Response of rodent populations to controls

TitleResponse of rodent populations to controls
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1965
AuthorsWood J.E
JournalJournal of Wildlife Management
Volume29
Pagination425-437
Date Published1965
Call Number00593
Keywordsarticle, articles, community, rodent control, journal, journals, pesticide, 1080, pesticide, strychnine, rodent control
AbstractA study of the response of rodent populations to poisoning was conducted on the desert grassland range of southern New Mexico. Strychnine and 1080-treated grain was distributed on a 12-section grid, each section receiving one poison in one of six distributional patterns. The 1080 poison, scattered in a 100- X 200-foot grid, was the most economical (3.5 cents per acre), and the 1080 poison gave better controls at both the 1-month and 1-year checks. The densities of the five major species within the poison area and check areas fluctuated independently, giving a decided change in the species population from year to year. Though the species composition changed, the rodent biomass remained constant on the unpoisoned area. On the poisoned area, 2 years after the poisoning, the total rodent biomass was only slightly over one-half the biomass of the uncontrolled population.