Skip to main content

Small mammal dispersal in pest management and conservation

  • Chapter
Animal Dispersal

Abstract

Applied ecology deals with damage to crop plants and their products, prevention of outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, exploitation of game species, protection of endangered species, etc. Most of these aspects are important with regard to small mammals although few such species are regarded as game animals. Dispersal has usually not been considered as an important factor in the management of small mammals, but I will here try to show that it is. Specific problems across the spectrum of population eradication to population conservation are addressed. Knowledge is lacking for important aspects of dispersals and I therefore endeavour to establish what aspect of dispersal need further study, both for specific types of problems and generally in applied ecology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ambrose, H.W. (1972) Effect of habitat familiarity and toe-clipping on rate of owl predation in Microtus pennsylvanicus. Journal of Mammalogy, 53, 909–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, P.K. (1970) Ecological structure and gene flow in small mammals. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London, 26, 299–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrzejewski, R. and WrocÅ‚awek, H. (1962) Settling by small rodents in a terrain in which catching out had been performed. Acta Theriologica, 6, 257–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bang, P. (1975) Damage by small mammals in Denmark. Ecological Bulletin, 19, 13–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bärring, U. (1963) Vole damage to pine and spruce seedlings in 1961–1962. Svenska SkogsvÃ¥rdsföreningens Tidskrift, 61, 1–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baudry, J. (1984) Effects of landscape structure on biological communities: The 0case of hedgerow network landscape. Proceedings of the First International Seminar on Methodology in Landscape Ecology, Research and Planning, 1, 55–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, R.J. and Tricker, B.J.K. (1969) Competition and extinction: the mice of Foula, with notes on those of Fair Isle and St. Kilda. Journal of Zoology, 158, 247–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boutin, S., Gilbert, B.S., Krebs, C.J. et al. (1985) The role of dispersal in the population dynamics of snowshoe hares. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 63, 106–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, J.E. (1973) A review of commensal rodents and their control. Critical Review of Environmental Control, 3, 405–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J.H. and Kodric-Brown, A. (1977) Turnover rate in insular biogeography: effects of immigration on extinction. Ecology, 58, 445–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byers, R.E., Young, R.S. and Neely, R.D. (1976) Review of cultural and other control methods for reducing pine vole populations in apple orchards. Proceedings of Vertebrate Pest Conferences, 7, 242–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, F.E.G. (1979) Ecological importance of small mammals as reservoirs of disease, in Ecology of Small Mammals (ed. D.M. Stoddart), Chapman &c Hall, London, pp. 213–38.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Crowcroft, P. (1966) Mice all Over, Foulis, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, D.E. (1977) Advances in rodent control. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Zoologie, 64, 193–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dolbeer, R.A. and Clark, W.R. (1975) Population ecology of snowshoe hares in the central Rocky Mountains. Journal of Wildlife Management, 39, 535–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahrig, L. and Merriam, G. (1985) Habitat patch connectivity and population survival. Ecology, 66, 1762–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank, F. (1956) Grundlagen, Möglichkeiten und Methoden der Sanierung von Feldmausplagegebieten. Nachrichtenblatt des Deutchen Pflanzenschutzdienstes, 10, 147–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gashwiler, J.S. (1969) Deer mouse repopulation of a poisoned Douglas-fir clearcut. Journal of Forestry, 67, 494–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • GrodziÅ„ski, W., Pucek, Z. and Ryszkowski, L. (1966) Estimation of rodent numbers by means of prebaiting and intensive removal. Acta Theriologica, 11, 297–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L. (1977) Spatial dynamics of field voles Microtus agrestis in heterogeneous landscapes. Oikos, 29, 539–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L. (1978) Small mammal abundance in relation to environmental variables in three Swedish forest phases. Studia Forestalia Suecica, 147, 1–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L. (1981) Immigration to human habitations by south Swedish small mammals. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Zoologie, 68, 339–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L. (1984) Predation as the factor causing extended low densities in microtine cycles. Oikos, 43, 255–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L. (1986) Vole snow trails and tunnels as density indicators. Acta Theriologica, 31, 401–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L. (1987) Dispersal routes of small mammals at an abandoned field in central Sweden. Holarctic Ecology, 10, 154–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L. and Henttonen, H. (1985) Gradients in density variations of small rodents: the importance of latitude and snow cover. Oecologia, 67, 394–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L. and Zejda, J. (1977) Plant damage by bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus/Schreber) and related species in Europe. EPPO Bulletin, 7, 223–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, M.T., Merriam, G. and Wegner, J. (1985) Patchy environments and species survival: chipmunks in an agricultural mosaic. Biological Conservation, 31, 95–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holisova, V. (1968) Results of experimental baiting of small mammals with a marking bait. Zoologicke Listy, 17, 311–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood, G.A., Nass, R.D. and Lindsay, G.D. (1970) The rat in Hawaiian sugarcane. Proceedings of Vertebrate Pest Conferences, 4, 34–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hörnfeldt, B. (1978) Synchronous population fluctuations in voles, small game, owls and tularemia in northern Sweden. Oecologia, 32, 141–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IUCN (1972) Salt-marsh harvest mouse, Reithrodontomys raviventris. Red Data Book, 1, 10.67.14.1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, B. (1966) Mice indoors. Flora og Fauna, 73, 130–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keith, L.B. (1983) Role of food in hare population cycles. Oikos, 40, 385–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keith, L.B., Cary, J.R., Rongstad, O.J. and Brittingham, M.C. (1984) Demography and ecology of a declining snowshoe hare population. Wildlife Monographs, 90, 1–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kucheruk, V.V. (1965) Synanthropic rodents and their significance in the transmission of infections, in Theoretical Questions of Natural Foci of Diseases (eds B. Rosicky and K. Heyberger), Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, pp. 353–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsson, T.B. (1975) Damage caused by small rodents in Sweden. Ecological Bulletin, 19, 147–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, P.H., Venables, U.M. and Venables, L.S.V. (1952) The fertility and population structure of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) in corn ricks and some other habitats. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 122, 187–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lidicker, W.Z. Jr (1975) The role of dispersal in the demography of small mammals, in Small Mammals: their productivity and population dynamics (eds F.B. Golley, K. Petrusewicz and L. Ryszkowski), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 103–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord, R.D. (1960) Litter size and latitude in North American small mammals. American Midland Naturalist, 64, 488–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundquist, L., Nilsson, A. and Hansson, L. (1973) Winter breeding observed in northern red-backed mouse. Fauna, 26, 216–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R.H. and Wilson, E.O. (1967) The Theory of Island Biogeography, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martell, A.M. (1983) Demography of southern red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) after logging in north-central Ontario. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 61, 958–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merriam, G. (1984) Connectivity: a fundamental ecological characteristic of landscape pattern. Proceedings of the First International Seminar on Methodology in Landscape Ecology, Research and Planning, 1, 5–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metzgar, L.H. (1967) An experimental comparison of screech owl prédation on resident and transient white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus). Journal of Mammalogy, 48, 387–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, K. and Poole, W.E. (1963) A study of the biology of the wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) in confined populations. IV. Population dynamics. CSIRO Wildlife Research, 8, 166–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myllymäki, A. (1977) Interaction between the field vole Microtus agrestis and its microtine competitors in Central Scandinavian populations. Oikos, 29, 570–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myllymäki, A. (1979) Importance of small mammals as pests in agriculture and stored products, in Ecology of Small Mammals (ed. D.M. Stoddart), Chapman & Hall, London, pp. 239–79.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Naumov, N.P. (1965) Microstructure and stability of natural foci of diseases, in Theoretical Questions of Natural Foci of Diseases (eds B. Rosicky and K. Heyberger), Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, pp. 41–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newsome, A.E. (1969a) A population study of house-mice temporarily inhabiting a south Australian wheat field. Journal of Animal Ecology, 38, 341–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newsome, A.E. (1969b) A population study of house-mice permanently inhabiting a reed-bed in south Australia. Journal of Animal Ecology, 38, 361–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newsome, A.E. (1970) An experimental attempt to produce a mouse plague. Journal of Animal Ecology, 39, 299–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niklasson, B. and LeDuc, J. (1984) Isolation of the Nephropathia epidemica agent in Sweden. Lancet, 1012–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niklasson, B. and LeDuc, J. (1987) Epidemiology of Nephropathia epidemica in Sweden. Journal of Infectious Disease, 155, 269–76.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nyström, K. (1977) Incidence and prevalence of endemic benign (epidemic) nephropathy in AC county, Sweden, in relation to population density and prevalence of small rodents. Acta Medica Scandinavica, Suppl. 609.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ophof, A.J. (1970) A modified ‘fish-trap’ for the control of the water vole (Arvicola terrestris L.). EPPO Publications, Serie A, 58, 159–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pank, L.F. and Matschke, G.H. (1972) Decline and reinvasion of deer mouse populations after baiting Douglas-fir clearcuts with 6-aminonicotinamide. Journal of Forestry, 70, 678–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, A.D. (1975) Epidemiology of rodent tularemia in Norway and Sweden. Ecological Bulletin, 19, 99–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulet, A.R. (1985) The ecological basis of forecasting rodent outbreaks in a Sahelian agrosystem. Acta Zoologica Fennica, 173, 107–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radvanyi, A. (1974) Small mammal census and control on a hardwood plantation. Proceedings of Vertebrate Pest Conferences, 6, 9–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redhead, T.D., Enright, N. and Newsome, A.E. (1985) Causes and predictions of outbreaks of Mus musculus in irrigated and non-irrigated cereal farms. Acta Zoologica Fennica, 173, 123–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reimer, J.D. and Petras, M.L. (1968) Some aspects of commensal populations of Mus musculus in southwestern Ontario. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 82, 32–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosicky, B. (1965) Types of animal movement and their influence on natural foci of diseases, in Theoretical Questions of Natural Foci of Diseases (eds B. Rosicky and K. Heyberger), Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, pp. 151–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosicky, B. (1967) Natural foci of disease, in Infectious Diseases (ed. A. Cockburn), Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, pp. 108–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, F.P., and Swinney, T. (1977) Population dynamics of small rodents in farm buildings and on arable land. EPPO Bulletin, 8, 431–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, F.P., Taylor, E.J. and Chudley, A.A.J. (1963) The numbers and movements of house-mice (Mus musculus L.) in the vicinity of four corn-ricks. Journal of Animal Ecology, 32, 87–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryszkowski, L. (1969) Operation of the Standard-Minimum methods, in Energy Flow Through Small Mammal Populations (eds K. Petrusewicz and L. Ryszkowski), Polish Scientific Publishers, Warsaw, pp. 13–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryszkowski, L. (1971) Estimation of small rodent density with the aid of coloured bait. Annales Zoologica Fennici, 8, 8–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shellhammer, H.S. (1972) Rare and Endangered Fish and Wildlife of the United States, USDI Fish and Wildlife Services, Resource Publ. 34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shellhammer, H.S. (1989) Salt marsh harvest mice, urban development, and rising sea levels. Conservation Biology, 3, 59–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singleton, G.R. (1989) Population dynamics of an outbreak of house mice (Mus domesticus) in the mallee wheatlands of Australia — hypothesis of plague formation. Journal of Zoology, 219, 495–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smirin, Y.M. (1975) Familiarity with home range in rodents and the successfulness of the predation on them by Asio otus and Tyto alba. Bulletin of the Moscow Naturalist Society, 80, 14–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smit, C.J. and van Wijngaarden, A. (1981) Threatened Mammals in Europe, Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Wiesbaden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, D.A. (1954) Rodents and direct seeding. Journal of Forestry, 52, 824–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitz, F. (1985) Further development of the forecasting model for Microtus arvalis. Acta Zoologica Fennica, 173, 89–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth, N.C. (1980) Spatial heterogeneity and population stability: some evolutionary consequences. Oikos, 35, 165–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth, N.C. (1981) How to control pest species: application of models from the theory of island biogeography in formulating pest control strategies. Journal of Applied Ecology, 18, 773–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth, N.C. and Hansson, L. (1979) Correcting for the edge effect in density estimation: explorations around a new method. Oikos, 32, 337–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth, N.C. and Hansson, L. (1981) The importance of population dynamics in heterogeneous landscapes: management of vertebrate pests and some other animals. Agro-Ecosystems, 7, 187–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stickel, L.F. (1979) Population ecology of house mice in unstable habitats. Journal of Animal Ecology, 48, 871–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, Th.P. (1979) Repopulation of clear-cut habitat and conifer seed predation by deer mice. Journal of Wildlife Management, 43, 861–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taitt, M.J. and Krebs, C.J. (1981) The effect of extra food on small rodent populations: II. Voles (Microtus townsendii). Journal of Animal Ecology, 50, 127–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tast, J. (1968) The root vole, Microtus oeconomus (Pallas) in man-made habitats in Finland. Annales Zoologica Fennici, 5, 230–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Telle, H.-J. (1969) 12 Jahre grossräumige Rattenbekämpfung in Niedersachsen — ein kritischer Rück- und Ausblick. Schriftenreihe des Vereins für Wasser-, Boden- und Lufthygiene, 32, 131–59.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Twigg, G. (1975) The Brown Rat, David & Charles, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Wijngaarden, A. (1957) The rise and disappearance of continental vole plague zones in the Netherlands. Verslagen van Landbouwkundige Onderzoekingen, 63, 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vlasak, P. and Porkert, J. (1973) Immigration von Kleinsaugern in ein Wohngebaude abhängig von meteorologischen Bedingungen. Lynx, 14, 70–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, F.H. (1981) Role of lagomorphs in ecosystems. Proceedings of the World

    Google Scholar 

  • Lagomorph Conferences, 1, 668–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walkowa, W., Adamczyk, K. and Chelkowska, H. (1982) Numbers and structure of rodent communities in the forest environment of Silesia. Polish Ecological Studies, 8, 305–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wegner, J.F. and Merriam, G. (1979) Movements by birds and small mammals between a wood and adjoining farmland habitats. Journal of Applied Ecology, 16, 349–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (1974) Ecology and Control of Rodents of Public Health Importance, WHO, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolff, J.O. (1980) The role of habitat patchiness in the population dynamics of snowshoe hares. Ecological Monographs, 50, 111–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolff, J.O. (1981) Refugia, dispersal and geographic variation in snowshoe hare cycles. Proceedings of the World Lagomorph Conferences, 1, 441–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolton, R.J. and Flowerdew, J.R. (1985) Spatial distribution and movements of wood mice, yellow-necked mice and bank voles. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London, 55, 249–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeatman, H.C. (1969) Population studies of seed-eating mammals. Tennessee Academy of Sciences, 35, 32–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zejda, J. (1975) Habitat selection in two feral house mouse (Mus musculus L.) lowland populations. Zoologicke Listy, 24, 99–111.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hansson, L. (1992). Small mammal dispersal in pest management and conservation. In: Stenseth, N.C., Lidicker, W.Z. (eds) Animal Dispersal. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2338-9_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2338-9_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5033-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-2338-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics