scholarly journals The successful eradication of introduced roof rats (Rattus rattus) from Buck Island using diphacinone, followed by an irruption of house mice (Mus musculus)

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary W. Witmer ◽  
Frank Boyd ◽  
Zandy Hillis-Starr
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sea Turtle ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Bait Stations

The United States National Park Service and the United States Wildlife Services made a planned and sustained effort to eradicate the introduced roof rats (Rattus rattus) from Buck Island Reef National Monument in the Caribbean Sea during 1998–2000. The rats were causing substantial damage to a variety of the 80-ha island’s floral and faunal resources. An island-wide grid of elevated bait stations containing anticoagulant (0.005% diphacinone; 50 ppm) rodenticide bait blocks were used to eradicate the rats. The bait stations were modified several times to assure ready access by rats while minimising access by non-target animals, especially crabs and birds. Numerous post-project trapping sessions over six years resulted in no rat captures, suggesting that, indeed, the rats had been eradicated from the island. No non-target losses resulting from the baiting program were observed by field personnel, but they noted what appeared to be a recovery of some of the island’s floral and faunal resources. There have been no depredations of endangered sea turtle nests since the eradication. Post-project monitoring sessions revealed the presence of a growing house mouse (Mus musculus) population on the island. The threats posed by, and potential management strategies for, this introduced pest species are being investigated. This is the first successful rat eradication on a sizable island, using diphacinone bait blocks with a unique, elevated bait-station system. Diphacinone can provide an alternative to the highly toxic brodifacoum and may help reduce non-target hazards in some situations, although several applications are generally required.

scholarly journals Application of Exploratory Modeling in Support of Transdisciplinary Inquiry: Regulation of Fishing Bycatch of Loggerhead Sea Turtles in Gulf of Ulloa, Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis A. Bojórquez-Tapia ◽  
Germán Ponce-Díaz ◽  
Daniela Pedroza-Páez ◽  
Antonio J. Díaz-de-León ◽  
Francisco Arreguín-Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sea Turtle ◽  
United States Government ◽  
Technological Problem ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Advocacy Groups ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Wide Range

The fishing bycatch of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) epitomizes the challenges of designing fisheries management strategies to protect highly migratory, endangered species. We present here the case of turtle bycatch in the Gulf of Ulloa, Mexico, in which conservation advocacy groups requested the United States Government to apply the legal provisions for preventing fishing bycatch of protected living marine resources (PLMR). Because these provisions implied the possibility of trade sanctions, the Mexican government had to devise policies equivalent to those imposed on the United States’ fleet. While conservation advocacy groups claimed that the effect of fishing bycatch was proven, the federal fisheries agency disregarded the facts for political reasons. Evidently, there was a need for a practical approach to address this highly contested policy-making problem characterized by limited data, deep uncertainties, and urgency for results. Our goal here is to present the implementation of an exploratory modeling rationale to tackle this sort of complex socio-ecological technological problem. We focused on identifying the bycatch level at which the environmental authorities would be compelled by law to act in protecting the loggerheads. We combined ecological risk analysis and area-oriented multiple-use framework to evaluate a wide range of plausible scenarios consistent with the available data. Results identified the bycatch level that indicated a potential critical transition to a low resilience state of the loggerhead population, and the proper multiple-use management scheme. Our findings were used to formulate regulations aimed to set a bycatch cap and a refuge area for the loggerhead population in the region.

scholarly journals Developing Insect Pest Management Systems for Hemp in the United States: A Work in Progress

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney Cranshaw ◽  
Melissa Schreiner ◽  
Kadie Britt ◽  
Thomas P Kuhar ◽  
John McPartland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pest Management ◽  
Cannabis Sativa ◽  
Insect Pest ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Corn Earworm ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Flower Buds

Abstract Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is now being grown within the United States over a much broader geographic area and for different uses than during its last period of significant production that ended after World War II. Within the past 3 yr, a large number of arthropod species have been documented to feed on hemp in the United States. Among key pest species, corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has demonstrated greatest potential for crop injury, being particularly damaging to flower buds. Hemp russet mite, Aculops cannibicola (Farkas), and cannabis aphid, Phorodon cannabis Passerini, are the two species observed most damaging among those that suck plant fluids. Eurasian hemp borer, Grapholita delineana Walker, is widely present east of the Rocky Mountains and appears to have potential to significantly damage both flower buds and developing seeds. Numerous species of caterpillars, grasshoppers, and beetles chew hemp foliage; the severity of these defoliation injuries appears to be minimal, but needs further study. Similarly, numerous seed feeding hemipterans, most notably stink bugs and Lygus bugs, are regularly found in the crop but injury potential remains unclear. Some preliminary efforts have been made to develop integrated pest management strategies for these insects, particularly for corn earworm. Future research can be expected to rapidly resolve many of the data gaps that presently restrict advancing pest management on the crop. However, a major confounding issue involves the use of pesticides on hemp. Federal agencies have not yet provided clear direction on this issue, and regulatory decisions have subsequently devolved to the states.

Effects of wildfire on national park visitation and the regional economy: a natural experiment in the Northern Rockies

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Duffield ◽  
Chris J. Neher ◽  
David A. Patterson ◽  
Aaron M. Deskins
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Park ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Demand Models ◽  
Value Loss ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Observed Behaviour

Federal wildland fire management policy in the United States directs the use of value-based methods to guide priorities. However, the economic literature on the effect of wildland fire on nonmarket uses, such as recreation, is limited. This paper introduces a new approach to measuring the effect of wildfire on recreational use by utilising newly available long-term datasets on the location and size of wildland fire in the United States and observed behaviour over time as revealed through comprehensive National Park Service (NPS) visitor data. We estimate travel cost economic demand models that can be aggregated at the site-landscape level for Yellowstone National Park (YNP). The marginal recreation benefit per acre of fire avoided in, or proximate to, the park is US$43.82 per acre (US$108.29 per hectare) and the net present value loss for the 1986–2011 period is estimated to be US$206 million. We also estimate marginal regional economic impacts at US$36.69 per acre (US$90.66 per hectare) and US$159 million based on foregone non-resident spending in the 17-county Great Yellowstone Area (GYA). These methods are applicable where time-series recreation data exist, such as for other parks and ecosystems represented in the 397-unit NPS system.

scholarly journals A FRESH LOOK AT KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES DURING THE CRISIS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marharyta Chepeliuk
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Office Work ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
High Recovery ◽  
The Social ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Near Future

The pandemic has enhanced the social function of digital technologies and services. It is solely through digital technology that a massive shift to remote work has been possible during the most difficult period of the pandemic. All over the world, the philosophy of office work is changing, and there is a transition to permanent and conditional-permanent remote work. For example, Transport Canada is planning to move to telecommuting as a key employment model for its employees. In the near future, telecommuting will continue for most of the 6,000 employees in the agency. In China, widespread use of WeChat, Tencent, and Ding digital working applications began in late January 2020, when isolation measures were introduced. In Switzerland, COOVID-19 Remote Work and Study Resources provides free resources for remote operation and distance learning. Zoom and Google Meet videoconferencing, remote workplaces, and new social platforms run remote work almost immediately, and this trend is likely to continue after the lifting of the quarantine. Trends in staff employment worldwide are rather mixed. According to LinkedIn, it is possible to track changes in the employment rates of seven key economies – Australia, China, France, Italy, Singapore, Great Britain and United States. In France and Italy, the decline was more pronounced at -70% and -64.5% respectively by mid-April 2020. Since then, employment has been gradually recovering, and most of the seven key economies for which these figures have been analysed tend to change by 0 per cent year on year. By July 1, 2020, China, France, and the United States had seen the largest rebound in relative recruitment – -6% or -7%. At the end of September 2020, the countries with a high recovery in employment were China (22 per cent), Brazil (13 per cent), Singapore (8 per cent) and France (5 per cent). In these economies, hiring so far seems to compensate for months in which no new personnel have been recruited, indicating some stabilization of the labor market.

scholarly journals A Unified Effort to Fight an Enemy of Wheat and Barley: Fusarium Head Blight

Plant Disease ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 96 (12) ◽  
pp. 1712-1728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia McMullen ◽  
Gary Bergstrom ◽  
Erick De Wolf ◽  
Ruth Dill-Macky ◽  
Don Hershman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Fusarium Head Blight ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Plant Disease ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Export Market ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Head Blight ◽  
Food And Feed

Wheat and barley are critical food and feed crops around the world. Wheat is grown on more land area worldwide than any other crop. In the United States, production of wheat and barley contributes to domestic food and feed use, and contributes to the export market and balance of trade. Fifteen years ago, Plant Disease published a feature article titled “Scab of wheat and barley: A re-emerging disease of devastating impact”. That article described the series of severe Fusarium head blight (FHB) epidemics that occurred in the United States and Canada, primarily from 1991 through 1996, with emphasis on the unparalleled economic and sociological impacts caused by the 1993 FHB epidemic in spring grains in the Northern Great Plains region. Earlier publications had dealt with the scope and damage caused by this disease in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China. Reviews published after 1997 further described this disease and its impact on North American grain production in the 1990s. This article reviews the disease and documents the information on U.S. FHB epidemics since 1997. The primary goal of this article is to summarize a sustained, coordinated, and collaborative research program that was put in place shortly after the 1993 epidemic, a program intended to quickly lead to improved management strategies and outreach implementation. This program serves as a model to deal with other emerging plant disease threats.

scholarly journals Rabies Surveillance Identifies Potential Risk Corridors and Enables Management Evaluation

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy J. Davis ◽  
Kathleen M. Nelson ◽  
Jordona D. Kirby ◽  
Ryan Wallace ◽  
Xiaoyue Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Potential Risk ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Program ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Health Surveillance Data

Intensive efforts are being made to eliminate the raccoon variant of rabies virus (RABV) from the eastern United States and Canada. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services National Rabies Management Program has implemented enhanced rabies surveillance (ERS) to improve case detection across the extent of the raccoon oral rabies vaccination (ORV) management area. We evaluated ERS and public health surveillance data from 2006 to 2017 in three northeastern USA states using a dynamic occupancy modeling approach. Our objectives were to examine potential risk corridors for RABV incursion from the U.S. into Canada, evaluate the effectiveness of ORV management strategies, and identify surveillance gaps. ORV management has resulted in a decrease in RABV cases over time within vaccination zones (from occupancy ( ψ ¯ ) of 0.60 standard error (SE) = 0.03 in the spring of 2006 to ψ ¯ of 0.33 SE = 0.10 in the spring 2017). RABV cases also reduced in the enzootic area (from ψ ¯ of 0.60 SE = 0.03 in the spring of 2006 to ψ ¯ of 0.45 SE = 0.05 in the spring 2017). Although RABV occurrence was related to habitat type, greater impacts were associated with ORV and trap–vaccinate–release (TVR) campaigns, in addition to seasonal and yearly trends. Reductions in RABV occupancy were more pronounced in areas treated with Ontario Rabies Vaccine Bait (ONRAB) compared to RABORAL V-RG®. Our approach tracked changes in RABV occurrence across space and time, identified risk corridors for potential incursions into Canada, and highlighted surveillance gaps, while evaluating the impacts of management actions. Using this approach, we are able to provide guidance for future RABV management.

scholarly journals Biomass losses resulting from insect and disease invasions in US forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (35) ◽  
pp. 17371-17376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songlin Fei ◽  
Randall S. Morin ◽  
Christopher M. Oswalt ◽  
Andrew M. Liebhold
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Forest Pests ◽  
Ecosystem Impacts ◽  
Biomass Loss ◽  
Future Loss

Worldwide, forests are increasingly affected by nonnative insects and diseases, some of which cause substantial tree mortality. Forests in the United States have been invaded by a particularly large number (>450) of tree-feeding pest species. While information exists about the ecological impacts of certain pests, region-wide assessments of the composite ecosystem impacts of all species are limited. Here we analyze 92,978 forest plots distributed across the conterminous United States to estimate biomass loss associated with elevated mortality rates caused by the 15 most damaging nonnative forest pests. We find that these species combined caused an additional (i.e., above background levels) tree mortality rate of 5.53 TgC per year. Compensation, in the form of increased growth and recruitment of nonhost species, was not detectable when measured across entire invaded ranges but does occur several decades following pest invasions. In addition, 41.1% of the total live forest biomass in the conterminous United States is at risk of future loss from these 15 pests. These results indicate that forest pest invasions, driven primarily by globalization, represent a huge risk to US forests and have significant impacts on carbon dynamics.

An illustrated Key for Identification of Larvae of the Cotton-pest Species of Pectinophora Busck and Platyedra Meyrick (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)

1958 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-632
Author(s):  
Hahn W. Capps
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Additional Material ◽  
Plant Quarantine ◽  
Port Of New York ◽  
Cotton Pest

The cotton stem moth, Platyedra vilella (Zeller), was not known to occur in the United States prior to 1951. In August of that year, larvae of the species were found infesting hollyhock plants at Mineola, New York, by J. H. Maheny, a plant quarantine inspector of the port of New York. Adults were reared from additional material collected the following year, an indication that the species had become established. How or when P. vilella was introduced has not been determined, but doubtless it was only recently.

scholarly journals Social Vulnerability to Climate-Sensitive Hazards in the Southern United States

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Emrich ◽  
Susan L. Cutter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Southern United States ◽  
Hazard Exposure ◽  
Strategic Initiatives ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Spatial Impacts

Abstract The southern United States is no stranger to hazard and disaster events. Intense hurricanes, drought, flooding, and other climate-sensitive hazards are commonplace and have outnumbered similar events in other areas of the United States annually in both scale and magnitude by a ratio of almost 4:1 during the past 10 years. While losses from climate-sensitive hazards are forecast to increase in the coming years, not all of the populations residing within these hazard zones have the same capacity to prepare for, respond to, cope with, and rebound from disaster events. The identification of these vulnerable populations and their location relative to zones of known or probably future hazard exposure is necessary for the development and implementation of effective adaptation, mitigation, and emergency management strategies. This paper provides an approach to regional assessments of hazards vulnerability by describing and integrating hazard zone information on four climate-sensitive hazards with socioeconomic and demographic data to create an index showing both the areal extent of hazard exposure and social vulnerability for the southern United States. When examined together, these maps provide an assessment of the likely spatial impacts of these climate-sensitive hazards and their variability. The identification of hotspots—counties with elevated exposures and elevated social vulnerability—highlights the distribution of the most at risk counties and the driving factors behind them. Results provide the evidentiary basis for developing targeted strategic initiatives for disaster risk reduction including preparedness for response and recovery and longer-term adaptation in those most vulnerable and highly impacted areas.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document