On large inhabited islands where complete eradication of alien invasive rodents through the use of poison delivery is often not practical or acceptable, mechanical trapping may represent the only viable option to reduce their impact in areas of high biodiversity value. However, the feasibility of sustained rodent control by trapping remains uncertain under realistic operational constraints. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of non-toxic rat control strategies through a combination of lethal and live-trapping experiments, and scenario modelling, using the example of a remote montane rainforest of New Caledonia. Rat densities, estimated with spatially-explicit capture-recapture models, fluctuated seasonally (9.5–33.6 ind.ha-1). Capture probability (.01–.25) and home range sizes (HR95, .23–.75 ha) varied greatly according to trapping session, age class, sex and species. Controlling rats through the use of lethal trapping allowed maintaining rat densities at ca. 8 ind.ha-1 over a seven-month period in a 5.5-ha montane forest. Simulation models based on field parameter estimates over a 200-ha pilot management area indicated that without any financial and social constraints, trapping grids with the finest mesh sizes achieved cumulative capture probabilities > .90 after 15 trapping days, but were difficult to implement and sustain with the local workforce. We evaluated the costs and effectiveness of alternative trapping strategies taking into account the prevailing set of local constraints, and identified those that were likely to be successful. Scenario modelling, informed by trapping experiments, is a flexible tool for informing the design of sustainable control programs of island-invasive rodent populations, under idiosyncratic local circumstances.

中文翻译：

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结合活体和致命诱捕技术，为热带山地森林中外来入侵性啮齿动物的种群管理提供信息

在大型有人居住的岛屿上，通过使用毒药来彻底根除外来侵入性啮齿动物通常是不可行或不可接受的，机械诱捕可能是减少其对生物多样性价值高的地区的影响的唯一可行选择。然而，在实际操作限制下，通过诱捕来持续控制啮齿动物的可行性仍然不确定。这项研究的目的是通过结合致命和活捉实验以及情景模拟来评估无毒大鼠控制策略的有效性，并以新喀里多尼亚的偏远山区雨林为例。用空间明确的捕获-捕获模型估计的大鼠密度随季节波动（9.5-13.6 ind.ha-1）。捕获概率（.01–.25）和起始范围大小（HR95，.23–。75公顷）根据诱捕时间，年龄段，性别和物种的不同而有很大差异。通过使用致死性诱捕控制大鼠，可将大鼠的密度维持在约200℃。在5.5公顷的山地森林中，七个月内达到8 ind.ha-1。基于200公顷试验管理区域内现场参数估计值的模拟模型表明，在没有任何财务和社会约束的情况下，具有最佳网格尺寸的陷井网格在陷井15天后获得的累积捕获概率> .90，但难以实施和维持与当地的劳动力。我们考虑了当前的局部约束条件，评估了替代诱捕策略的成本和有效性，并确定了可能成功的约束条件。场景建模，通过诱捕实验，