Behavioral-Response of Brushtail Possums, Trichosurus-Vulpecula, to Baits Used in Pest-Control

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 601 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Taste Aversion ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Initial Response ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Learned Aversion ◽  
Control Programmes

The behavioural responses of captive possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) were observed during first encounters with non-toxic and toxic carrot and pellet baits used in pest control programmes. Possums confronted with new baits first used smell in a highly discriminating way, and then taste, which sometimes changed their initial response. Toxic carrot baits were rejected by 27.5% of possums, equally by smell and taste aversion, and toxic pellet baits by 34% of possums, mainly by taste aversion. Few (5-7%) rejected non-toxic baits. Such non-learned aversion mechanisms therefore have an important role in the feeding behaviour of possums. A range of flavours tested, using barley as a food base, showed that only orange-flavored barley was significantly preferred to non-flavoured barley; 19 flavours had no significant effect, and 19 others significantly reduced barley consumption. Orange and cinnamon, which was ranked fourth and repels some bird species, were tested as masks for 1080 baits. Both flavours effectively masked the aversive smell and taste of 1080. The levels of toxic flavoured bait rejection were low and did not differ from those of non-toxic (flavoured or non-flavoured) baits. Very few possums were observed vomiting, a behaviour in other species that may assist survival.

scholarly journals Implications of prefeeding for the development of bait aversions in brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula)

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zane N. Moss ◽  
Cheryl E. O'Connor ◽  
Graham J. Hickling
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Sublethal Dose ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Management Procedure

Development of aversions, or learned ‘bait-shyness’, in frequently poisoned possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) populations is becoming increasingly detrimental to the efficacy of pest-control operations in New Zealand. This experiment aimed to identify the effects of prefeeding, a common management procedure, on the subsequent development of aversions in possums. Wild possums (n = 96) were captured and acclimatised, then allocated to one of three treatments groups that for seven days received either (i) no prefeed, (ii) plain RS5 cereal baits, or (iii) green-dyed and cinnamon-lured RS5 cereal baits. The possums were then offered a standard green-dyed and cinnamon-lured RS5 bait that contained a sublethal dose (0.4 mg kg-1) of the toxin sodium monofluoroacetate (1080). The possums were tested for development of an aversion towards a toxic RS5 1080 bait, a prefeed bait, and a prefeed bait containing an alternative toxin, brodifacoum. Most (96%) of the non-prefed possums became averse to the 1080 bait after two exposures, compared with only 55% and 9% of the two prefed groups. Similarly, 90% and 92% of the non-prefed possums were averse to prefeed and brodifacoum baits, respectively, compared with 8% and 14% of the prefed possums. This suggests that pest managers can reduce the risk of ‘bait shyness’ by prefeeding. A further advantage of prefeeding is that if poison shyness develops, use of an alternative toxin such as brodifacoum in the original bait base may still be successful.

scholarly journals Neuromodulatory circuit effects on Drosophila feeding behaviour and metabolism

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Eriksson ◽  
Marlena Raczkowska ◽  
Rapeechai Navawongse ◽  
Deepak Choudhury ◽  
James C. Stewart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Behavioural Activity ◽  
Transgenic Lines ◽  
Group Feeding ◽  
Vinegar Fly ◽  
Climbing Ability ◽  
Genetically Manipulated

AbstractAnimals have evolved to maintain homeostasis in a changing external environment by adapting their internal metabolism and feeding behaviour. Metabolism and behaviour are coordinated by neuromodulation; a number of the implicated neuromodulatory systems are homologous between mammals and the vinegar fly, an important neurogenetic model. We investigated whether silencing fly neuromodulatory networks would elicit coordinated changes in feeding, behavioural activity and metabolism. We employed transgenic lines that allowed us to inhibit broad cellular sets of the dopaminergic, serotonergic, octopaminergic, tyraminergic and neuropeptide F systems. The genetically-manipulated animals were assessed for changes in their overt behavioural responses and metabolism by monitoring eleven parameters: activity; climbing ability; individual feeding; group feeding; food discovery; both fed and starved respiration; fed and starved lipid content; and fed/starved body weight. The results from these 55 experiments indicate that individual neuromodulatory system effects on feeding behaviour, motor activity and metabolism are dissociated.

scholarly journals Acetic acid activates distinct taste pathways in Drosophila to elicit opposing, state-dependent feeding responses

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita V Devineni ◽  
Bei Sun ◽  
Anna Zhukovskaya ◽  
Richard Axel
Keyword(s):  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Taste Aversion ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Internal State ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
Aversive Response ◽  
Genetically Determined ◽  
Appetitive Response

Taste circuits are genetically determined to elicit an innate appetitive or aversive response, ensuring that animals consume nutritious foods and avoid the ingestion of toxins. We have examined the response of Drosophila melanogaster to acetic acid, a tastant that can be a metabolic resource but can also be toxic to the fly. Our data reveal that flies accommodate these conflicting attributes of acetic acid by virtue of a hunger-dependent switch in their behavioral response to this stimulus. Fed flies show taste aversion to acetic acid, whereas starved flies show a robust appetitive response. These opposing responses are mediated by two different classes of taste neurons, the sugar- and bitter-sensing neurons. Hunger shifts the behavioral response from aversion to attraction by enhancing the appetitive sugar pathway as well as suppressing the aversive bitter pathway. Thus a single tastant can drive opposing behaviors by activating distinct taste pathways modulated by internal state.

Male–male vocal interactions in a territorial neotropical quail: which song characteristics predict a territorial male's response?

Behaviour ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 148 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 1103-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Sandoval
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Playback Experiment ◽  
Conspecific Male ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Song Rate ◽  
Vocal Behaviour ◽  
Vocal Interactions

AbstractMales singing within their territories can change their song characteristics in order to interact with conspecifics; males may respond to territorial intrusions by vocalizing, approaching the intruder and/or displaying. I studied male–male interactions by quantifying vocal and behavioural responses of male spot-bellied bobwhites (Colinus leucopogon) toward playback of conspecific male songs. Male responses toward playback song depended on the quality of the territorial male's song relative to the playback stimulus. In this species males who sang songs with higher peak and low frequency, longer song duration, and lower song rate were less responsive to simulated territorial intrusions. Spot-bellied bobwhite males that sang in response to the playback increased the low frequencies of their songs relative to pre-playback song, a vocal behaviour related to dominance in males of other species. Males that approached the speaker sang longer songs, a characteristic associated with increased aggression or motivation to fight in other bird species. The results of this playback experiment suggest that male spot-bellied bobwhite song characteristics according to playback characteristics predict response to territorial intrusions and may, therefore, play an important role in male–male interactions.

Spatial prediction of brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) distribution using a combination of remotely sensed and field-observed environmental data

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thibaud Porphyre ◽  
Joanna McKenzie ◽  
Andrea E. Byrom ◽  
Graham Nugent ◽  
James Shepherd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Brushtail Possum ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data

Context In New Zealand, the introduced brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, is a reservoir of bovine tuberculosis and as such poses a major threat to the livestock industry. Aerial 1080 poisoning is an important tool for possum control but is expensive, creating an ongoing need for ever more cost-effective ways of using this technique. Aims To develop geographic information system (GIS) models to better predict spatial variation in the distribution of unmanaged possum populations, to facilitate better targeting of control activities. Methods Relative abundance of possums and their distribution among habitat types were surveyed in a dry high-country area of the northern South Island. Two GIS-based models were developed to predict the relative abundance of possums on trap lines. The first model used remotely sensed (digital) environmental data; the second complemented the remotely sensed data with fine-scale habitat and topographic data collected on the ground. Key results Digital environmental factors and habitat features proved to be key predictors of relative possum abundance. In both GIS models, height above valley floor, presence of forest cover and mean annual temperature were the strongest predictors. Conclusions Predictive maps (projections) of relative possum abundance produced from these models can provide useful decision-support tools for pest-control managers, by enabling possum control to be targeted spatially. Implications Spatially targeted pest control could allow effective control activities for invasive species or disease vectors to be applied at a lower cost for the same benefit.

Dietary changes in response to population reduction in the possum Trichosurus vulpecula in New Zealand

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Sweetapple ◽  
Wendy A. Ruscoe ◽  
Graham Nugent
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Population Control ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Brushtail Possum ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Dietary Changes ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Indigenous Forest

Context Efforts to protect or restore degraded plant communities by population control of invasive herbivores frequently fail to achieve their goals. Aims We seek to quantify changes in diet of an introduced herbivore, the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), following population control, and determine how these may contribute to variable responses in plant condition. Methods Stomach contents of possums from five areas of indigenous forest in northern New Zealand were analysed to measure diet before and after the application of possum control. Key results The contribution of fruit, and foliage of some early successional forest species, to total possum diet increased up to 27-fold following possum population control. This was accompanied by declines in consumption of the main pre-control possum foods (foliage from common canopy trees). Dietary changes were a combination of an immediate response to control (1 year) and a strengthening of these initial changes with increasing time since control. Conclusions Possums in the study areas changed diet following population control, from a diet dominated by foliage of common canopy tree species to one dominated by fruits, and foliage of uncommon early successional plants. Pest control instantaneously increased the per capita availability of all foods, and probably permitted absolute increases in some foods through plant recovery, enabling possums to substitute scarce, high-preference foods for abundant but less preferred canopy foliage. Implications Following control of a pest herbivore, dietary changes reduce benefits for the most vulnerable preferred plant foods, but enhance benefits for less favoured plants. Intense pest control can permit some recovery of highly preferred foods, despite increased per capita consumption of these foods by survivors of control.

The Influence of Ambient Temperatures on the Susceptibility of Mice, Guinea-Pigs and Possums to Compund 1080

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Oliver ◽  
DR King
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Cavia Porcellus ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Temperature Ranges

The susceptibilities of mice Mus musculus, guinea-pigs Cavia porcellus and brushtail possums Trichosurus vulpecula to sodium monofluoroacetate (compound 1080) were determined at various ambient temperatures in the range 4-33�C. Toxicity was greater at both ends of the range than in the middle. In mice the LD50 at 24�C was five times that at 12.2�C; in guinea-pigs the LD50 at 17�C was twice that at 4�C; in possums the LD50 at 23.5�C was two and a half times that at 10.5�C. It is important to consider these differences when assessing the efficacy of 1080 for pest control, and potential hazards to non-target species, in situations where such temperature ranges may be commonly expected.

Seed dispersal in Palicourea rigida, a common treelet species from neotropical savannas

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
DIRK WÜTHERICH ◽  
AURA AZÓCAR ◽  
CARLOS GARCÍA-NUÑEZ ◽  
JUAN F. SILVA
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Molothrus Bonariensis ◽  
Palicourea Rigida ◽  
Dispersal Agent ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
Neotropical Savannas

The dispersal system of Palicourea rigida (Rubiaceae), a common woody species of neotropical savannas, was studied in a seasonal Venezuelan savanna. Production and consumption of fruits, dispersal agents, feeding behaviour, transport and effects on seed viability, were investigated by field observations, cage experiments and viability tests. To compare different dispersers, quantitative and qualitative dispersal parameters were calculated. About 59% of the fruit crop was dispersed successfully by birds. Although 10 different bird species consumed the fruits of Palicourea rigida, three bird species dispersed 79% of the fruits (Tyrannus melancholicus, Molothrus bonariensis and Elaenia chiriquensis). T. melancholicus (Tyrannidae) was the most important dispersal agent, with more than 39% of dispersed seeds. In contrast to the predictions of the specialization vs. generalization paradigm, this system achieves high effectiveness by means of predominantly unspecialized traits in both the plant and the dispersers.Se estudió el sistema de dispersión de Palicourea rigida (Rubiaceae), una leñosa común de las sabanas neotropicales, en una sabana estacional de Venezuela. Mediante observaciones de campo y experimentos en jaulas y en el laboratorio, se estudiaron paramétros tales como producción, transporte y consumo de frutos, los agentes dispersores y su comportamiento y los efectos sobre la viabilidad de las semillas. Para comparar los agentes de dispersión se estimaron paramétros cualitativos y cuantitativos. Cerca del 59% de la cosecha total de frutos fue dispersada existosamente por pájaros. Aunque los frutos fueron consumidos por diez especies de aves, el 79% de los frutos fueron dispersados por solamente tres especies (Tyrannus melancholicus, Molothrus bonariensis y Elaenia chiriquensis). T. melancholicus (Tyrannidae) fue el más importante agente dispersor con más del 39% del total de semillas dispersadas. En contraste con el paradigma de especialización vs. generalización, este sistema alcanza alta efectividad pero se caracteriza por rasgos poco especializados, tanto en la planta como en los dispersores.

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