Effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guam
ABSTRACT In 2008, we studied simulated toxicant efficacy to control invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) using bait tubes (elongate bait stations that reduce non‐target bait take) in a 5‐ha enclosure in Guam (U.S. Territory) with a known population of snakes. Instead of toxicants, we implan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-09-01
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| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.297 |
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| author | Björn Lardner Amy A. Yackel Adams Julie A. Savidge Gordon H. Rodda Robert N. Reed Craig S. Clark |
| author_facet | Björn Lardner Amy A. Yackel Adams Julie A. Savidge Gordon H. Rodda Robert N. Reed Craig S. Clark |
| author_sort | Björn Lardner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT In 2008, we studied simulated toxicant efficacy to control invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) using bait tubes (elongate bait stations that reduce non‐target bait take) in a 5‐ha enclosure in Guam (U.S. Territory) with a known population of snakes. Instead of toxicants, we implanted radiotransmitters in small (6.6 ± 1.4 g) and large (21.8 ± 2.9 g) bait‐mouse carcasses, offered from 2 types of bait tubes over a 3‐month period. The known snake population allowed us to characterize not only the snakes taking bait, but also those evading our mock control effort. Tube design had no effect on take rate, but snout–vent length was a strong predictor of bait take: none of the 30 snakes <843 mm in length took any bait, whereas 77 of the 126 snakes ≥843 mm in length took 164 baits. While medium‐sized snakes preferentially ingested small bait (and the largest snakes tended to take large mice more frequently), some of the smallest snakes that took bait ingested large mice. Snake body condition was positively correlated to take rate, but snake sex had no discernible effect. Our data show that there is a relatively narrow size (and, thus, time) gap between the size at which the snakes become susceptible to bait‐mouse take and the size at which they become sexually mature. This has implications for the timing of repeated baiting efforts, if the goal is eradication rather than suppression. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dbe1dbc3f5774f10b5ddb29643bb66a2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2328-5540 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| spelling | doaj-art-dbe1dbc3f5774f10b5ddb29643bb66a22025-08-20T01:56:28ZengWileyWildlife Society Bulletin2328-55402013-09-0137366467310.1002/wsb.297Effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guamBjörn Lardner0Amy A. Yackel Adams1Julie A. Savidge2Gordon H. Rodda3Robert N. Reed4Craig S. Clark5Department of FishWildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State UniversityFort CollinsCO80523‐1474USAUnited States Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center2150 Centre Avenue, Building CFort CollinsCO80526USADepartment of FishWildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State UniversityFort CollinsCO80523‐1474USAUnited States Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center2150 Centre Avenue, Building CFort CollinsCO80526USAUnited States Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center2150 Centre Avenue, Building CFort CollinsCO80526USAUnited States Department of AgricultureWildlife Services233 Pangelinan WayBarrigadaGU96913USAABSTRACT In 2008, we studied simulated toxicant efficacy to control invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) using bait tubes (elongate bait stations that reduce non‐target bait take) in a 5‐ha enclosure in Guam (U.S. Territory) with a known population of snakes. Instead of toxicants, we implanted radiotransmitters in small (6.6 ± 1.4 g) and large (21.8 ± 2.9 g) bait‐mouse carcasses, offered from 2 types of bait tubes over a 3‐month period. The known snake population allowed us to characterize not only the snakes taking bait, but also those evading our mock control effort. Tube design had no effect on take rate, but snout–vent length was a strong predictor of bait take: none of the 30 snakes <843 mm in length took any bait, whereas 77 of the 126 snakes ≥843 mm in length took 164 baits. While medium‐sized snakes preferentially ingested small bait (and the largest snakes tended to take large mice more frequently), some of the smallest snakes that took bait ingested large mice. Snake body condition was positively correlated to take rate, but snake sex had no discernible effect. Our data show that there is a relatively narrow size (and, thus, time) gap between the size at which the snakes become susceptible to bait‐mouse take and the size at which they become sexually mature. This has implications for the timing of repeated baiting efforts, if the goal is eradication rather than suppression. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.297bait stationBoiga irregulariseradicationGuaminvasivesize selectivity |
| spellingShingle | Björn Lardner Amy A. Yackel Adams Julie A. Savidge Gordon H. Rodda Robert N. Reed Craig S. Clark Effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guam Wildlife Society Bulletin bait station Boiga irregularis eradication Guam invasive size selectivity |
| title | Effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guam |
| title_full | Effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guam |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guam |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guam |
| title_short | Effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guam |
| title_sort | effectiveness of bait tubes for brown treesnake control on guam |
| topic | bait station Boiga irregularis eradication Guam invasive size selectivity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.297 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bjornlardner effectivenessofbaittubesforbrowntreesnakecontrolonguam AT amyayackeladams effectivenessofbaittubesforbrowntreesnakecontrolonguam AT julieasavidge effectivenessofbaittubesforbrowntreesnakecontrolonguam AT gordonhrodda effectivenessofbaittubesforbrowntreesnakecontrolonguam AT robertnreed effectivenessofbaittubesforbrowntreesnakecontrolonguam AT craigsclark effectivenessofbaittubesforbrowntreesnakecontrolonguam |