title: A systematic review of rodent pest research in Afro-Malagasy small-holder farming systems: Are we asking the right questions?
abstract: Rodent pests are especially problematic in terms of agriculture and public health since they can inflict considerable economic damage associated with their abundance, diversity, generalist feeding habits and high reproductive rates. To quantify rodent pest impacts and identify trends in rodent pest research impacting on small-holder agriculture in the Afro-Malagasy region we did a systematic review of research outputs from 1910 to 2015, by developing an a priori defined set of criteria to allow for replication of the review process. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We reviewed 162 publications, and while rodent pest research was spatially distributed across Africa (32 countries, including Madagascar), there was a disparity in number of studies per country with research biased towards four countries (Tanzania [25%], Nigeria [9%], Ethiopia [9%], Kenya [8%]) accounting for 51% of all rodent pest research in the Afro-Malagasy region. There was a disparity in the research themes addressed by Tanzanian publications compared to publications from the rest of the Afro-Malagasy region where research in Tanzania had a much more applied focus (50%) compared to a more basic research approach (92%) in the rest of the Afro-Malagasy region. We found that pest rodents have a significant negative effect on the Afro-Malagasy small-holder farming communities. Crop losses varied between cropping stages, storage and crops and the highest losses occurred during early cropping stages (46% median loss during seedling stage) and the mature stage (15% median loss). There was a scarcity of studies investigating the effectiveness of various management actions on rodent pest damage and population abundance. Our analysis highlights that there are inadequate empirical studies focused on developing sustainable control methods for rodent pests and rodent pests in the Africa-Malagasy context is generally ignored as a research topic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa.
authors.forename: Lourens H
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9955-8076
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Swanepoel
authors.affiliation: ARC-Institute for Soil, Climate and Water, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Corrie M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Swanepoel
authors.affiliation: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
authors.forename: Seth J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Eiseb
authors.affiliation: Association Vahatra, BP, Antananarivo, Madagascar.|Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, United Statets of America.
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Wildlife Management, Department of Animal and Wildlife Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20 Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keith
authors.affiliation: ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Frikkie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kirsten
authors.affiliation: University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Herwig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leirs
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Swaziland, Private Bag 4, Kwaluseni, Swaziland.
authors.forename: Themb'alilahlwa A M
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Mahlaba
authors.affiliation: Pest Management Centre, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Rhodes H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Makundi
authors.affiliation: ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Phanuel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Malebane
authors.affiliation: ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Emil F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: von Maltitz
authors.affiliation: Pest Management Centre, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Apia W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Massawe
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Swaziland, Private Bag 4, Kwaluseni, Swaziland.
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Monadjem
authors.affiliation: Pest Management Centre, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Loth S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Mulungu
authors.affiliation: Crop & Environmental Sciences Division, International Rice Research Institute, Metro Manila, Philippines.|South African Research Chair on Biodiversity Value & Change, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa.
authors.forename: Grant R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Singleton
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa.|South African Research Chair on Biodiversity Value & Change, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Association Vahatra, BP, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
authors.forename: Voahangy
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soarimalala
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Belmain
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D012377:Rodentia