Abstract:
Management of overabundant rodents at a landscape scale is complex but often required to sustainably reduce rodent abundance below damage thresholds. Current conventional techniques such as poisoning are not species specific, with some approaches becoming increasingly unacceptable to the general public. Fertility control, first proposed for vertebrate pest management over 5 decades ago, has gained public acceptance because it is perceived as a potentially more species-specific and humane approach compared with many lethal methods. An ideal fertility control agent needs to induce infertility across one or more breeding seasons, be easily delivered to an appropriate proportion of the population, be species specific with minimal side-effects (behavioral or social structure changes), and be environmentally benign and cost effective. To date, effective fertility control of rodents has not been demonstrated at landscape scales and very few products have achieved registration. Reproductive targets for fertility control include disrupting the hormonal feedback associated with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, gonad function, fertilization, and/or early implantation. We review progress on the oral delivery of various agents for which laboratory studies have demonstrated efficacy in females and/or males and synthesize progress with the development and/or use of synthetic steroids, plant extracts, ovarian specific peptides, and immunocontraceptive vaccines. There are promising results for field application of synthetic steroids (levonorgestrel, quinestrol), chemosterilants (4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide), and some plant extracts (triptolide). For most fertility control agents, more research is essential to enable their efficient and cost-effective delivery such that rodent impacts at a population level are mitigated and food security is improved.
摘要:
在景观规模上管理过多的啮齿动物是复杂的,但通常需要将啮齿动物的丰度持续降低到损害阈值以下。目前的常规技术,如中毒不是物种特异性的,一些方法越来越为公众所不能接受。生育控制,50多年前首次提出用于脊椎动物害虫管理,已经获得了公众的认可,因为与许多致命方法相比,它被认为是一种潜在的更具物种特异性和人道的方法。理想的生育控制剂需要在一个或多个繁殖季节诱发不育,很容易送到适当比例的人口,是物种特异性的,副作用最小(行为或社会结构变化),并且对环境无害和具有成本效益。迄今为止,在景观尺度上尚未证明有效控制啮齿动物的生育力,很少有产品实现注册。生育控制的生殖目标包括破坏与下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴相关的激素反馈,性腺功能,受精,和/或早期植入。我们回顾了实验室研究已证明对女性和/或男性有效的各种药物的口服给药进展,并综合了合成类固醇的开发和/或使用进展。植物提取物,卵巢特异性肽,和免疫避孕疫苗。合成类固醇(左炔诺孕酮,quinestrol),化学杀菌剂(4-乙烯基环己烯二环氧化物),和一些植物提取物(雷公藤甲素)。对于大多数生育控制剂来说,更多的研究对于使其有效和具有成本效益的交付至关重要,从而减轻啮齿动物对种群的影响并改善粮食安全。