Wildlife Management Lab. - projects

Projects
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The following is our current and past research projects. Sorry, our institute does not publish English reports.
Contents
Ongoing projects Past projects

Ongoing projects

Subject	Period	Responsible person
The effects of food resouces in farmland on the number of crows.	2002-2005	Yoshida
The application of fenitrothion as a bird repellent.	2002-2005	Momose
Forecasting the number of migratory brown-eared bulbuls.	2001-2005	Yamaguchi

The effects of food resouces in farmland on number of Crows
Because jungle crows and carrion crows damage various crops in various seasons, the effectiveness of individual protection method is limited. Thus, large scale population management is needed. These crows are known to feed frequently on spilt grain after harvest. For future management, we are trying to know when and how much they depend on food from agricultural activity, especially harvest residues.
	carrion crow

The application of fenitrothion as a bird repellent.
Our laboratory experiments confirmed that birds show strong avoidance to fenitrothion, which is an insecticide widely used in Japan. We are testing various application methods of fenitrothion to rice and soybean seeds.
	An experiment in a large pen

Forecasting the number of migratory brown-eared bulbuls.
Brown-eared bulbuls damage fruits, especially oranges, and vegetables in late winter. They migrate in fall from northern part of Japan to central and western Japan, where they damage crops after depleting wild and planted non-crop berries. The number of wintering bulbuls varies largely with year; more damage is reported where and when more bulbuls winter. Our aim is to develop a way of forecasting the number of migratory bulbuls by monitoring berries in fall. By knowing the risk of crop damage before the critical time, late winter, we may be able to help farmers take proper actions.
	Migratory brown-eared bilbuls just flying out from trees with berries

Past projects

Subject		Period
Content

Temporal and spatial dynamics of aggregation sites of birds.		1999-2001
Many bird species aggregate seasonally or year-round. Our target birds were egrets and herons, which form mix-species colonies (heronries) and eat mostly aquatic animals in rice fields and rivers in Japan. We analyzed the locations, size, and species composition of heronries on a GIS (ArcView) in order to establish techniques that allow local governments to monitor heronries as an efficient environmental indicator of agro-ecosystems.

The evaluation of insecticides as bird repellents.		1999-2001
Although chemical bird repellents are often the sole cost-effective way and are widely used in the world, only six products are registered in Japan, partly because the market is small. We tested the effect of registered insecticides and other agrochemicals on birds, avoiding much investment in looking for a completely new chemicals. Fenitrothion was most effective against tree sparrows, oriental turtle doves, and glay starlings under captivity.