Final showdown in war on pests
Scientists are studying the personality of pests as they draw up plans to wipe out rats, stoats and possums by 2050. A $7.5 million programme, led by Manaaki Whenua — Landcare Research scientists, aims to overcome what’s long been a headache for predator-busting efforts — how to eliminate that final 5 per cent.
Project leader Chris Jones said: “This programme will be the first application of personality in pest animal management.
“We already know that trappability of animals at the population level can vary depending on the time of year because of the relative availability of food or because of behavioural changes associated with breeding, but how does this vary at the individual level to make some individuals avoid entering traps or taking baits?”
Jones said the extent to which a pest responded to a cue, like a trap, was always balanced against the perceived risk, the value of the reward — and the traits of the individual animal.
Their work would develop cues cleverly designed to alter the animal’s perception of risk and reward.
His team would be aided by Māori knowledge — such as traditional trapping and luring methods that drew on sound lures — along with the latest artificial intelligence approaches. “Artificial intelligence — especially the use of image recognition to identify pest species — has massive potential to help in targeted pest control,” said senior researcher Bruce Warburton. This technology was smart enough to tell the difference between target and nontarget species — disarming a trap if needed — and even use special sensory lures once a pest had been detected.
And if scientists could succeed in total eradication, it might reduce the need for toxins like 1080. “We believe we can reduce the cost of eradication by at least 25 per cent, as fewer control devices would be used, due to increased device encounter rates, and shorter time durations needed, due to increased device interaction rates,” Warburton said. “Our collaboration with Māori and Moriori partners will ensure our research responds to their priorities — a first for predator tools research in New Zealand — and that any approaches that we develop are culturally relevant and appropriate for use on the whenua.”
Jones, said NZ was seen as a world leader in controlling and eradicating invasive mammalian predators — and much of that could be put down to the pest-killing devices our scientists had innovated.
The five-year programme is supported through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Endeavour Fund.