The Development of Semiochemical Lures for Invasive Rats: An Integrated Chemical Image and Response-Guided Approach

Self Cite

Olfactory lures are important pest control tools, being widely used to attract animals to detection devices, traps, and poisons. For small mammals, like commensal rodents, almost all lures are foods. For invertebrates, however, semiochemical lures predominate and have done so for decades. Semiochemical lures overcome the inherent limitations of food-based lures, such as their perishability and inconsistent odour properties, and poor performance when foods are abundant. They can also provide benefits like low cost, ease of handling, and in-field longevity. Semiochemical lures for rodents would be a major advance, like that achieved for invertebrate monitoring and control, but their discovery has been constrained by the complexity of the challenge. Our research group is the first to achieve animal response-guided semiochemical lure discovery. We statistically integrated rapid field-based bioassays with scent chemical profiling and partial least squares regression to identify and test a suite of new single-and multi-compound rat lures. Field trials identified a tetrad and dyad mixture as the best performing lures, with an attraction rate of 0.61 and 0.60, respectively, compared to an attraction rate of 0.55 for the peanut butter standard. In total, 17 compound-based lures performed statistically as well as the peanut butter standard. We are currently working with an industry partner to encapsulate the lures as consumable, cost-effective pest-control products. Semiochemical lures will be particularly useful for multi-kill traps, toxic bait delivery devices, and remote monitoring devices that could operate for long periods without intervention. These devices offer substantial control program cost reductions but require long-life lures to realise their full potential.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper we detail our ongoing development of semiochemical lures for rats (Rattus spp.) that builds on our identification of five attractive single compound semiochemicals (Jackson et al 2016). We detail the use of bioassays to present all possible multi-component blend combinations comprising the five attractive semiochemicals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Long-Life Semiochemical Lures for Rats

Jackson¹,

Linklater²,

Keyzers³

2018

Self Cite

“…Work is now underway on species-specific traps that activate following on-board processing to identify the species. Semiochemical-based lures, when combined with effective delivery technologies, will provide controlled odour release and long life, factors that will help expand the utility of resetting toxin-delivery systems and traps (Jackson et al 2016). Ultra-potent lures should expand the range and cost-effectiveness of monitoring devices, resetting toxin-delivery systems, and traps.…”

Section: -2050mentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Trends in the Development of Rodenticides and Mammalian Pest Control Technologies

Eason¹,

Linklater²,

Jackson³

et al. 2018

The history of discoveries in rodenticide development and control technology as well as current and future-focused research are explored. Traps and older poisons such as red squill, arsenic, and cyanide have been used for hundreds if not thousands of years. Between 1940 and 1980 there was a period of innovation with the discovery of new molecules, including acute toxins and slower acting anticoagulants. The period 1980 to 2018 has been a time for improved utilization of individual tools and research to retain registrations, develop new toxins and delivery systems, and explore non-lethal control options. However, despite these advances, decades old broad-spectrum toxins and traplines are still the mainstay of pest control. Technological leaps are needed to achieve much more precise, affordable, and socially acceptable pest control. The period 2018 to 2050 should be a time for accelerated innovation. There are exciting opportunities for transformational change based on the integration of existing and new tools, such as advances in automated species recognition systems, new self-resetting traps, and species-specific toxin-delivery systems. Over-reliance on 'silver bullet' technologies for small mammal pest control is the wrong approach to biodiversity conservation. This has been demonstrated through two decades of challenging research on viral vectored immunocontraception, and would apply if all pest control research focused on a single toxin, one new engineering-based technology, or on gene editing, which has potential, but will not be a panacea for all mammal pests. Balance is important, with research supporting the skill of pest control practitioners and supporting emerging technologies, as well as novel biocontrol or genetic research. There has been no focused research aimed at integrating a broad suite of new tools, and incorporating disruptive technologies from completely different fields. We believe that science and technology have now advanced such that automated, online, and real-time systems for monitoring and managing pests are achievable in the next decade.

“…Semiochemical-based lures might address these limitations, and when combined with effective delivery technologies will provide controlled odour release and long-life, factors that will help expand the utility of resetting toxin-delivery systems and traps. Research into semiochemical lures for rats is currently ongoing at Victoria University of Wellington and showing early promise (Jackson et al 2016). A number of compounds have been identified as attractive to rats, with five compounds outperforming peanut butter in field trials.…”

Section: Looking Ahead: a Pipeline And A 3-pronged Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology Advances for Vertebrate Pest Eradication

Eason¹,

Shapiro²,

Ross³

et al. 2016

Internationally, over the last 20 years the number of tools available for the control of small mammals has declined.Through the efforts of research we have bucked this trend and retained and developed new tools. Three new toxins have been extensively researched and registered, namely para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) in 2011 for stoats and feral cats; zinc phosphide for possums in 2012; and encapsulated sodium nitrite (ESN) in 2013, for possums and feral pigs. The development of PAPP and ESN, coined red blood cell toxins, developed for humaneness, represent the first new vertebrate pesticides registered for field control of mammalian pests anywhere in the world for >30 years. Research on rodenticides including diphacinone with the additive cholecalciferol (D+C) and a palatable form of norbormide continues. A New Zealand EPA application for D+C was filed in June 2015. More effective killing systems are being researched, and the first successful field trials of resetting toxin delivery devices for possum and stoat control were completed in 2013 and 2014. Improved deployment strategies, integration of humane and selective toxins, lures of greater potency, and improved killing devices aided by species' recognition will transform ground control for endangered species protection. Sodium fluoroacetate (1080) and other important tools have been retained as new tools are emerging from a research and development pipeline. It is important for the future of New Zealand's biodiversity that this focused research continues and we continue to learn and advance new technologies. Our goals are shifting to enable reduction in density of rat, stoat, and possum populations to zero over large scales (i.e., elimination at landscape scale), and to hold these at zero through detection and response, including the use of new technologies for perimeter control as part of barrier systems for conservation.