scholarly journals Shifts in an invasive rodent community favoring Black rats (Rattus rattus ) following restoration of native forest

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 759-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron B. Shiels ◽  
Arthur C. Medeiros ◽  
Erica I. von Allmen
Keyword(s):  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Rodent Community ◽  
Black Rats

scholarly journals Increased nesting success of Hawaii Elepaio in response to the removal of invasive black rats

The Condor ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C Banko ◽  
Kelly A Jaenecke ◽  
Robert W Peck ◽  
Kevin W Brinck
Keyword(s):  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Nest Success ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Nesting Success ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Forest Bird ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Black Rats

Abstract In Hawaii and other oceanic islands with few native land mammals, black rats (Rattus rattus) are among the most damaging invasive vertebrate species to native forest bird populations and habitats, due to their arboreal behavior and generalist foraging habits and habitat use. We evaluated the nesting response of Hawaii Elepaio (Chasiempis sandwichensis; Monarchidae), a generalist insectivore, to the removal of black rats using rodenticide in a before-after-control-impact study in high- and low-elevation mesic montane habitat recovering from long-term damage from introduced ungulates and weeds. We monitored nesting success and rat abundance during 2015–2016 before applying rodenticide bait in 2017 to remove rats from two 700 × 700 m treatment plots that were paired with 2 nontreatment plots of the same size. Rat abundance was reduced by 90% during treatment, with combined variables treatment and elevation best explaining the change using GLM methods and AIC model selection. The daily survival rate (DSR) of nests (n = 191) was greater on treated plots after rodenticide application (mean ± SE = 0.980 ± 0.004 treatment; 0.964 ± 0.004 nontreatment), modeled nest success increased from 29% to 50%, and apparent nest success (number of successful nests per total nests) increased from 37% to 52%. The most informative model for predicting DSR included the effect of treatment. Predation by rats was documented at 3 of 16 nests using video surveillance, and we observed additional evidence of rat predation during in-person nest monitoring. Rats targeted adults on the nest and sometimes removed intact eggs, leaving little trace of their activity. Our results demonstrate that reducing rat predation can immediately improve the nesting success of even a common bird species in habitat with a long history of forest restoration. Sustained predator control may be critical to accelerating the recovery of native forest bird communities.

scholarly journals Molecular identification of the Trypanosoma (Herpetosoma) lewisi clade in black rats (Rattus rattus) from Australia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhon L. Egan ◽  
Casey L. Taylor ◽  
Jill M. Austen ◽  
Peter B. Banks ◽  
Liisa A. Ahlstrom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Molecular Identification ◽  
Ribosomal Rna ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Trypanosoma Lewisi ◽  
Sydney Australia ◽  
Black Rats

AbstractInvasive rodent species are known hosts for a diverse range of infectious microorganisms and have long been associated with the spread of disease globally. The present study describes molecular evidence for the presence of a Trypanosoma sp. from black rats (Rattus rattus) in northern Sydney, Australia. Sequences of the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) locus were obtained in two out of eleven (18%) blood samples with subsequent phylogenetic analysis confirming the identity within the Trypanosoma lewisi clade.

Population recovery of alien black rats Rattus rattus : A test of reinvasion theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Hansen ◽  
Nelika K. Hughes ◽  
Andrea E. Byrom ◽  
Peter B. Banks
Keyword(s):  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Population Recovery ◽  
Black Rats

The ecological impacts of commensal species: black rats, Rattus rattus, at the urban–bushland interface

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter B. Banks ◽  
Helen M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Exotic Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Black Rat ◽  
Urban Impacts ◽  
Commensal Species ◽  
Commensal Rodents ◽  
Black Rats

Exotic species have had devastating impacts worldwide and are a major threat to native wildlife. Human commensal species (hereafter commensals) are a special class of exotic species that live largely off the resources associated with human activity. The encroachment of commensals from an urban area into surrounding bushland has been frequently overlooked as an important component of urban impacts, even though human-commensals are common to many urban regions globally. In this review, we present theoretical and empirical evidence for the processes and outcomes occurring when exotic commensal species encroach into native bushland. Specifically we ask when, how and why exotic commensal species encroach into bushland, what determines whether they establish, and what are the ecological consequences. We focus on the black rat, Rattus rattus, arguably the archetypal commensal species with a cosmopolitan distribution and the greatest potential for ecological damage of all the commensal rodents. We expect that the processes that we outline apply to other commensal species more broadly. We argue that commensals are in fact natives of the urban milieu and only become alien when they encroach into peri-urban bushland. We propose that the mechanisms of this encroachment will be different from those of other, non-commensal exotic species because urban areas act as dispersal hubs to overcome many of the barriers of invasion that other exotic species face. We suggest that resource supplementation by urban areas creates a great potential for promoting encroachment, invasion as well as impact. However, biotic and abiotic barriers to invasion are still relevant for commensals, highlighting the need to maintain the integrity of ecosystems and wildlife populations in urban edges so as to prevent commensal incursion. We examine how commensal black rats affect wildlife via three fundamental mechanisms, namely, predation, disease transfer and competition for resources, and also consider their possible positive impacts acting as functional replacements for lost natives. We conclude the review with an outline of research priorities and future directions that are essential for progressing our understanding of the ecology of commensal species.

2006 Southern brown bandicoots Isoodon obesulus obesulus in Belair National Park.

2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Sanderson ◽  
J. Kraehenbuehl
Keyword(s):  
Litter Size ◽  
National Park ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Water Courses ◽  
Fox Control ◽  
North Western ◽  
Black Rats

A population of southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus obesulus) in Belair National Park (NP) and neighbouring areas was studied from 1995 to 2002. From 1997 to 2002, 181 bandicoots (91 females, 89 males, one unknown) were microchipped. Many animals were captured only once or twice, but data from a few animals showed that bandicoots may live up to four years. Breeding occurred year round, with a mean litter size from 33 litters of 1.8. Bandicoots were trapped close to water courses in areas with thick ground cover. Black rats (Rattus rattus) were active nocturnally in all areas of Belair NP which were trapped, and may be in competition with bandicoots for food and shelter resources. Bandicoots have recently been seen in north-western areas of Belair NP where they have not been seen in years. This expansion of their distribution in the park may be related to a translocation to this area in 1998 and a fox control program which has been carried out since 1988.

Keeping Australia’s islands free of introduced rodents: the Barrow Island example

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope Greenslade ◽  
Andrew A Burbidge ◽  
A Jasmyn ◽  
J Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Gas Processing ◽  
Black Rat ◽  
On This Island ◽  
Threatened Taxa ◽  
Eradication Costs ◽  
Economic Considerations ◽  
Black Rats

Islands are important reservoirs of endemic and threatened species, but anthropogenic influences have impacted their biotas. Australia has over 8000 islands, both continental and oceanic, but because of considerably increased traffic, both tourist and commercial, many of these islands have been and are subject to increased threats from invasive species. The invasive Black Rat Rattus rattus is of particular concern as it can negatively impact mammal, bird, reptile, invertebrate and plant populations. Barrow Island, in northwest Western Australia, is an island requiring particular protection from Black Rats as it is a Class A nature reserve with many unique and threatened taxa that is subject to major disturbances from activities associated with oil extraction and a large liquefied natural gas processing plant. Strict quarantine is currently imposed on all materials and persons being sent to the island and there is an intense on-island surveillance programme. So far the protocols used have prevented Black Rats establishing on this island, but such a level of biosecurity is clearly impossible for all islands. In this paper we discuss the effectiveness of quarantine inspections and surveillance together and alone in protecting high-risk, high-value Australian islands against introduced rodents and we document eradication costs for other islands. World-wide, it has only been possible so far to eradicate rats from relatively small islands, mostly with no non-target indigenous mammals and larger islands only where there are no non-target indigenous mammals. Models based largely on economic considerations have suggested it is more cost effective to use surveillance alone without quarantine for Black Rats on Barrow Island and that if rats become widespread (an estimated 4% risk), it may be more cost effective not to attempt eradication. Such models provide useful guidance for managers where biodiversity values are relatively low or where there are no non-target species, but for Barrow island we argue for continuation of quarantine as well as surveillance and an increased level of quarantine controls at the point of departure on all people, vessels and aircraft visiting other vulnerable Australian islands.

Evaluating the susceptibility of invasive black rats (Rattus rattus) and house mice (Mus musculus) to brodifacoum as a prelude to rodent eradication on Lord Howe Island

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wheeler ◽  
David Priddel ◽  
Terence O’Dwyer ◽  
Nicholas Carlile ◽  
Dean Portelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Lord Howe Island ◽  
Rodent Eradication ◽  
Black Rats

scholarly journals A survey of zoonotic pathogens carried by house mouse and black rat populations in Yucatan, Mexico

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (11) ◽  
pp. 2287-2295 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. PANTI-MAY ◽  
R. R. C. DE ANDRADE ◽  
Y. GURUBEL-GONZÁLEZ ◽  
E. PALOMO-ARJONA ◽  
L. SODÁ-TAMAYO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
House Mouse ◽  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Rat Kidney ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Hymenolepis Diminuta ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Zoonotic Pathogens ◽  
Black Rat ◽  
Black Rats

SUMMARYThe house mouse (Mus musculus) and the black rat (Rattus rattus) are reservoir hosts for zoonotic pathogens, several of which cause neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Studies of the prevalence of these NTD-causing zoonotic pathogens, in house mice and black rats from tropical residential areas are scarce. Three hundred and two house mice and 161 black rats were trapped in 2013 from two urban neighbourhoods and a rural village in Yucatan, Mexico, and subsequently tested forTrypanosoma cruzi,Hymenolepis diminutaandLeptospira interrogans. Using the polymerase chain reaction we detectedT. cruziDNA in the hearts of 4·9% (8/165) and 6·2% (7/113) of house mice and black rats, respectively. We applied the sedimentation technique to detect eggs ofH. diminutain 0·5% (1/182) and 14·2% (15/106) of house mice and black rats, respectively. Through the immunofluorescent imprint method,L. interroganswas identified in 0·9% (1/106) of rat kidney impressions. Our results suggest that the black rat could be an important reservoir forT. cruziandH. diminutain the studied sites. Further studies examining seasonal and geographical patterns could increase our knowledge on the epidemiology of these pathogens in Mexico and the risk to public health posed by rodents.

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