Reynolds Jonathan C, Richardson Suzanne M, Rodgers Ben J E, Rodgers Owain R K
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Fordingbridge, Hampshire SP6 1EF, UK.
J Wildl Manage. 2013 Apr;77(3):545-554. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.500. Epub 2013 Jan 24.
The introduction of American mink (; hereafter mink) into Europe has had severe impacts on many native wildlife species, including the water vole () in mainland Britain. Although trapping has been widely used to attempt to control mink, managers have little direct evidence of its effect on mink density or distribution, particularly where immigration of mink from nearby areas is inevitable. Such evidence is needed to justify the use of lethal methods in conservation policy. During 2006-2010 we removed mink from the River Monnow Catchment in western Britain, using track-recording rafts to monitor continuously for mink presence, guiding a strategic trapping effort. The area monitored and trapped was increased in stages, from a core sub-catchment with 109 km of water-course in 2006, to a 421-km catchment with 203 km of water-course in 2009. In each successive sub-catchment, mink detection and capture rates declined rapidly to near-zero levels after trapping began. Detections and captures showed seasonal peaks in every year corresponding to known dispersal periods, but also declined steadily from year to year, with increasing periods in which we did not detect mink. These results suggested that each sub-catchment was cleared of mink within a few months, with subsequent captures attributable to immigration. On average, we detected each mink 5.1 times before capture (daily probability of detection = 0.059 per mink and raft), and trapped them 3.4 days after deploying traps in response. On average, mink entering the area were likely to have been present for less than 13 days before capture. Water voles had been extinct in the Monnow Catchment since the 1980s. During 2006-2008 (starting 6 months after mink trapping commenced), we released 700 captive-bred water voles into the treatment area to re-establish a wild population. Persistence of this population through the 4 years of the project was considered indicative of effective mink control. This study demonstrates that, even in a mainland context, a systematic trapping strategy can have a substantial impact on the density and distribution of a damaging species, in this case allowing the restoration of a native prey species. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.
美洲水貂（以下简称水貂）被引入欧洲后，对许多本土野生动物物种造成了严重影响，包括英国大陆的水田鼠（）。尽管诱捕已被广泛用于试图控制水貂数量，但管理人员几乎没有直接证据证明其对水貂密度或分布的影响，特别是在附近地区水貂不可避免会迁入的情况下。需要这样的证据来证明在保护政策中使用致死方法的合理性。在2006年至2010年期间，我们从英国西部的莫诺河集水区清除水貂，使用追踪记录筏持续监测水貂的存在情况，指导进行战略性诱捕工作。监测和诱捕的区域分阶段扩大，从2006年一个有109公里水道的核心子集水区，扩大到2009年一个有203公里水道的421公里集水区。在每个连续的子集水区，诱捕开始后，水貂的检测和捕获率迅速下降到接近零的水平。每年的检测和捕获都出现季节性高峰，与已知的扩散期相对应，但也逐年稳步下降，未检测到水貂的时间越来越长。这些结果表明，每个子集水区在几个月内就清除了水貂，随后的捕获归因于迁入。平均而言，我们在捕获前检测到每只水貂5.1次（每只水貂和筏每天的检测概率 = 0.059），并在设置陷阱后3.4天捕获它们。平均而言，进入该区域的水貂在被捕获前可能只存在了不到13天。自20世纪80年代以来，莫诺河集水区的水田鼠已经灭绝。在2006年至2008年期间（在水貂诱捕开始6个月后开始），我们将700只人工饲养的水田鼠放归到处理区域，以重新建立野生种群。该种群在项目的4年中得以存续被认为表明水貂得到了有效控制。这项研究表明，即使在大陆环境中，系统的诱捕策略也可以对有害物种的密度和分布产生重大影响，在这种情况下，使得一种本土猎物物种得以恢复。© 2013野生动物协会。
