Validating census methods to measure changes in house mouse populations.

Background: Tracking and census baiting are two techniques that are commonly advocated for monitoring the size of mouse populations. However, currently these techniques are only able to provide an index of population size, rather than an assessment of absolute numbers. In this study the authors tested the reliability of both tracking (footprints left on tiles of fixed size) and census baiting as indices of population size, and sought to calibrate levels of activity and bait consumption under both semi-natural and field conditions (inside farm buildings).

Boosting silica levels in wheat leaves reduces grazing by rabbits.

Systemic application of sodium silicate can significantly enhance the levels of leaf silica in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Mercia), suggesting that this material could reduce the palatability of plants to vertebrate herbivores (e.