from BARI, the Bangladesh Plant Protection Department, and the
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute. Instruction was given by the
resident DWRC representative in Bangladesh.

 7. Five staff members of the Vertebrate Pest Control Project at
the Philippine National Crop Protection Center completed the require-
ments for advanced degrees including one Ph. D. and four M.S. degrees.

 8. Five staff members of the Philippine project served as
resource speakers for a Short Course on Integrated Pest Control for
Irrigated Rice in South and Southeast Asia. Several staff members
held appointments with the University of the Philippines at Los
Banos, acting as graduate advisors and instructors in vertebrate pest
management and related fields.

 9. One staff member of the Sudan project completed the require-
ments for an M.S. degree at Bowling Green State University and
rejoined the project at Khartoum.

Research

 10. A vertebrate pest control field research program was estab-
 lished in Bangladesh in November. One of the first priorities of
 this project is to identify the major problem areas, including crops
 and species involved, and evaluate the resultant economic impacts. To
 this end, a nationwide survey of vertebrate pest problems was initi-
 ated. This initial survey will focus primarily on rice, the staple
 food grain. Construction of laboratory and office facilities began in
 Joydebpur, 20 miles north of Dacca. This field project existed for a
 total of 33 days in 1978. Therefore, most research activities are
 still in the planning stage and are pending nomination of a permanent
 staff and receipt of necessary vehicles and equipment.

 11. Rat behavior in coconuts was studied in Laguna Province,
Philippines. The predominant species was R. r. mindanensis both at
the ground and tree crown levels. Trapping reduced both rat damage
and activity in treated plots. As a simulated control approach,
crown trapping improved yield by about 1.5 times over that of the
reference plots. R. r. mindanensis exhibited a larger home range
(963.2 m2) than R. exulans (610.7 m2) as determined by radio tele-
metry. In cage feeding trials, R. r. mindanensis preferred the devel-
oping button stage over larger test nuts.

 12. Information was collected on the diffusion of improved rat
control methods to local farmers in Laguna, Philippines. The effec-
tiveness of extension efforts by agricultural technicians was low due
to the fact that only 17 percent had formal training in rat control.
Lack of proper information and a low index of rat damage (by farmers'