炔雌醚对内蒙古农牧交错带长爪沙鼠(Meriones unguiculatus)家群大小和巢域行为的影响

为检验施用炔雌醚对农牧交错带长爪沙鼠家群大小与巢域行为的影响,于2006年5月至9月对内蒙古锡林郭勒盟锡林浩特市农牧交错区域分布的长爪沙鼠家群使用炔雌醚进行种群不育控制实验。分设投药区和对照区两个组别,分别于5月、7月与9月份采用1/4样圆面积有效洞口计数法,随机选取24个长爪沙鼠家群,调查对照区域和投药区内沙鼠的家群洞口数量以及家群大小。另在对照区和投药区,随机测定了30个沙鼠的家群活动范围,对比使用炔雌醚前后长爪沙鼠巢域平均半径和活动面积的影响。结果为:对照区家群平均洞口数58个,投药区仅23个,在炔雌醚投药区长爪沙鼠家群受炔雌醚影响,洞口数仅为23个,表明其对长爪沙鼠家群大小控制效果显著。投药区内长爪沙鼠家群密度在投药后连续下降,最大下降幅度较对照区家群密度低70%,表明炔雌醚对长爪沙鼠的家群密度影响较大,可显著降低长爪沙鼠家群密度(P<0.05)。炔雌醚对长爪沙鼠家群平均半径和活动面积的研究结果显示,施用炔雌醚后家群巢域半径与活动面积均显著缩小(P<0.05),与对照区巢域平均面积相比缩小15%、平均活动半径缩小30%。通过以上结果可得出:单独施用炔雌醚对控制野外长爪沙鼠家群以及降低长爪沙鼠巢域、活动面积效果显著。炔雌醚可有效降低农牧交错带长爪沙鼠种群数量和有效活动范围,这对于农牧交错带的鼠害防控,同时降低鼠源性疾病,包括鼠疫的传播都有一定的意义。

Effect of the Quinestrol on herd size and home-range behavior of Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Quinestrol is a synthetic steroidal estrogen-type rodent infertility agent. Studies have shown that Quinestrol had an efficient sterile control effect on the reproduction of some pest rodent populations. The aim of this study is to test effects of Quinestrol application on the nesting behavior of Meriones unguiculatus population in the agro-pastoral transition zone in the Inner Mongolia. The rodent population controlling experiment was conducted on May, 2006, at the gerbil populations distributed in the agro-pastoral transition zone of Xilinhot City, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. We settled two testing groups: the drug-administrated area and the controlled group of gerbils. In May, July, and September, 24 gerbil herds were randomly chosen and used the rodent hole counting method to investigate the herd size of the Mongolian gerbils both in the controlled area and the drug-administrated area. The variety of the density of gerbil holes and the effect of sterilization agent on the population size of the gerbils were calculated pre and post antifertility drug was applied. At the same time, the active ranges of 30 gerbil herds were randomly selected and measured both in the controlled group and the drug-administrated group, and the effect of quinestrol on the agro-pastoral zone was compared between pre and post stage of quinestrol usage. The results of quinestrol application were significantly reduced the size of all 54 gerbil herds. More narrowly, the population of the controlled area had an average of 58 burrows were observed, and there were only 23 burrows were found in the dosage area. The Mongolian gerbil population was controlled in the quinestrol dosage area that Mongolian gerbil population density in the drug-administered area continued to decline after drug administered, and the largest decline was 70%, which was lower than the population density in the controlled area. Investigation results of nest radius and active area of gerbils showed that: there were significant reduction happened after the administration of quinestrol, and the radius and activity reduction of dosage area was 15% and 30% lower than the average radius and the nest active area in controlled zone. Therefore, the application of Quinestrol had significant effects on controlling the wild gerbil population and reducing the home-range radius and activity area of the gerbils. The effects of single usage of quinestrol were meaningful for the prevention and controlling of rodent pests in agro-pastoral ecotone, as well as for the reduction of rodent-borne diseases, including the spread of plague.