Fruitful outcomes without fatal costs: non-lethal alternatives show promise in alleviating human-wildlife conflict involving an island flying fox.

Human-wildlife conflicts pose a growing threat to biodiversity, particularly when the targeted species plays an ecological keystone role. Mauritius has repeatedly mass-culled an endemic and threatened flying fox species (the Mauritian flying fox; Pteropus niger) failing the intended objectives of crop protection and elevating the species' extinction risks. In this context, the ecology of this species should be better understood to develop non-lethal management strategies. Here we investigated foraging patterns of vertebrate frugivores over 24 hour cycles in lychee orchards and backyard gardens. We assessed all agents of damage (mainly flying fox, alien bird, alien mammal) and the temporal variation of flying fox and bird foraging (take and amount eaten relative to fruit ripeness) on lychee trees. The most important frugivores foraging on lychees were flying foxes (78.3%) and birds (16.1%), namely ring-necked parakeets (Alexandrinus krameri), red-whiskered bulbuls (Pycnonotus jocosus), village weavers (Ploceus cucullatus) and common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) while damage by alien mammals was negligible (<1%). Flying foxes consumed more fruits in the early night (59%) compared to the late night and this was statistically significant in one orchard and backyards. However, the difference in damage was on average one to three fruits per tree per night. Bird damage at both orchards was highest during the first half of the day (64%). Flying foxes ate fewer fruits towards the end of the fruiting season while birds followed the opposite trend. As fruit ripeness increased from unripe to fully ripe, flying foxes ate 39-42% more lychee pulp per fruit at the two orchards. Parakeets ate 7% more fruit pulp with increasing ripeness at one orchard only. Deliberate disturbances involving smoke, noise or light to deter flying foxes were common in orchards. The weak difference in the extent of flying fox damage to fruits between early and late night suggested at best minor advantages of concentrating deliberate disturbances in early night, and that netting would be a better strategy as it would also protect against diurnal frugivores. Additionally, trees should be protected from the sixth week after fruit set as most damage occurred when fruits were unripe. Such an improved timing of crop protection should play an important role in reducing fruit losses and thereby alleviate the human-wildlife conflict around the flying fox's diet.

The endemic Mauritian flying foxPteropus nigeris perceived to be a major fruit pest. Lobbying of the Government of Mauritius by fruit growers to control the flying fox population resulted in national culls in 2015 and 2016, with a further cull scheduled for 2018. A loss of c. 38,318 individuals has been reported and the species is now categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. However, until now there were no robust data available on damage to orchards caused by bats. During October 2015–February 2016 we monitored four major lycheeLitchi chinensisand one mango (Mangiferaspp.) orchard, and also assessed 10 individual longanDimocarpus longantrees. Bats and introduced birds caused major damage to fruit, with 7–76% fruit loss (including natural fall and losses from fungal damage) per tree. Bats caused more damage to taller lychee trees (&gt; 6 m high) than to smaller ones, whereas bird damage was independent of tree height. Bats damaged more fruit than birds in tall lychee trees, although this trend was reversed in small trees. Use of nets on fruiting trees can result in as much as a 23-fold reduction in the damage caused by bats if nets are applied correctly. There is still a need to monitor orchards over several seasons and to test non-lethal bat deterrence methods more widely.

Mass-culling of a threatened island flying fox species failed to increase fruit growers’ profits and revealed gaps to be addressed for effective conservation

Bird damage to select fruit crops: The cost of damage and the benefits of control in five states

Flying foxes play keystone ecological roles in plant reproduction. Yet, they face numerous threats, including persecution for eating commercial fruits. This human-wildlife conflict has recently escalated to culling campaigns of a threatened flying fox on Mauritius. Finding non-lethal solutions to this human-wildlife conflict on the island is therefore extremely important. We hypothesized that invasive alien plants may reduce native fruit availability through competition and that weeding alien plants could improve the native foraging habitat quality of flying foxes – in turn, reducing their consumption of commercially important fruits. We compared native fruit production and foraging intensity of the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger) in forests weeded of alien plants a decade previously and adjacent non-weeded forests. Fruits and ejecta were collected weekly during five months under 144 randomly chosen native trees of two canopy species whose fruits are eaten by flying foxes. Intraspecific variations in tree and fruit traits were used to examine flying fox foraging preference. Native fruit production was significantly higher in weeded forests for both tree species, and this was matched by higher flying fox foraging intensity. Flying foxes preferred large trees and fed predominantly on large and ripe fruits. The predominant consumption of ripe fruits emphasizes the importance of flying foxes as seed dispersers. Our results indicate that alien plant invasion substantially reduces native fruit production and that weeded forests provide a much better habitat for flying foxes. Our findings lend support to invasive alien plant control as a management strategy in mitigating such human-wildlife conflicts.

Objetivou-se avaliar a influência da irrigação por aspersão e por gotejamento na produção orgânica de tomate de mesa, cultivar Duradouro, em cultivo solteiro e consorciado ao coentro. O experimento foi realizado no Distrito Federal, com delineamento em blocos ao acaso, seis repetições e tratamentos dispostos em arranjo fatorial 2 x 2. Não houve interação significativa entre os fatores sistema de irrigação e sistema de cultivo. A produtividade e a massa de frutos de tomate não foram afetadas pelos tratamentos, mas a produtividade de coentro foi maior na aspersão. A irrigação por gotejamento desfavoreceu o desenvolvimento da requeima (Phytophthora infestans) e reduziu o percentual de frutos podres, enquanto que o controle da incidência do oídio (Leveillula taurica) e a da infestação da traça-do-tomateiro (Tuta absoluta) foram maiores no sistema de aspersão. O volume de solo explorado pelas raízes do tomateiro foi maior na aspersão, enquanto o índice de produtividade da água no gotejamento foi 47% maior que na aspersão. Frutos mais firmes foram produzidos com irrigação por gotejamento. O sistema de cultivo teve efeito significativo sobre a ocorrência de insetos-praga, sendo que tomateiro consorciado com coentro apresentou menor percentual de frutos com danos por traça-do-tomateiro e por broca-grande (Spodoptera eridania).

Human–wildlife conflicts (HWC) arising from fruit bats eating commercial fruits is a worsening problem worldwide and is epitomized by the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger), a species threatened with extinction yet repeatedly mass-culled since 2015. Non-lethal solutions for dealing with this HWC are needed, which are rooted in the evidence available. In this study, we tracked the movements of 12 flying fox individuals over two years in order to document the animal’s movement ecology, with a view to deriving recommendations to alleviate the ensuing HWC. We found that flying foxes prefer to forage and roost in forested areas located at elevations < 250 m. However, during the fruiting season of commercial trees, the animals tended to roost closer to and forage more often on commercial fruits during the early hours of the night. These findings have several implications for the improvement of commercial fruit protection, which should in turn alleviate HWC, notably through informing management to take into consideration the spatio-temporal expression of flying fox foraging.

Author(s): Nemtzov, Simon C.; Galili, Eli | Abstract: The use of scarecrows to prevent bird damage to crops probably dates back thousands of years to the beginning of agriculture. Because many of the birds that can cause damage to field crops are protected species, farmers need effective non-lethal protection methods. Despite their perception as “low-tech” and thus ineffective, scarecrows are being used in Israel in a new way, as a cost-effective part of modern bird-damage prevention programs for field crops. Farmers in the Hula Valley in northern Israel placed seated life-size human effigies dressed in yellow hooded rain-suits, each holding a large black pipe (to simulate a shotgun) in fields of winter field crops, as part of a program to prevent damage by Eurasian cranes. Each effigy was also equipped with a life-like facial mask. Experience has shown that approximately one seated scarecrow is needed per 5 ha (about 12 acres) of field crop. To make these scarecrows more effective, and to prevent habituation, the farmers occasionally dressed in yellow rain-suits like the scarecrows, and seated themselves in the field, opening fire with pyrotechnics when birds approached. In addition, the farmers donned the yellow rain-suits whenever conducting any bird harassment activity, such as shooting pyrotechnics from vehicles while patrolling their fields. The birds apparently learned to associate the yellow-suited figures with danger and to keep away from them (and the crops). Farmers who used the new scarecrows in this way found them to be cost-effective because crop damage was almost nil, while damage prevention expenses were also kept low, since the scarecrows are cheap to build and maintain, and less pyrotechnic ammunition was needed for crop protection.

An experiment was carried out at the BAU Germplasm Centre (GPC), Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during February to May, 2021 to study the effect of bagging on fruit setting and fruit quality of different litchi germplasm. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications of four litchi germplasms viz. Mongolbari, China-3, Bombai, Mozzafforpuri. Here replication number is represented by number of plants observed per variety. The data were recorded on number of fruit set per inflorescence, fruit dropping, fruit color, weight per fruit, TSS (% brix). At marble stage, bunch bagging was done with brown and white polypropylene bag and while the bunches were without bagging in control plants. Bunch bagging has significantly influnced on yield and yield contributing traits of litchi germplasms. The highest fruit setting was obtaining from the combination of Bombai litchi with brown polyethylene bag followed by Mongolbari with white polyethylene bag, while non-bagged China-3 obtained the lowest fruit setting. Mongolbari variety had highest TSS (18.65% Brix) in brown polypropylene bag treatments. Highest average fruit weight (21.15g) was found in Bombai variety on brown polypropylene bag treatment and lowest average fruit weight (12.83g) from China-3 variety on control treatment. Fruit color i.e. deep purple, moderate purple, deep red, pale yellow and no/less fruit cracking, no bird damage was found on bunch bagging treatment in fruit ripening of litchi which may add more consumer value of litchi fruit. Based on the study it can be concluded that as a good agricultural practices (GAP) brown polypropylene bunch bagging treatment was the best to reduced fruit dropping as well as increased the average fruit weight, fruit color and %TSS value of litchi fruit. Timely establishment of bunch bagging in litchi orchard is beneficial to ensure better fruit set, reduce fruit dropping, prevent insect infestation, reduce bird damage and better sugar content of litchi. Bangladesh J. Nuclear Agric, 38(2): 81-88, 2024

Fruit producers have identified bird damage as a critical issue that has received limited attention from researchers. A USDA study estimated that birds cost producers in 7 states tens of millions of dollars through fruit loss and management efforts. Despite these costs, research has been uncoordinated and piecemeal, leaving producers with few, well-tested management options. We describe several objectives to strive for in order to achieve the goal of providing producers with region-specific, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable bird management strategies. These objectives include 1) quantifying economic consequences of bird damage for producers, consumers, and regional economies, and determining costs and benefits of various management techniques; 2) identifying amounts of damage attributable to specific bird species across crops and regions; 3) determining how bird damage varies within and across spatial scales (orchard, landscape, region); 4) evaluating consumer responses to management strategies and potential effects on marketing; 5) integrating economic, biological, and consumer information, i.e. using a systems approach, to determine the management strategies that should be tested; and 6) testing management strategies for efficacy with replicated, well-controlled experimental designs. By focusing on these objectives and coordinating activities among researchers and extension personnel from different regions of the country and from different disciplines, we will maximize efficiency in addressing this issue on a national scale while providing individual producers with region-specific information to guide their bird management efforts. Communication among researchers, extension personnel, and producers will be critical to minimize the costs of bird damage.

Human–wildlife conflict (HWC), due to competition for shared natural resources between people and wildlife, influences food security of people and the well-being of people and animals. HWC is a major concern in developing countries, affecting people of different socio-economic classes. We conducted a meta-analysis of the occurrence of published scientific reports on HWC globally and South Africa particularly, to identify vulnerable human communities and their farming practices in developing and developed countries, and vulnerable wildlife guilds. We accessed Institute for Scientific Information publications from 1994 to 2015. Local communities (people living contiguous with protected natural areas) and commercial farmers jointly experienced the highest HWC incidences compared to subsistence farmers, possibly due to reporting bias for commercial farmers. Rural people in Africa and Asia experienced conflict with a diversity of mammals, confirming our expectation that developing countries could potentially experience regular encounters with wildlife. South Africa had more HWC cases than developed countries (e.g., in Australia and North America), yet the dichotomy between first world and third world economies in South Africa provides a regional exemplar of global patterns in HWC. Globally, HWC involved mainly mammals and birds, with carnivores and primates as the most high-scale conflict species and thus were a severely persecuted group. Our foundational research provides the first global assessment of HWC and showed that people in developing countries are vulnerable to HWC, perhaps related to reduced protection of livestock and crops against a larger guild of problem mammals. We suggest that a wider range of literature, including governmental and non-governmental publications, be surveyed to contribute to further research in this area of study.

Building human–elephant relationships based on science and local ownership: a long‐lasting issue in the era of Sustainable Development Goals

Litchi (Litchi chinensis) is an important subtropical evergreen fruit crop of Punjab and is considerably damaged by the fruit bat (Pteropus giganteus). Since no study has been done in Punjab to assess fruit damage and control of fruit bats in litchi crop, present study was conducted in litchi orchards at two different locations (six sites) Gurdaspur [Regional Research Station (PAU), villages Ranjit Bagh and Tibar] and Pathankot (villages Sujanpur, Balusa and Malikpur) each having three replications, during 2018 and 2019. Our results reported that yield loss (%) to litchi fruits by P. giganteus was in the range from 6.85 to 8.93% and damage 5.59 kg/tree having average yield of 74.09 kg/tree. The average economic litchi fruit loss was calculated to be Rs. 32,232.0/acre. This damage to litchi fruit crop was minimized by using lighting, a non-lethal and non-polluting method (LED bulbs), with one-time installation cost. It is concluded that after installation of 16 LED bulbs/acre of 30 watts at a distance of 50 feet from each other in an upward position at the height of 8 feet above tree canopy in an orchard having 72 trees planted at a distance of 25×25 feet, we can reduce fruit bat damage to a lower level and can give a net economic return of Rs. 13448.0/acre to litchi fruit growers which will increase their farm income and help in conservation of fruit bats.

Litchi (Litchi chinensis S.), a major fruit crop in India, faces severe threats from the bark-eating caterpillar (Indarbela quadrinotata and Indarbela tetraonis), which can cause significant damage to trees and reduce fruit yield. Traditional control methods, such as manual removal or chemical injection using a syringe, are often labour-intensive and inefficient. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a manual hand-injector tool for effective caterpillar control in litchi orchards. The hand-injector, designed at ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal, features a flexible wire and extended nozzle that enables precise application of insecticides directly into caterpillar boreholes, minimizing operator exposure and improving safety. Field testing in litchi orchards at ICAR- National Research Centre on Litchi, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, demonstrated the tool’s effectiveness in significantly reducing caterpillar infestation across multiple litchi varieties within seven days of application. The tool proved to be highly efficient, safe, and time-saving, offering substantial drudgery reduction for farmers. This innovation represents an important advancement in mechanized pest management for litchi cultivation, providing a practical and sustainable solution to improve orchard productivity and protect crops.

Human-wildlife conflict is increasing as urbanization expands and wildlife species adjust to living near people. Translocation is often used to manage human-wildlife conflict because it is considered to be humane, yet fates of translocated animals are largely unknown. As an urban adapter, woodchucks (Marmota monax) are a common source of human-wildlife conflict due to their burrowing, foraging, and scent-marking behavior. We examined survival and movements of 27 nuisance woodchucks captured by a nuisance wildlife operator in the Chicago metropolitan area, radiomarked with internal transmitters, and translocated to exurban release sites mimicking typical practices. We also captured and radiomarked 16 resident woodchucks from the release landscape for comparison. Translocated woodchucks moved farther than residents immediately post release with no evidence of homing and most left the release site. Annual survival did not differ between translocated and resident woodchucks. However, survival was extremely low (0.18) compared to previous estimates for woodchucks, primarily due to high predation by coyotes (Canis latrans). Translocation should be used only when other nonlethal methods are ineffective (e.g., exclusion, removing food sources, selecting unpalatable plants for gardens). When necessary, the practice of translocation could be improved by reducing predation risk for translocated animals, either by selecting release sites with low predation risk, or by using soft-release methods, such as acclimation enclosures or artificial burrows.