Development of population control strategies for mink Mustela vison, using floating rafts as monitors and trap sites

Reynolds, Jonathan C.; Short, Michael; Leigh, Rhian J.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2004.03.026

Cited by 80 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Examples include floating rafts to deliver baits to aquatic species (Reynolds et al 2004), baits placed inside burrow systems (Delahay et al 2000) and species-specific delivery devices such as the BOS (Boar-Operated System), the latter developed to deliver baits to wild boar and feral pigs (Massei et al 2010c;Campbell et al 2011).…”

Section: Delivery Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fertility control to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts: a review

2014

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Abstract. As human populations grow, conflicts with wildlife increase. Concurrently, concerns about the welfare, safety and environmental impacts of conventional lethal methods of wildlife management restrict the options available for conflict mitigation. In parallel, there is increasing interest in using fertility control to manage wildlife. The present review aimed at analysing trends in research on fertility control for wildlife, illustrating developments in fertility-control technologies and delivery methods of fertility-control agents, summarising the conclusions of empirical and theoretical studies of fertility control applied at the population level and offering criteria to guide decisions regarding the suitability of fertility control to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. The review highlighted a growing interest in fertility control for wildlife, underpinned by increasing numbers of scientific studies. Most current practical applications of fertility control for wild mammals use injectable single-dose immunocontraceptive vaccines mainly aimed at sterilising females, although many of these vaccines are not yet commercially available. One oral avian contraceptive, nicarbazin, is commercially available in some countries. Potential new methods of remote contraceptive delivery include bacterial ghosts, virus-like particles and genetically modified transmissible and non-transmissible organisms, although none of these have yet progressed to field testing. In parallel, new species-specific delivery systems have been developed. The results of population-level studies of fertility control indicated that this approach may increase survival and affect social and spatial behaviour of treated animals, although the effects are species-and context-specific. The present studies suggested that a substantial initial effort is generally required to reduce population growth if fertility control is the sole wildlife management method. However, several empirical and field studies have demonstrated that fertility control, particularly of isolated populations, can be successfully used to limit population growth and reduce human-wildlife conflicts. In parallel, there is growing recognition of the possible synergy between fertility control and disease vaccination to optimise the maintenance of herd immunity in the management of wildlife diseases. The review provides a decision tree that can be used to determine whether fertility control should be employed to resolve specific human-wildlife conflicts. These criteria encompass public consultation, considerations about animal welfare and feasibility, evaluation of population responses, costs and sustainability.

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Section: Delivery Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fertility control to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts: a review

2014

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“…Techniques have been available for tracking mustelid movements for many decades (King and Edgar 1977). These provide the basis for techniques, such as mink rafts which have proved to be effective in some habitats, for example slow moving waters (Reynolds et al 2004). Given the fast flowing or tidal habitats on the Western Isles, we did not use this method.…”

Section: Methods and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A significant challenge during eradications is to ensure all animals are exposed to traps and to account for those animals that may be unwilling to enter traps (Reynolds et al 2004). We spaced traps to ensure each mink home range was likely to contain at least one trap and used lures to improve trapping success (Roy et al captures at lochs and rivers were pooled into one category, representing inland water (''Inland''); captures intersecting between coast and inland features, we pooled into a third category of ''Mixed'' habitat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neovison vison is a widely distributed invasive carnivore, occurring in 28 European countries, The eradication of invasive Mustelids in general can be challenging (King et al 2009), and most mink control operations in Europe are long-term control operations rather than eradications, for example in Iceland (Bonesi and Palazon 2007) or at a local catchment level in England (Reynolds et al 2004).…”

Section: The American Minkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Removal of American mink (Neovison vison) from the Uists, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

2015

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Since escaping from fur farms in the 1950s, American mink had colonised the 2800 km 2 archipelago of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Between November 2001 and June 2006 the species was removed from a total of 850 km 2 of the southernmost islands, collectively named the Uists, as part of a pilot study exploring the feasibility of large scale eradication throughout the archipelago. Animals were also controlled in neighbouring South Harris (255 km 2 ) to reduce the risk of recolonisation. The project used two main methods, the operation of coastal and riparian cage traps; and trapping at breeding dens located using trained dogs. In the Uists this resulted in 100,824 trap nights over 4 years. Den searches were carried out over 500 handler-days. Overall a total of 228 mink was caught in The Uists, with the last capture in March 2005. After this date, despite a further 7 months of intensive trapping and searching effort, no further signs of mink were found and they were considered likely to have been removed from this region. In the buffer area of South Harris, 41,674 trap nights over 4 years resulted in 240 captures with few animals being caught by the end of the project. This effort greatly reduced the risk of recolonisation from this region, although there was still a possibility of extant isolated populations remaining within the region, particularly on offshore islets, which would then be detected and trapped by a follow up programme. An adaptive management process resulted in significant increases in trapping efficiency. Improvements included optimisation of trap spacing and the frequency and duration of trap-line operation; improvements in the cage designs and use of lures. The protocols developed here were used in the subsequent eradication campaign in the remainder of the Outer Hebrides.

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“…Colours are generated by heat plots with the relative density of adult female and juvenile mink represented from high (red) to low (blue). (Reynolds et al 2004) run by CWVCP project officers and volunteers. Captured mink were humanely despatched and then kept in freezers prior to laboratory dissection, during which sex was determined, muscle tissue was removed for DNA analysis and canine teeth were removed for ageing.…”

Section: Study System and Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The compensatory potential of increased immigration following intensive American mink population control is diluted by male-biased dispersal

et al. 2016

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Attempts to mitigate the impact of invasive species on native ecosystems increasingly target large land masses where control, rather than eradication, is the management objective. Depressing numbers of invasive species to a level where their impact on native biodiversity is tolerable requires overcoming the impact of compensatory immigration from noncontrolled portions of the landscape. Because of the expected scale-dependency of dispersal, the overall size of invasive species management areas relative to the dispersal ability of the controlled species will determine the size of any effectively conserved core area unaffected by immigration from surrounding areas. However, when dispersal is male-biased, as in many mammalian invasive carnivores, males may be overrepresented amongst immigrants, reducing the potential growth rate of invasive species populations in re-invaded areas. Using data collected from a project that gradually imposed spatially comprehensive control on invasive American mink (Neovison vison) over a 10,000 km 2 area of NE Scotland, we show that mink captures were reduced to almost zero in 3 years, whilst there was a threefold increase in the proportion of male immigrants. Dispersal was often long distance and linking adjacent river catchments, asymptoting at 38 and 31 km for males and females respectively. Breeding and dispersal were spatially heterogeneous, with 40 % of river sections accounting for most captures of juvenile (85 %), adult female (65 %) and immigrant (57 %) mink. Concentrating control effort on such areas, so as to turn them into ''attractive dispersal sinks'' could make a disproportionate contribution to the management of recurrent re-invasion of mainland invasive species management areas.

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Development of population control strategies for mink Mustela vison, using floating rafts as monitors and trap sites

Cited by 80 publications

References 11 publications

Fertility control to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts: a review

Fertility control to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts: a review

Removal of American mink (Neovison vison) from the Uists, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

The compensatory potential of increased immigration following intensive American mink population control is diluted by male-biased dispersal

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