The Ecorat project: Development of ecologically-based rodent management for the Southern African region
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Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference
Abstract
The aim of this study was to carry out basic ecological research on rodent pests within subsistence-level
agricultural communities in Africa. A range of techniques were used to collect baseline ecological
knowledge on the temporal and spatial dynamics of rodent populations within rural farming communities
in Tanzania, Swaziland and Namibia. These techniques included habitat surveys using removal trapping,
capture-mark-recapture grids, and radio tracking of individually tagged animals. We also studied the
local communities’ knowledge, attitudes and practices with respect to rodents and their control, the
current cost of rodent damage and the costs/benefits of rodent control. Based on these data, a case-control
trial was implemented to evaluate an ecologically-based rodent management (EBRM) intervention using
intensive trapping coordinated at the community level. Results showed that intensive trapping using
community based rodent management was cost-beneficial for rural farming communities, and these
EBRM strategies are ecologically sustainable. Our research has shown that efficacy is more than 75%
when compared to what farmers normally do to reduce rat populations. Farmer training and community
cooperation are essential, and expertise in social anthropology to develop appropriate knowledge
dissemination platforms must be supported.
Description
Keywords
disease, intensive trapping, population dynamics, rodent damage