Population cycles and outbreaks of small rodents: ten essential questions we still need to solve

Andreassen, Harry P.; Sundell, Janne; Ecke, Fraucke; Halle, Stefan; Haapakoski, Marko; Henttonen, Heikki; Huitu, Otso; Jacob, Jens; Johnsen, Kaja; Koskela, Esa; Luque‐Larena, Juan José; Lecomte, Nicolas; Leirs, Herwig; Mariën, Joachim; Neby, Magne; Rätti, Osmo; Sievert, Thorbjörn; Singleton, Grant R.; Cann, Joannes Van; Broecke, Bram Vanden; Ylönen, Hannu

doi:10.1007/s00442-020-04810-w

Cited by 82 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 229 publications

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“…From our interactions with colleagues in Africa, many of these challenges also apply with EBRM showing promise to help redress the rodent impacts on cereal production pre‐ and post‐harvest 6 . Some of these challenges not surprisingly overlap with a recent global review that identified 10 essential questions for furthering our understanding of key population ecology processes associated with population cycles and outbreaks of small rodent populations 100 We require better estimates of crop and post‐harvest losses to rodents, and economic analyses of EBRM, including livelihood benefits.…”

Section: Recommendations For the Way Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rodent management and cereal production in Asia: Balancing food security and conservation

Singleton

Lorica

Htwe

et al. 2021

Pest Management Science

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Rodents present a major problem for food security in Asia where smallholder farming families are particularly vulnerable. We review here recent developments in the biology and management of rodent pests in cereal cropping systems in Asia. The past decade has seen a strong focus on ecologically‐based rodent management (EBRM), its adoption in field studies significantly increased rice yields (6–15%) and income (>15%) in seven Asian countries. EBRM principles have also been successfully applied to maize in China. We provide case studies on EBRM in Cambodia, on interactions between rodent pests and weeds, and on the importance of modified wetlands for biodiversity and rodent pest management. Knowledge on post‐harvest impacts of rodents is increasing. One research gap is the assessment of human health impacts from a reduction of rodent densities in and around houses. We identify 10 challenges for the next decade. For example, the need for population modelling, a valuable tool missing from our toolbox to manage rodent pests in cereal systems. We also need to understand better the interactive effects of cropping intensification, conservation agriculture and climate change. Finally, new management approaches such as fertility control are on the horizon and need to be considered in the context of smallholder cereal farming systems and mitigating health risks from zoonotic diseases associated with rodents. © 2021 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

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Section: Recommendations For the Way Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rodent management and cereal production in Asia: Balancing food security and conservation

Singleton

Lorica

Htwe

et al. 2021

Pest Management Science

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“…Rodents generally exhibit an r-selected life history, characterized by early sexual maturity and large litter sizes [ 41 ], which leaves them vulnerable to resource depletion or climatic variation. Consequently, rodent populations fluctuate with seasonality and climate change, which affects the availability of food resources and, therefore, reproductive activity [ 134 ]. This, in turn, impacts the prevalence of some RNA viruses in the population.…”

Section: What Biological Strategies Have Evolved That Allow Rna Viruses To Reside In Bats and Rodents?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Common Themes in Zoonotic Spillover and Disease Emergence: Lessons Learned from Bat- and Rodent-Borne RNA Viruses

Williams

Spruill-Harrell

Taylor

et al. 2021

Viruses

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Rodents (order Rodentia), followed by bats (order Chiroptera), comprise the largest percentage of living mammals on earth. Thus, it is not surprising that these two orders account for many of the reservoirs of the zoonotic RNA viruses discovered to date. The spillover of these viruses from wildlife to human do not typically result in pandemics but rather geographically confined outbreaks of human infection and disease. While limited geographically, these viruses cause thousands of cases of human disease each year. In this review, we focus on three questions regarding zoonotic viruses that originate in bats and rodents. First, what biological strategies have evolved that allow RNA viruses to reside in bats and rodents? Second, what are the environmental and ecological causes that drive viral spillover? Third, how does virus spillover occur from bats and rodents to humans?

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“…As a group, rodent population dynamics have been thoroughly studied, with some populations having been shown to display population multi-annual fluctuations, known as population cycles, while others show less-extreme fluctuations seasonally and are considered non-cyclic [ 43 , 44 , 45 ]. These population dynamics have been shown to be a response to extrinsic factors, such as local environmental conditions, number of generalist or specialist predators and food availability [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. It has been shown that parasites can affect fecundity and mortality rates of rodents [ 44 , 51 , 52 ].…”

Section: Cycling Rodent Populations As Wildlife Disease Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Invasive Bank Vole (Myodes glareolus): A Model System for Studying Parasites and Ecoimmunology during a Biological Invasion

McManus

Holland

Henttonen

et al. 2021

Animals

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The primary driver of the observed increase in emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) has been identified as human interaction with wildlife and this increase has emphasized knowledge gaps in wildlife pathogens dynamics. Wild rodent models have proven excellent for studying changes in parasite communities and have been a particular focus of eco-immunological research. Helminth species have been shown to be one of the factors regulating rodent abundance and indirectly affect disease burden through trade-offs between immune pathways. The Myodes glareolus invasion in Ireland is a unique model system to explore the invasion dynamics of helminth species. Studies of the invasive population of M. glareolus in Ireland have revealed a verifiable introduction point and its steady spread. Helminths studies of this invasion have identified enemy release, spillover, spillback and dilution taking place. Longitudinal studies have the potential to demonstrate the interplay between helminth parasite dynamics and both immune adaptation and coinfecting microparasites as M. glareolus become established across Ireland. Using the M. glareolus invasion as a model system and other similar wildlife systems, we can begin to fill the large gap in our knowledge surrounding the area of wildlife pathogen dynamics.

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Population cycles and outbreaks of small rodents: ten essential questions we still need to solve

Cited by 82 publications

References 229 publications

Rodent management and cereal production in Asia: Balancing food security and conservation

Rodent management and cereal production in Asia: Balancing food security and conservation

Common Themes in Zoonotic Spillover and Disease Emergence: Lessons Learned from Bat- and Rodent-Borne RNA Viruses

The Invasive Bank Vole (Myodes glareolus): A Model System for Studying Parasites and Ecoimmunology during a Biological Invasion

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