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

外来入侵物种每年给全球造成的损失至少为460亿美元，其中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IAS的社会经济影响对于解决全球对疾病和饥饿的易感性问题具有关键意义。然而，制定针对既定国际会计准则的有效战略需要显著改善我们目前的知识库和管理工具包。在马达加斯加，亚洲蟾蜍Duttaphrynus melanotictus在十多年前意外引入该岛东部后正在蔓延，造成多重社会经济和健康后果。作为一种有毒物种，它毒害了蛇等高级捕食者，消除了对啮齿动物种群（如黑鼠Rattus Rattus）的掠夺性限制，这些啮齿动物种群既是农业害虫，也是鼠疫和钩端螺旋体病等人畜共患疾病的宿主。作为一种捕食者，黑蚊可减少有益的作物害虫捕食者种群，并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，该项目提供了一个机会，可以提高我们改善粮食安全和人类健康的能力，在实现联合国可持续发展目标方面取得进展。目前，人们对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。这个跨学科项目将与马达加斯加动植物组织（一个当地非政府组织）、政府和当地利益相关者合作，在景观规模上解决这些知识差距。它将结合关于马达加斯加蟾蜍和啮齿动物分布和控制方法的现有数据，以及新的实地数据收集和基于个体的流行病学建模的潜力，以优化整个入侵梯度的方法。重点研究方面包括：a)开发蟾蜍之间密度驱动相互作用的目标模型；调查控制方法的有效性和策略选择，以减缓/阻止入侵前沿，改进检测和应对策略；根据实地数据测试模型预测；评估整个入侵梯度上蟾蜍的饮食，以确定社会经济影响的变化

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