1. Biological pest control is gaining greater acceptance as an important part of integrated pest management for sustainable agriculture. However, knowledge regarding biological control of rodent pests is limited, and its effectiveness in temperate areas has not been quantified. In traditional Japanese apple orchards, the Ural owl Strix uralensis breeds in tree hollows and preys on the Japanese field vole Microtus montebelli, a native pest species that can harm fruit production. In this study, we hypothesised that the Ural owl, a generalist predator, can act as a biological control agent by reducing vole densities in temperate orchards.2. To quantify the pest control effects of breeding Ural owls, we first analysed the diet of individual owls nesting in apple tree hollows. Second, we installed nest boxes in orchards to attract breeding owl pairs and collected data on vole population changes around owl nests to compare with control areas. The population changes were analysed using a generalised linear mixed model to assess the effect of breeding owls within their breeding territory. The model considered seasonal fluctuations in vole population size as well as surrounding land-use. We also examined vole populations around the owl nests in April, and the distance between nests and forested areas, to determine if these variables influenced nest site selection.3. Voles were the primary prey of Ural owls breeding in orchards and the owls reduced vole populations within their estimated breeding territories by 63% (±SE: 53%-70%) compared with the predicted density without owls. Owls preferred to nest in orchards with higher vole population densities in April. Our findings also indicate that higher occupancy rates are possible by distributing nest boxes based on Ural owl breeding territory size (306 m radius circle in our study). Synthesis and applications.As breeding Ural owls provide significant pest control effects within their breeding territories, the reintroduction of breeding Ural owl pairs within orchards would contribute to rodent pest control. Promoting the reproduction of native raptors in agricultural areas can be an option for developing integrated pest management while simultaneously maintaining regional biodiversity. K E Y W O R D Sbiological pest control, generalist predator, Japanese field vole, microtine population, orchards, predator-prey, rodent pest, Ural owl How to cite this article: Murano C, Kasahara S, Kudo S, et al. Effectiveness of vole control by owls in apple orchards. J Appl
It is common knowledge that winter temperatures influence the life history of small mammals. Cold temperatures necessitate increased energy requirements for survival, and recent studies indicate that snow cover can have both negative and positive influences. With each new observation, we develop a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that influence small mammal populations. Here we report on our recent study on Japanese field vole Microtus montebelli, which reaches its peak in population during the early spring and its low during the autumn. To understand the population dynamics of these voles, we conducted a capture‐mark‐recapture survey, then estimated the seasonal abundance, recruit, capture probabilities, and survival probabilities using the Bayesian hierarchical model. We also analyzed the impact of mammalian generalist predator visits on the survival probabilities. Our data indicates that the early spring peak in population is due to intensive winter breeding and the highest survival probabilities during the periods of deep snow cover. When snow cover reaches a certain depth, the circumstances can combine to raise survival probability and favor breeding. During the breeding season in May and June, on the contrary, the survival probability reached its lowest, resulting in a decrease in population despite breeding. The low survival probability between spring and autumn could be attributed to the impact of generalist predators, and low vegetation may have amplified the effect. In summary, the deep snow cover and generalist predators were considered to be the key factors shaping this unique population dynamics in this orchard area.
The Japanese field vole Alexandromys (Microtus) montebelli is prevalent in apple orchards and is the dominant cause of damage to fruit trees during winter. A recent study revealed that the Japanese field vole bred and increased its population during winter in regions with deep snow. Understanding what food resources support the voles during winter can assist in formulating a better understanding of the factors of the annual variations in orchard damage. In this study, we sampled faeces of the voles from November 2018 to May 2021 and performed the DNA metabarcoding analysis for plant dietary profiling with a molecular marker on the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear genome. We obtained results from 60 samples, and the food sources detected most frequently were the broadleaf docks Rumex obtusifolius, followed by the cultivated apples Malus spp. The detection frequency of Fabaceae sp. declined after March, and the one of apple rootstocks increased instead. During March and April, the various parts of fruit trees and Rumex spp. were the main diets for most of the voles. The biomass supplied by herbaceous plants, especially Rumex spp. could affect the extent of vole damage to fruit trees in winter.
The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the Japanese field vole Microtus montebelli was determined using Illumina MiSeq platform. The assembled genome was 16,307 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes. According to phylogenetic analysis of 13 protein-coding genes, M. montebelli and other Microtus species consist of paraphyletic clades and M. montebelli is most closely related to M. kikuchii , a species endemic to Taiwan.
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