Warburton Bruce, Gormley Andrew M
Landcare Research-Manaaki Whenua, PO Box 40, Lincoln, 7640, New Zealand.
PLoS One. 2015 Mar 17;10(3):e0120373. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120373. eCollection 2015.
Internationally, invasive vertebrate species pose a significant threat to biodiversity, agricultural production and human health. To manage these species a wide range of tools, including traps, are used. In New Zealand, brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), stoats (Mustela ermine), and ship rats (Rattus rattus) are invasive and there is an ongoing demand for cost-effective non-toxic methods for controlling these pests. Recently, traps with multiple-capture capability have been developed which, because they do not require regular operator-checking, are purported to be more cost-effective than traditional single-capture traps. However, when pest populations are being maintained at low densities (as is typical of orchestrated pest management programmes) it remains uncertain if it is more cost-effective to use fewer multiple-capture traps or more single-capture traps. To address this uncertainty, we used an individual-based spatially explicit modelling approach to determine the likely maximum animal-captures per trap, given stated pest densities and defined times traps are left between checks. In the simulation, single- or multiple-capture traps were spaced according to best practice pest-control guidelines. For possums with maintenance densities set at the lowest level (i.e. 0.5/ha), 98% of all simulated possums were captured with only a single capacity trap set at each site. When possum density was increased to moderate levels of 3/ha, having a capacity of three captures per trap caught 97% of all simulated possums. Results were similar for stoats, although only two potential captures per site were sufficient to capture 99% of simulated stoats. For rats, which were simulated at their typically higher densities, even a six-capture capacity per trap site only resulted in 80% kill. Depending on target species, prevailing density and extent of immigration, the most cost-effective strategy for pest control in New Zealand might be to deploy several single-capture traps rather than investing in fewer, but more expense, multiple-capture traps.
在国际上，入侵性脊椎动物物种对生物多样性、农业生产和人类健康构成重大威胁。为了管理这些物种，人们使用了包括陷阱在内的各种工具。在新西兰，帚尾袋貂（Trichosurus vulpecula）、白鼬（Mustela erminea）和船鼠（Rattus rattus）都是入侵物种，因此一直需要经济高效的无毒方法来控制这些害虫。最近，已经开发出了具有多次捕获能力的陷阱，据称由于它们不需要操作人员定期检查，因此比传统的单次捕获陷阱更具成本效益。然而，当害虫种群维持在低密度水平时（这是精心策划的害虫管理计划的典型情况），使用较少的多次捕获陷阱还是较多的单次捕获陷阱是否更具成本效益仍不确定。为了解决这一不确定性，我们采用了基于个体的空间明确建模方法，在给定的害虫密度和定义的检查间隔时间下，确定每个陷阱可能的最大动物捕获量。在模拟中，单次或多次捕获陷阱根据最佳实践害虫控制指南进行布置。对于维持密度设定为最低水平（即0.5只/公顷）的袋貂，在每个地点仅设置一个单次捕获陷阱就能捕获所有模拟袋貂的98%。当袋貂密度增加到中等水平的3只/公顷时，每个陷阱具有三次捕获能力就能捕获所有模拟袋貂的97%。白鼬的结果类似，尽管每个地点只有两次潜在捕获量就足以捕获99%的模拟白鼬。对于通常密度较高的老鼠进行模拟时，即使每个陷阱地点具有六次捕获能力，也只能杀死80%的老鼠。根据目标物种、当前密度和迁入程度，新西兰害虫控制最具成本效益的策略可能是部署多个单次捕获陷阱，而不是投资购买较少但更昂贵的多次捕获陷阱。
