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Rodent-Proof Wall: An Efficient Physical Method for Controlling Rodents and its Efficiency Statistics

Rodent damage poses a significant threat to crops, human life, and health. Compared to chemical rodent control, such as placing poisonous baits, it is ...

Chinese Academy of Sciences

The outbreak of Yantze vole (Microtus fortis) population in Dongting Lake region is closely related to the evolvement of lake beaches, because the deposition of lake sediments results in the expansion of lake beaches, which provides the possibility of the increase of the vole's population. Reclaiming farmland from lake via building cofferdams, eliminating snails by building cofferdams for eradicating schistosomiasis, and over-hunting predators in the region cause the voles becoming a pest after the 1970s. In recent years, the Three Gorges Project and the conversion from farmland into lake have had deep impacts on the environment in the Lake region. The dispatching of the down flow rate by the Project induces the expansion of the low and medium level beaches in the Lake region, while converting farmland into lake directly induces the increase of beach area, both of which expand the potential habitats of the vole's population. Therefore, more attention should be paid on the quantitative variation trend of the vole's population in the future.

[Possible impacts of the Three Gorges Project and converting farmland into lake on the Microtus fortis population in Dongting Lake region].

The reproductive characteristics of a laboratory population of the vole Microtus fortis calamorum were examined. Voles were allowed to breed under laboratory feeding conditions. Over a period of 3 months, 61.82% of the 110 vole pairs examined produced 3 or 4 litters. There were 1-9 voles in each litter and the mean litter size was 4.67±0.28 (mean±SE). Most litters included 3-7 young voles, accounting for 83.62% of all litters. The mean farrowing interval was 25.9 days (range from 19 to 95 days), and the most farrowing intervals were 20-25 days, accounting for 79.9% of the total. When based on litter size, the reproductive index was 6.23, but was 3.42 when based on pup survival. The survival rate of offspring to weaning was 55.03%. The high rate of infanticide that occurred after removal of males from cages indicates that, in the laboratory, both parents need to be present prior to weaning.

Mei-Wen Zhang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Rodent-Proof Wall: An Efficient Physical Method for Controlling Rodents and its Efficiency Statistics