Optimising invasive species control to reduce zoonotic disease risk and agricultural losses in Madagascar

优化入侵物种控制以减少马达加斯加人畜共患疾病风险和农业损失

• 批准号: 2885033
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Aberdeen
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2885033
• 关键词: Optimising; invasive; species; control; reduce

Invasive alien species (IAS) cost a global minimum of US$46 billion annually, including huge agricultural losses and damage to human health and wellbeing. Tackling the socioeconomic impacts of IAS thus has key significance for addressing global susceptibility to disease and hunger. However, developing effective strategies against established IAS requires significantly improving our current knowledge-base and management toolkit. In Madagascar, the Asian toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus is spreading following an accidental introduction in the east of the island over a decade ago, with multiple socioeconomic and health consequences. As a toxic species, it poisons higher predators like snakes, eliminating predatory constraints on rodent populations (e.g. the black rat Rattus rattus), that are both agricultural pests and reservoirs for zoonotic diseases including plague and leptospirosis. As a predator, D. melanostictus can reduce beneficial crop-pest predator populations and eliminate farmers' additional income generation (e.g. honey production), reducing food availability, household resources and economic empowerment. This invasive species therefore represents an increasingly significant threat, and this project provides an opportunity to advance our ability to improve food security and human health, making progress towards UN sustainable development goals.Currently direct and indirect interactions between toad and rodent populations and their consequences for socioeconomic and health outcomes are poorly understood. This interdisciplinary project will work in collaboration with the Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group (a local NGO), government and local stakeholders to address these knowledge gaps at a landscape scale. It will combine existing data on toad and rodent distributions and control methodologies in Madagascar, with the potential for new field data collection and individual-based and epidemiological modelling to optimise approaches across the invasion gradient. Key research aspects include:a) Developing a targeted model of density-driven interactions between toads, rats and apex predator populations to understand the agricultural and epidemiological consequences across the invaded rangeb) Investigating the efficacy of control methodologies and strategic options to slow/halt the invasion front and improve detection and response strategies c) Testing model predictions against field datad) Assessing the diet of toads across the invasion gradient to determine variation in socioeconomic impacts

外来入侵物种每年在全球造成至少460亿美元的损失，包括巨大的农业损失和对人类健康和福祉的损害。因此，处理国际会计准则的社会经济影响对于解决全球易受疾病和饥饿影响的问题具有关键意义。然而，要针对既定的国际会计准则制定有效的战略，就需要大大改进我们目前的知识基础和管理工具。在马达加斯加，亚洲蟾蜍Duttaphrynus melanostictus在十多年前意外引入该岛东部后正在蔓延，造成多种社会经济和健康后果。作为一种有毒物种，它会毒害蛇等高等掠食者，消除对啮齿动物种群（如黑鼠）的捕食限制，这些啮齿动物既是农业害虫，也是包括鼠疫和钩端螺旋体病在内的人畜共患疾病的宿主。作为捕食者，D.黑眶蜱可减少有益的作物害虫捕食者种群，消除农民的额外收入（如蜂蜜生产），减少粮食供应、家庭资源和经济赋权。因此，这种入侵物种构成了日益严重的威胁，而该项目为我们提供了一个机会，以提高我们改善粮食安全和人类健康的能力，从而在实现联合国可持续发展目标方面取得进展。目前，蟾蜍和啮齿动物种群之间的直接和间接相互作用及其对社会经济和健康结果的影响知之甚少。这一跨学科项目将与马达加斯加动植物群植物群小组（一个当地非政府组织）、政府和当地利益攸关方合作，以解决景观尺度上的这些知识差距。它将结合联合收割机现有的数据蟾蜍和啮齿动物的分布和控制方法在马达加斯加，新的现场数据收集和个人为基础的流行病学建模，以优化方法的入侵梯度。主要研究方面包括：a）建立蟾蜍、大鼠和顶端捕食者种群之间密度驱动的相互作用的目标模型，以了解整个入侵范围的农业和流行病学后果b）调查控制方法和战略选择的效力，以减缓/阻止入侵前沿，改善检测和应对战略c）根据实地数据测试模型预测d）评估整个入侵梯度的蟾蜍饮食，以确定社会经济影响的变化