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In Australia, the introduced house mouse, Mus domesticus, causes obvious and severe agricultural damage, particularly during mouse plagues where population densities may exceed 1,000 mice/ha. The aim of any pest control is to reduce the damage caused by the pest, not to reduce pest numbers per se. Management of mice is generally reactive, and much damage has already occurred by the time control methods are applied. Most of the time, mice are in low numbers and cause little damage to crops. There is limited understanding of how mice damage plants or how crops recover or compensate for damage inflicted by mice. However, it is known that wheat crops can compensate for damage early in the growth of the crop, but not in later growth stages. We need to know the relationship between the density of mouse populations and loss of yield at key phases of crop growth so that management targets can be established. I modelled mouse population density and the feeding requirements of mice in a crop simulation model, and estimated yield loss. A sigmoidal curve best described the data and showed that the density of mice at which 5% loss occurred was 42 mice/ha. Management therefore is required early and over large areas to reduce reinvasion and to keep mouse densities less than 42 mice/ha at sowing

Bardner, R. and Fletcher, K.E. 1974. Insect defoliations and their effects on the growth and yield of field crops: a review. Bulletin of Entomological Research 64: 141-160.
Berry, R.J. and Scriven, P.N. 2005. The house mouse: a model and motor for evolutionary understanding. Biological Journal of the Linnaen Society 84: 335-347.
Bird, P.L. 1995. Off-target mortalities due to strychnine baiting during the 1993 mouse plague in South Australia. Proceedings of the 10th Australian Vertebrate Pest Conference. Hobart, Tasmania. Kings Meadows. Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. Pp. 188-191.
Brown, P.R. 2005. The effect of simulated house mouse damage to wheat in Australia. Crop Protection 24: 101-109.
Brown, P.R., Chambers, L.K., and Singleton, G.R. 2002. Pre-sowing control of house mice ( Mus domesticus) using zinc phosphide: efficacy and potential non-target effects. Wildlife Research 29: 27-37.
Brown, P.R., Davies, M.J., Croft, J.D., and Singleton, G.R. 2004. Can farm management practices reduce the impact of house mouse populations on crops in an irrigated farming system? Wildlife Research 31: 597-604.
Brown, P.R., Huth, N.I., Banks, P.B., and Singleton, G.R. in press. Relationship between abundance of pest rodents and damage to agricultural crops. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.
Brown, P.R. and Lundie-Jenkins, G. 1999. Non-target mortalities during aerial strychnine baiting of house mice. Wildlife Research 26: 117-128.
Brown, P.R. and Singleton, G.R. 1999. Rate of increase as a function of rainfall for house mouse Mus domesticus populations in a cereal-growing region in southern Australia. Journal of Applied Ecology 36: 484-493.
Brown, P.R. and Singleton, G.R. 2002. Impacts of house mice on crops in Australia - costs and damage. Pp. 48-58 in Human Conflicts with Wildlife: Economic Considerations edited by L. Clark, J. Hone, J. A. Shivik, R. A. Watkins, K. C. VerCauteren, and J. K. Yoder. National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado. [Web address: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws/nwrc/symposia/economics/brownHR.pdf]
Brown, P.R., Singleton, G.R., Dunn, S.C., and Jones, D.A. 1998. The management of house mice in agricultural landscapes using farm management practices: An Australian perspective. Proceedings of the 18th Vertebrate Pest Conference. Pp. 156-159 edited by R.O. Baker and A.C. Crabb. University of California, Davis, California.
Brown, P.R., Singleton, G.R., Tann, C.R., and Mock, I. 2003. Increasing sowing depth to reduce mouse damage to winter crops. Crop Protection 22: 653-660.
Buckle, A.P., Yong, Y.C., and Rowe, F.P. 1979. Yield response of the rice variety Improved Mashuri to simulated rat damage. Malaysian Agriculture Journal 52: 135-144.
Cantrill, S. 1992. The population dynamics of the house mouse ( Mus domesticus) in a dual crop agricultural ecosystem. Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Life Science, Queensland University of Technology.
Caughley, J., Monamy, V., and Heiden, K. 1994. Impact of the 1993 Mouse Plague. GRDC Occasional Paper Series No.7. GRDC, Canberra.
Chapman, A. 1981. Habitat preference and reproduction of feral house mice, Mus musculus, during plague and non-plague situations in Western Australia. Australian Wildlife Research 8: 567-579.
Davey, C.C. and Fullager, P.J. 1986. Changes in the abundance and distribution of raptors during a house mouse plague. Corella 10, 52-54.
Dickman, C.R. 1999. Rodent-ecosystem relationships: a review. Pp. 113-133 in Ecologically-based Management of Rodent Pests edited by G. R. Singleton, L. A. Hinds, H. Leirs, and Z. Zhang. ACIAR Monograph No. 59. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. [Web address: http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/JFRN-5J473R]
Dickman, C.R., Mahon, P.S., Masters, P., and Gibson, D.F. 1999. Long-term dynamics of rodent populations in arid Australia: the influence of rainfall. Wildlife Research 26: 389-403.
Goryñska, W. 1981. Method of determining relations between the extent of damage in farm crops, big game numbers, and environmental conditions. Acta Theriologica 26: 469-481.
Hammond, R.B. 2000. Simulation of moderate levels of slug injury to soybean. Crop Protection 19: 113-120.
Hone, J. 1994 Analysis of Vertebrate Pest Control. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Keating, B.A., Carberry, P.S., Hammer, G.L., Probert, M.E., Robertson, M.J., Holzworth, D., Huth, N.I., Hargreaves, J.N.G., Meinke, H., Hochman, Z., McLean, G., Verburg, K., Snow, V., Dimes, J.P., Silburn, M., Wang, E., Brown, S., Bristow, K.L., Asseng, S., Champan, S., McCown, R.L., Freebairn, D.M., and Smith, C.J. 2003. An overview of APSIM, a model designed for farming systems simulation. European Journal of Agronomy 18: 267-288.
Kenney, A.J., Krebs, C.J., Davis, S.A., Pech, R.P., Mutze, G.J., and Singleton. G.R. 2003. Predicting house mouse outbreaks in the wheat-growing areas of south-eastern Australia. Pp. 325-328 in Rats, Mice and People: Rodent Biology and Management edited by G.R. Singleton, L.A. Hinds, C.J. Krebs, and D.M. Spratt. ACIAR Monograph 96. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. [Web address: http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/ACIA-5LN3SJ]
Korpimäki, E., Brown, P.R., Jacob, J., and Pech, R.P. 2004. The puzzles of population cycles and outbreaks of small mammals solved? BioScience 54: 1071-1079.
Krebs, C.J., Kenney, A.J., Singleton, G.R., Mutze, G.J., Pech, R.P., Brown, P.R., and Davis, S.A. 2004. Can outbreaks of house mice in southeastern Australia be predicted by weather models? Wildlife Research 31: 465-474.
McLeod, R. 2004 Counting the Cost: Impact of Invasive Animals in Australia 2004. 70 pp. Cooperative Research Centre for Pest Animal Control, Canberra. [Web address: http://www.invasiveanimals.com/images/pdfs/Mcleod.pdf]
Mutze, G.J. 1991. Mouse plagues in South Australian cereal-growing areas. III. Changes in mouse abundance during plague and non-plague years, and the role of refugia. Wildlife Research 18: 593-604.
Mutze, G.J. 1998. The 1993 strychnine baiting program for mouse control in South Australian grain crops. I. Efficacy. Wildlife Research 25: 533-546.
Mutze, G.J. and Sinclair, R. 2004. Efficacy of zinc phosphide, stychnine and chlorpyrifos as rodenticides for the control of house mice in South Australian cereal crops. Wildlife Research 31: 249-257.
Newsome, A.E. and Corbett, L.K. 1975. Outbreaks of rodents in semi-arid and arid Australia: causes, preventions, and evolutionary considerations. Pp. 117-153 in Rodents in Desert Environments edited by I. Prakash and P. K. Ghosh. Junk, The Hague.
Payseur, B.A. and Nachman, M.W. 2005. The genomics of speciation: investigating the molecular correlated of X chromosome introgression across the hybrid zone between Mus domesticus and Mus musculus. Biological Journal of the Linnaen Society 84: 523-534.
Pech, R.P., Hood, G., Singleton, G.R., Salmon, E., Forrester, R., and Brown, P.R. 1999. Models for predicting plagues of house mice ( Mus domesticus) in Australia. Pp. 81-112 in Ecologically-based Management of Rodent Pests edited by G.R. Singleton, L.A. Hinds, H. Leirs, and Z. Zhang. ACIAR Monograph No. 59. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. [Web address: http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/JFRN-5J473R]
Plomley, N.J.B. 1972. Some notes on plagues of small mammals in Australia. Journal of Natural History 6: 363-384.
Poché, R.M., Haque, M.E., Main, M.Y., Sultana, P., and Karim, M.A. 1981. Rice yield reduction by simulated rat damage in Bangladesh. Tropical Pest Management 27: 242-246.
Putman, R.J. and Moore, N.P. 1998. Impact of deer in lowland Britain on agriculture, forestry and conservation habitats. Mammal Review 28: 141-164.
Redhead, T.D. and Singleton, G.R. 1988. An examination of the “PICA” strategy for the prevention of losses caused by plagues of the house mouse ( Mus domesticus) in rural Australia. Pp. 18-37 in Vertebrate Pest Management in Australia: Decision Analysis/Systems Analysis Approach edited by G.A. Norton and R.P. Pech. CSIRO, Melbourne.
Redhead, T.D., Singleton, G.R., Myers, K., and Coman, B.J. 1991. Mammals introduced into southern Australia. Pp. 289-304 in Biogeography of Mediterranean Invasions edited by R.H. Groves and F. Di Castri. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Sadras, V.O., Fereres, A., and Ratcliffe, R.H. 1999. Wheat growth, yield, and quality as affected by insect herbivores. Pp. 183-227 in Wheat: Ecology and Physiology of Yield Determination edited by E.H. Satorre and G.A. Slafer. Food Products Press, New York.
Sage, R.D., Atchley, W.R., and Capanna, E. 1993. House mice as models in systematic biology. Systematic Biology 42: 523-561.
Saunders, G.R. and Robards, G.E. 1983. Economic considerations of mouse-plague control in irrigated sunflower crops. Crop Protection 2: 153-158.
Sinclair, A.R.E., Olsen, P.D., and Redhead, T.D. 1990. Can predators regulate small mammal populations? Evidence from house mouse outbreaks in Australia. Oikos 59: 382-392.
Singleton, G.R. 1989. Population dynamics of an outbreak of house mice ( Mus domesticus) in the mallee wheatlands of Australia - hypothesis of plague formation. Journal of Zoology, London 219: 495-515.
Singleton, G.R., Brown, P.R., Pech, R.P., Jacob, J., Mutze, G.J., and Krebs, C.J. 2005. One hundred years of eruptions of house mice in Australia - a natural biological curio. Biological Journal of the Linnaen Society 84: 617-627.
Singleton, G.R., Krebs, C.J., Davis, S.A., Chambers, L.K., and Brown, P.R. 2001. Reproductive changes in fluctuating house mouse populations in southeastern Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 268: 1741-1748.
Singleton, G.R. and Redhead, T.D. 1990. Structure and biology of house mouse populations that plague irregularly; an evolutionary perspective. Biological Journal of the Linnaen Society 41: 285-300.
Smith, P. 1984. Prey items of the sooty owl and the barn owl at Bega, New South Wales. Corella 8: 71-72.
Story, P. and Cox, M. 2001. Review of the effects of organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides on vertebrates. Are there implications for locust management in Australia? Wildlife Research 28: 179-193.
Tann, C.R., Singleton, G.R., and Coman, B.C. 1991. Diet of the house mouse ( Mus domesticus) in the mallee wheatlands of north-western Victoria. Wildlife Research 18: 1-12.
Tattersall, F.H., Nowell, F., and Smith, R.H. 1994. A review of the endoparasites of wild House Mice Mus domesticus. Mammal Review 24: 61-71.
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References

Bardner, R. and Fletcher, K.E. 1974. Insect defoliations and their effects on the growth and yield of field crops: a review. Bulletin of Entomological Research 64: 141-160.
Berry, R.J. and Scriven, P.N. 2005. The house mouse: a model and motor for evolutionary understanding. Biological Journal of the Linnaen Society 84: 335-347.
Bird, P.L. 1995. Off-target mortalities due to strychnine baiting during the 1993 mouse plague in South Australia. Proceedings of the 10th Australian Vertebrate Pest Conference. Hobart, Tasmania. Kings Meadows. Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. Pp. 188-191.
Brown, P.R. 2005. The effect of simulated house mouse damage to wheat in Australia. Crop Protection 24: 101-109.
Brown, P.R., Chambers, L.K., and Singleton, G.R. 2002. Pre-sowing control of house mice ( Mus domesticus) using zinc phosphide: efficacy and potential non-target effects. Wildlife Research 29: 27-37.
Brown, P.R., Davies, M.J., Croft, J.D., and Singleton, G.R. 2004. Can farm management practices reduce the impact of house mouse populations on crops in an irrigated farming system? Wildlife Research 31: 597-604.
Brown, P.R., Huth, N.I., Banks, P.B., and Singleton, G.R. in press. Relationship between abundance of pest rodents and damage to agricultural crops. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.
Brown, P.R. and Lundie-Jenkins, G. 1999. Non-target mortalities during aerial strychnine baiting of house mice. Wildlife Research 26: 117-128.
Brown, P.R. and Singleton, G.R. 1999. Rate of increase as a function of rainfall for house mouse Mus domesticus populations in a cereal-growing region in southern Australia. Journal of Applied Ecology 36: 484-493.
Brown, P.R. and Singleton, G.R. 2002. Impacts of house mice on crops in Australia - costs and damage. Pp. 48-58 in Human Conflicts with Wildlife: Economic Considerations edited by L. Clark, J. Hone, J. A. Shivik, R. A. Watkins, K. C. VerCauteren, and J. K. Yoder. National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado. [Web address: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws/nwrc/symposia/economics/brownHR.pdf]
Brown, P.R., Singleton, G.R., Dunn, S.C., and Jones, D.A. 1998. The management of house mice in agricultural landscapes using farm management practices: An Australian perspective. Proceedings of the 18th Vertebrate Pest Conference. Pp. 156-159 edited by R.O. Baker and A.C. Crabb. University of California, Davis, California.
Brown, P.R., Singleton, G.R., Tann, C.R., and Mock, I. 2003. Increasing sowing depth to reduce mouse damage to winter crops. Crop Protection 22: 653-660.
Buckle, A.P., Yong, Y.C., and Rowe, F.P. 1979. Yield response of the rice variety Improved Mashuri to simulated rat damage. Malaysian Agriculture Journal 52: 135-144.
Cantrill, S. 1992. The population dynamics of the house mouse ( Mus domesticus) in a dual crop agricultural ecosystem. Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Life Science, Queensland University of Technology.
Caughley, J., Monamy, V., and Heiden, K. 1994. Impact of the 1993 Mouse Plague. GRDC Occasional Paper Series No.7. GRDC, Canberra.
Chapman, A. 1981. Habitat preference and reproduction of feral house mice, Mus musculus, during plague and non-plague situations in Western Australia. Australian Wildlife Research 8: 567-579.
Davey, C.C. and Fullager, P.J. 1986. Changes in the abundance and distribution of raptors during a house mouse plague. Corella 10, 52-54.
Dickman, C.R. 1999. Rodent-ecosystem relationships: a review. Pp. 113-133 in Ecologically-based Management of Rodent Pests edited by G. R. Singleton, L. A. Hinds, H. Leirs, and Z. Zhang. ACIAR Monograph No. 59. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. [Web address: http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/JFRN-5J473R]
Dickman, C.R., Mahon, P.S., Masters, P., and Gibson, D.F. 1999. Long-term dynamics of rodent populations in arid Australia: the influence of rainfall. Wildlife Research 26: 389-403.
Goryñska, W. 1981. Method of determining relations between the extent of damage in farm crops, big game numbers, and environmental conditions. Acta Theriologica 26: 469-481.
Hammond, R.B. 2000. Simulation of moderate levels of slug injury to soybean. Crop Protection 19: 113-120.
Hone, J. 1994 Analysis of Vertebrate Pest Control. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Keating, B.A., Carberry, P.S., Hammer, G.L., Probert, M.E., Robertson, M.J., Holzworth, D., Huth, N.I., Hargreaves, J.N.G., Meinke, H., Hochman, Z., McLean, G., Verburg, K., Snow, V., Dimes, J.P., Silburn, M., Wang, E., Brown, S., Bristow, K.L., Asseng, S., Champan, S., McCown, R.L., Freebairn, D.M., and Smith, C.J. 2003. An overview of APSIM, a model designed for farming systems simulation. European Journal of Agronomy 18: 267-288.
Kenney, A.J., Krebs, C.J., Davis, S.A., Pech, R.P., Mutze, G.J., and Singleton. G.R. 2003. Predicting house mouse outbreaks in the wheat-growing areas of south-eastern Australia. Pp. 325-328 in Rats, Mice and People: Rodent Biology and Management edited by G.R. Singleton, L.A. Hinds, C.J. Krebs, and D.M. Spratt. ACIAR Monograph 96. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. [Web address: http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/ACIA-5LN3SJ]
Korpimäki, E., Brown, P.R., Jacob, J., and Pech, R.P. 2004. The puzzles of population cycles and outbreaks of small mammals solved? BioScience 54: 1071-1079.
Krebs, C.J., Kenney, A.J., Singleton, G.R., Mutze, G.J., Pech, R.P., Brown, P.R., and Davis, S.A. 2004. Can outbreaks of house mice in southeastern Australia be predicted by weather models? Wildlife Research 31: 465-474.
McLeod, R. 2004 Counting the Cost: Impact of Invasive Animals in Australia 2004. 70 pp. Cooperative Research Centre for Pest Animal Control, Canberra. [Web address: http://www.invasiveanimals.com/images/pdfs/Mcleod.pdf]
Mutze, G.J. 1991. Mouse plagues in South Australian cereal-growing areas. III. Changes in mouse abundance during plague and non-plague years, and the role of refugia. Wildlife Research 18: 593-604.
Mutze, G.J. 1998. The 1993 strychnine baiting program for mouse control in South Australian grain crops. I. Efficacy. Wildlife Research 25: 533-546.
Mutze, G.J. and Sinclair, R. 2004. Efficacy of zinc phosphide, stychnine and chlorpyrifos as rodenticides for the control of house mice in South Australian cereal crops. Wildlife Research 31: 249-257.
Newsome, A.E. and Corbett, L.K. 1975. Outbreaks of rodents in semi-arid and arid Australia: causes, preventions, and evolutionary considerations. Pp. 117-153 in Rodents in Desert Environments edited by I. Prakash and P. K. Ghosh. Junk, The Hague.
Payseur, B.A. and Nachman, M.W. 2005. The genomics of speciation: investigating the molecular correlated of X chromosome introgression across the hybrid zone between Mus domesticus and Mus musculus. Biological Journal of the Linnaen Society 84: 523-534.
Pech, R.P., Hood, G., Singleton, G.R., Salmon, E., Forrester, R., and Brown, P.R. 1999. Models for predicting plagues of house mice ( Mus domesticus) in Australia. Pp. 81-112 in Ecologically-based Management of Rodent Pests edited by G.R. Singleton, L.A. Hinds, H. Leirs, and Z. Zhang. ACIAR Monograph No. 59. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. [Web address: http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/JFRN-5J473R]
Plomley, N.J.B. 1972. Some notes on plagues of small mammals in Australia. Journal of Natural History 6: 363-384.
Poché, R.M., Haque, M.E., Main, M.Y., Sultana, P., and Karim, M.A. 1981. Rice yield reduction by simulated rat damage in Bangladesh. Tropical Pest Management 27: 242-246.
Putman, R.J. and Moore, N.P. 1998. Impact of deer in lowland Britain on agriculture, forestry and conservation habitats. Mammal Review 28: 141-164.
Redhead, T.D. and Singleton, G.R. 1988. An examination of the “PICA” strategy for the prevention of losses caused by plagues of the house mouse ( Mus domesticus) in rural Australia. Pp. 18-37 in Vertebrate Pest Management in Australia: Decision Analysis/Systems Analysis Approach edited by G.A. Norton and R.P. Pech. CSIRO, Melbourne.
Redhead, T.D., Singleton, G.R., Myers, K., and Coman, B.J. 1991. Mammals introduced into southern Australia. Pp. 289-304 in Biogeography of Mediterranean Invasions edited by R.H. Groves and F. Di Castri. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Sadras, V.O., Fereres, A., and Ratcliffe, R.H. 1999. Wheat growth, yield, and quality as affected by insect herbivores. Pp. 183-227 in Wheat: Ecology and Physiology of Yield Determination edited by E.H. Satorre and G.A. Slafer. Food Products Press, New York.
Sage, R.D., Atchley, W.R., and Capanna, E. 1993. House mice as models in systematic biology. Systematic Biology 42: 523-561.
Saunders, G.R. and Robards, G.E. 1983. Economic considerations of mouse-plague control in irrigated sunflower crops. Crop Protection 2: 153-158.
Sinclair, A.R.E., Olsen, P.D., and Redhead, T.D. 1990. Can predators regulate small mammal populations? Evidence from house mouse outbreaks in Australia. Oikos 59: 382-392.
Singleton, G.R. 1989. Population dynamics of an outbreak of house mice ( Mus domesticus) in the mallee wheatlands of Australia - hypothesis of plague formation. Journal of Zoology, London 219: 495-515.
Singleton, G.R., Brown, P.R., Pech, R.P., Jacob, J., Mutze, G.J., and Krebs, C.J. 2005. One hundred years of eruptions of house mice in Australia - a natural biological curio. Biological Journal of the Linnaen Society 84: 617-627.
Singleton, G.R., Krebs, C.J., Davis, S.A., Chambers, L.K., and Brown, P.R. 2001. Reproductive changes in fluctuating house mouse populations in southeastern Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 268: 1741-1748.
Singleton, G.R. and Redhead, T.D. 1990. Structure and biology of house mouse populations that plague irregularly; an evolutionary perspective. Biological Journal of the Linnaen Society 41: 285-300.
Smith, P. 1984. Prey items of the sooty owl and the barn owl at Bega, New South Wales. Corella 8: 71-72.
Story, P. and Cox, M. 2001. Review of the effects of organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides on vertebrates. Are there implications for locust management in Australia? Wildlife Research 28: 179-193.
Tann, C.R., Singleton, G.R., and Coman, B.C. 1991. Diet of the house mouse ( Mus domesticus) in the mallee wheatlands of north-western Victoria. Wildlife Research 18: 1-12.
Tattersall, F.H., Nowell, F., and Smith, R.H. 1994. A review of the endoparasites of wild House Mice Mus domesticus. Mammal Review 24: 61-71.
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