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Diagne C, Ballesteros-Mejia L, Cuthbert RN, Bodey TW, Fantle-Lepczyk J, Angulo E, Bang A, Dobigny G, Courchamp F. Economic costs of invasive rodents worldwide: the tip of the iceberg. PeerJ 2023; 11:e14935. [PMID: 36992943 PMCID: PMC10042159 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Rodents are among the most notorious invasive alien species worldwide. These invaders have substantially impacted native ecosystems, food production and storage, local infrastructures, human health and well-being. However, the lack of standardized and understandable estimation of their impacts is a serious barrier to raising societal awareness, and hampers effective management interventions at relevant scales. Methods Here, we assessed the economic costs of invasive alien rodents globally in order to help overcome these obstacles. For this purpose, we combined and analysed economic cost data from the InvaCost database-the most up-to-date and comprehensive synthesis of reported invasion costs-and specific complementary searches within and beyond the published literature. Results Our conservative analysis showed that reported costs of rodent invasions reached a conservative total of US$ 3.6 billion between 1930 and 2022 (annually US$ 87.5 million between 1980 and 2022), and were significantly increasing through time. The highest cost reported was for muskrat Ondatra zibethicus (US$ 377.5 million), then unspecified Rattus spp. (US$ 327.8 million), followed by Rattus norvegicus specifically (US$ 156.6 million) and Castor canadensis (US$ 150.4 million). Of the total costs, 87% were damage-related, principally impacting agriculture and predominantly reported in Asia (60%), Europe (19%) and North America (9%). Our study evidenced obvious cost underreporting with only 99 documents gathered globally, clear taxonomic gaps, reliability issues for cost assessment, and skewed breakdowns of costs among regions, sectors and contexts. As a consequence, these reported costs represent only a very small fraction of the expected true cost of rodent invasions (e.g., using a less conservative analytic approach would have led to a global amount more than 80-times higher than estimated here). Conclusions These findings strongly suggest that available information represents a substantial underestimation of the global costs incurred. We offer recommendations for improving estimates of costs to fill these knowledge gaps including: systematic distinction between native and invasive rodents' impacts; monetizing indirect impacts on human health; and greater integrative and concerted research effort between scientists and stakeholders. Finally, we discuss why and how this approach will stimulate and provide support for proactive and sustainable management strategies in the context of alien rodent invasions, for which biosecurity measures should be amplified globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christophe Diagne
- CBGP, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, IRD, Montferrier-sur-Lez, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Orsay, France
| | | | - Ross N. Cuthbert
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas W. Bodey
- School of Biological Sciences, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | | | - Elena Angulo
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Orsay, France
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
| | - Alok Bang
- Society for Ecology Evolution and Development, Wardha, India
| | - Gauthier Dobigny
- CBGP, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, IRD, Montferrier-sur-Lez, France
- Unité Peste, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, BP 1274 Ambatofotsikely Avaradoha, 101 Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Franck Courchamp
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Orsay, France
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Shuttleworth CM, Everest D, Holmes P, Bell S, Cripps R. An Opportunistic Assessment of the Impact of Squirrelpox Disease Outbreaks upon a Red Squirrel Population Sympatric with Grey Squirrels in Wales. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12010099. [PMID: 35011205 PMCID: PMC8749610 DOI: 10.3390/ani12010099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary In Europe, squirrelpox virus is carried by non-native grey squirrels and spread into native red squirrel populations. The virus causes a large proportion of infected red squirrels to die and contributes to local declines and the replacement by grey squirrels. There are relatively few published studies quantifying the impact of disease amongst red squirrels. We present findings from a short-term study in north Wales, United Kingdom. Abstract Native red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) persisted in the coastal mainland woodlands of northern Gwynedd whilst sympatric with an invasive grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) population suppressed by culling. Squirrelpox disease in the red squirrel population was recorded in 2017 and 2020/21. An autumn 2020 outbreak was associated with only 17.4% of animals caught and marked in the preceding June known to be present in March 2021. Despite an opportunistic data collection lacking the rigour of empirical experimental design, we observed low local survival rates similar to previously published accounts reported during major squirrelpox outbreaks. The use of a conservation dog to detect red squirrel carcasses resulted in positive detection and confirmation of a temporal and spatial expansion of one disease outbreak. The study is the first in Wales to use conservation dogs and the findings reinforce the vital strategic importance of geographical isolation reducing sympatry of red with grey squirrels in European regions where the introduced congener is a source of the squirrelpox infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Paul Holmes
- APHA Shrewsbury, Veterinary Investigation Centre, Shrewsbury SY1 4HD, UK; (P.H.); (S.B.)
| | - Suzi Bell
- APHA Shrewsbury, Veterinary Investigation Centre, Shrewsbury SY1 4HD, UK; (P.H.); (S.B.)
| | - Rachel Cripps
- Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Bamber Bridge PR5 6BY, UK;
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Shuttleworth CM, Brady D, Cross P, Gardner L, Greenwood A, Jackson N, McKinney C, Robinson N, Trotter S, Valle S, Wood K, Hayward MW. Recalibrating risk: Implications of squirrelpox virus for successful red squirrel translocations within mainland
UK. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Paul Cross
- School of Natural Sciences, College Road, Bangor University Gwynedd Wales UK
| | | | - Andrew Greenwood
- Wildlife Vets International, Station House Keighley West Yorkshire UK
| | - Nick Jackson
- National Zoological Society of Wales Colwyn Bay, Conwy UK
| | | | - Nikki Robinson
- The Wildlife Trusts, The Kiln, Waterside Newark, Nottinghamshire UK
| | | | - Simon Valle
- School of Natural Sciences, College Road, Bangor University Gwynedd Wales UK
| | - Kim Wood
- National Zoological Society of Wales Colwyn Bay, Conwy UK
| | - Matt W. Hayward
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle Callaghan New South Wales Australia
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University Port Elizabeth South Africa
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