An assessment of vegetation management practices and burrow fumigation with aluminum phosphide as tools for managing voles within perennial crop fields in California, USA.

Voles (Cricetidae) cause extensive damage to a variety of crops throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere. The removal of vegetation from crop fields at the end of the growing season, combined with a subsequent burrow fumigant application of aluminum phosphide, has the potential to substantially curtail vole activity but has not been thoroughly examined. We set up a study to test the impact of these management tools in perennial globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) fields in Monterey County, CA, during 2010 and 2011, to determine their potential utility as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program for managing California voles (Microtus californicus). We used both chewing indices and mortality estimates derived via radiotelemetry to assess the efficacy of aboveground vegetation removal and aluminum phosphide applications on vole abundance. We determined the impact of plowing artichoke fields on vole activity as well. Both removal of vegetation and applications of aluminum phosphide substantially reduced vole presence within treated fields. Plowing also reduced vole abundance to the point of little residual activity following treatment. These management practices appear to be effective at eliminating voles from crop fields. Combining these tools with management practices designed to slow down reinvasion by neighboring vole populations (e.g., barriers, repellents, traps) has the potential to substantially reduce farmer reliance on rodenticides for vole management, although rodenticides will still be needed to curtail populations that reestablish within crop fields. Such an IPM approach should substantially benefit both farmers and agro-ecosystems.

Integrating child dental care at Community Smiles: the director's goals fulfilled....

Community Smiles/Dade County Dental Research Clinic provides dental care to the indigent population of Miami-Dade County. A local board of directors governs the organization, with dental procedures performed by volunteer professionals from the community. The research clinic partners with community organizations to obtain sustained funding from diverse sources. The clinic has a long-term commitment to the growth and development of children in the community. Certainly, changing the structure and focus of the clinic toward children's dental care and seeking community funding and resources to institute this program was an experiment. In his four years as clinic director and chief executive officer (CEO) at Community Smiles, the late Dr. Robert M. Wolf brought increased clinic productivity and organizational change that expanded community involvement. Dr. Wolf's tenure at Community Smiles brought general increases in patients care in terms of patients visits, new patients and number of procedures performed. However, the key to his administration as clinic director and CEO was the production and integration of a children's dentistry program into the mainstream activities of the clinic. Furthermore, he oversaw the successful corporate reorganization of Community Smiles as the clinic emerged under a non-profit corporate structure employing multi-faceted community resources. Emphasizing new dental programs for children in the community is culturally and socially competent--positively impacting the public health. Community Smiles became a venue where disparities were largely eliminated and access to dental treatment increased. Health care was promoted as Community Smiles became a place that helped build a healthier community.