obstacle to attempts at alleviating poverty. Management is often based on the use of chemicals that can harm non-target species. Therefore, an effective and environmentally benign management approach such as ecologically based rodent management (EBRM) is desirable. Aims. We compared the effectiveness of EBRM to that of conventional management on populations of rice-field rats (Rattus argentiventer). Methods. The study was conducted as a large-scale replicated field trial in lowland irrigated rice fields in West Java, Indonesia. EBRM actions included habitat manipulations, removal of rats with trap barrier systems, coordinated rat-control campaigns and synchrony of cropping on the village level. We measured abundance, population structure, and breeding of rice-field rats as well as rice production and crop damage caused by rats. Key results.Although there was no overall effect of the EBRM treatment on rat abundance, we found decreasing rat abundance in rice-field habitats at the late cropping stage in treated villages and a decrease in body size of rats. In addition, we found fewer reproducing females when EBRM was applied than with the application of conventional methods, whereas male reproductive condition did not decrease. Overall, there was a reduction in mean crop damage when EBRM was applied (4.4 ± 0.4% in treatments v. 2.5 ± 0.4% in experimental controls), which translated into 6% higher rice production. Conclusions. The results demonstrated that EBRM is an appropriate approach to manage overabundant rodents in irrigated lowland rice-based agro-ecosystems and possibly in other agro-ecosystems. This will provide substantial benefits for smallholder farming communities in developing countries and most likely benefits for ecosystem health. Implications. The EBRM approach should be used routinely in irrigated lowland rice crops that are at risk of damage by rice-field rats. 2010 2024-12-19T12:55:51Z 2024-12-19T12:55:51Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/166089 en Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Jacob, Jens; Sudarmaji; Singleton, Grant R.; Rahmini; Herawati, Nur A. and Brown, Peter R. 2010. Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia. Wildl. Res., Volume 37 no. 5 p. 418
spellingShingle barriers
crop damage
cultural control
habitats
integrated pest management
pest control
plant pests
population density
trapping
vertebrate pests
rodents
rattus argentiventer
java
indonesia
Jacob, Jens
Sudarmaji
Singleton, Grant R.
Rahmini
Herawati, Nur A.
Brown, Peter R.
Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia
title Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia
title_full Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia
title_fullStr Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia
title_full_unstemmed Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia
title_short Ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in Indonesia
title_sort ecologically based management of rodents in lowland irrigated rice fields in indonesia
topic barriers
crop damage
cultural control
habitats
integrated pest management
pest control
plant pests
population density
trapping
vertebrate pests
rodents
rattus argentiventer
java
indonesia
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/166089
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