A comparison of methods for estimating common vole (Microtus arvalis) abundance in agricultural habitats

Jareño, Daniel; Viñuela, Javier; Luque‐Larena, Juan José; Arroyo, Leticia; Arroyo, Beatriz; Mougeot, François

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.07.019

Cited by 39 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…As vole outbreaks cause significant crop damage in agricultural areas, burrow indices (BIs) are used extensively in Central Europe to monitor relative population size, thereby allowing informed crop protection prognoses and recommendations to be made . Previous studies have successfully shown that BIs closely correlate with more precise population indices such as density calculated using capture–mark–recapture trapping and relative abundance estimated using snap‐trapping . In this study, vole density was evaluated using the BI, calculated as the number of active burrow entrances per hectare…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…21,22 Previous studies have successfully shown that BIs closely correlate with more precise population indices such as density calculated using capture-mark-recapture trapping and relative abundance estimated using snap-trapping. 23,24 In this study, vole density was evaluated using the BI, calculated as the number of active burrow entrances per hectare. 25 No-tillage causes minimal disturbance to vole burrow systems (extending up to 30 cm below ground); populations thus can continue to develop and overwinter under optimal conditions, especially if a green food supply of weeds or winter crops is available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of no‐tillage versus tillage system on common vole (Microtus arvalis) population density

Heroldová

Michalko

Suchomel

et al. 2018

Pest Management Science

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of no‐tillage versus tillage system on common vole (Microtus arvalis) population density

Heroldová

Michalko

Suchomel

et al. 2018

Pest Management Science

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“…Despite many changes in cropping systems, particularly in land use intensity, choice of crops, fragmentation, mechanization, climate, etc., the general patterns of common vole outbreaks such as frequency and amplitude range have not changed drastically (see Delattre et al 1992). There are very few examples of outbreaks spreading to areas where they did not occur in the past (Van Wijngaarden 1957;Luque-Larena et al 2013;Jareño et al 2014). This indicates that common vole outbreaks are inherent to the European agricultural landscape similar to lemming outbreaks in northern Europe.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Europe-wide outbreaks of common voles in 2019

et al. 2020

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Common voles (Microtus arvalis) are widespread in the European agricultural landscape from central Spain to central Russia. During population outbreaks, significant damage to a variety of crops is caused and the risk of pathogen transmission from voles to people increases. In 2019, increasing or unusually high common vole densities have been reported from several European countries. This is highly important in terms of food production and public health. Therefore, authorities, extension services and farmers need to be aware of the rapid and widespread increase in common voles and take appropriate measures as soon as possible. Management options include chemical and non-chemical methods. However, the latter are suitable only for small and valuable crops and it is recommended to increase efforts to predict common voles outbreaks and to develop and field test new and optimized management tools. Keywords Microtus arvalis • Rodent-borne diseases • Rodent management • Rodent outbreaks • Rodent damage Key message • Common vole populations are synchronously rising in several countries indicating a massive European-wide outbreak. • Non-chemical management options for the protection of large-scale crops are scarce and insufficient in agriculture and forestry. • Significant damage by common voles in 2019 to crops and negative effects on human health are likely. • Authorities, extension services and farmers need to be aware of the rapid and widespread increase in common voles.

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“…An adequate knowledge of population dynamics requires a reliable method to measure population size or abundance (Krebs 1999, Witmer 2005). In the case of pest management, the method should also be simple enough to be applied at a large scale and should allow a fast monitoring (Delattre et al 1990, Jareño et al 2014. As the knowledge of the studied species increases it becomes important to review the reliability of the methods used to measure abundance (Lisicka et al 2007, Embleton & Petrovskaya 2013, in order to improve decision-making.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our aim here is to assess whether the monitoring tool proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture, apparently following the experience by Castilla y León regional government mentioned above, is accurate enough for estimating common vole density under conditions of low to mid vole abundance and thus, if it can be considered an adequate management tool allowing correct decisions about the density thresholds from which control programs should be started. For this purpose, we compared common vole abundance estimates derived from the index currently recommended by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture with those obtained using another abundance estimation method recently tested in the same agricultural area, under similar conditions of vole abundance and on the same habitats (Jareño et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reliability of methods used to estimate rodent pest densities in agricultural systems: the case of common vole (Microtus arvalis) in NW Spain

Jareño

Viñuela

2016

Galemys

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Uno de los aspectos más importantes a la hora de mejorar la gestión de plagas y reducir de forma eficaz los daños que causan en cultivos, minimizando a su vez los daños colaterales causados al medio ambiente, es disponer de herramientas de monitorización fiables. El topillo campesino es una de las plagas agrarias mas importantes en Castilla y León (NO de España). En el presente estudio se compararon las estimaciones de densidad del topillo campesino obtenidas mediante dos índices indirectos: el índice PSpS (Presence Signs per Square) previamente evaluado con la metodología de trampeo considerada mas fiable para estimar densidades de roedores, y el índice MI propuesto por el Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, recomendado como principal herramienta de monitorización de dicha especie, pero para el que no existe aparentemente ninguna evaluación de precisión o eficacia. En condiciones de baja abundancia de topillo campesino se observó que el índice MI estimaba densidades de topillos muy superiores a las proporcionadas por el índice PSpS (14 veces mayores en promedio), aunque ambos índices estaban altamente correlacionados entre sí. Estos resultados indican que el índice MI tiene una alta probabilidad de sobreestimar la abundancia de topillos en condiciones de densidad baja. En conclusión, las estimaciones de abundancia obtenidas con el índice MI deben ser consideradas como sobreestimaciones potenciales de la densidad real del topillo campesino, debiendo ser corregidas si se quiere mantener dicho índice como la principal herramienta para monitorizar las poblaciones de topillo campesino. Los resultados obtenidos refuerzan la importancia de evaluar la eficacia y precisión de este tipo de herramientas, para reducir el riesgo de realizar campañas de control innecesarias, minimizando así los costes económicos y ambientales asociados a las mismas. Palabras clave: control de plagas, herramientas de monitorización, índices indirectos, protección de cultivos.

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A comparison of methods for estimating common vole (Microtus arvalis) abundance in agricultural habitats

Cited by 39 publications

References 32 publications

Influence of no‐tillage versus tillage system on common vole (Microtus arvalis) population density

Influence of no‐tillage versus tillage system on common vole (Microtus arvalis) population density

Europe-wide outbreaks of common voles in 2019

Reliability of methods used to estimate rodent pest densities in agricultural systems: the case of common vole (Microtus arvalis) in NW Spain

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