Aggregated occurrence records of the invasive alien striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius Pall.) in the former USSR

Open access to occurrence records of the most dangerous invasive species in a standardised format have important potential applications for ecological research and management, including the assessment of invasion risks, formulation of preventative and management plans in the context of global climate and land use changes in the short and long perspective. The striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius Pallas, 1771) is a common species in the temperate latitudes of the Palaearctic. Due to land use and global climate changes, several waves of expansion of the range of this species have been observed or inferred. By intrusion into new regions, the striped field mouse has become an alien species there. Apodemus agrarius causes significant harm to agriculture and is one of the most important pests of grain crops. In tree nurseries, A. agrarius destroys seeds of valuable tree species and gnaws at the bark of saplings of broadleaf species and berry bushes. It is one of the most epidemiologically important rodents, involved in the circulation of the causative agents of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and many other zoonotic infections. The foregoing allows us to classify the striped field mouse as a dangerous invasive alien species in the expanding part of the range. A lot of data accumulated for this species are of interest from both ecological and applied points of view. The accumulation and aggregation of data on the occurrence records of A. agrarius is relevant for the study of ecology, biogeography and construction of the spatial distribution and ecological niche models in the context of global climate change. We have created a dataset of 1603 occurrence records of this species, collected from 1936 to December 2020 by various zoologists, previously published or original. These records relate to a significant part of the striped field mouse’s range in Russia (1264 records) and neighbouring countries (339 records). The dataset shows the position of the northern and central parts of A. agrarius range, the disjunction of the range in Transbaikalia and isolated populations in the north of the range. The data were obtained in different formats from literature, indicating different degrees of accuracy of geographic coordinates and with several variations of the species' name. In the process of aggregating and fixing errors, we created a set of georeferenced occurrence records, adopted a controlled vocabulary, removed duplicates and standardised the format of records using unified data structure. We examined the dataset for inconsistencies with the taxonomic position of A. agrarius and removed the incorrect records. This paper presents the resulting dataset of A. agrarius occurrence records in the territory of Russia and neighbouring countries in a standardised format. This is a validated and comprehensive dataset of occurrence records of A. agrarius, including both our own observations and records from literature. This dataset is available for extension by other researchers using a standard format in accordance with Darwin Core standards. In different countries, there are a lot of occurrence records for the striped field mouse, but the overwhelming part of them is presented in separate literary sources, stored in the form of maps and in zoological collections. Prior to this project, such information was not available to a wide range of researchers and did not allow the use of these spatial data for further processing by modern methods of analysis, based on geographic information systems (GIS technologies). The created dataset combines species occurrence records of many Soviet zoologists who studied the distribution of the striped field mouse over a significant part of its recent range, in Russia and neighbouring countries (within the former USSR). The final set of records was created by combining the species occurrence records using a uniform data structure, checking geographic coordinates and removing duplicate and erroneous records. The dataset expands the available information on the spatial and temporal distribution of the dangerous invasive species in Russia and neighbouring countries of the former USSR (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan).

STRIPED FIELD MOUSE (APODEMUS AGRARIUS PALLAS, 1771) SEASONAL DYNAMICS AND ITS ROLE AS A VECTOR OF IXODID TICKS

Considering the confirmed role of mice as the important reservoirs and vectors of zoonotic diseases, the aim of this study was to determine the Apodemus agrarius seasonal dynamics and its role as a vector of ixodid ticks. Six ixodid tick species were identified on 993 specimens of A. agrarius. The average number of ticks per mouse was 1.181±0.066, and the highest number of collected ticks per one individual was 31. Based on the tick prevalence of infested murid species, the level of potential risk for human and animals could be predicted in certain habitats.

FIRST FINDING OF THE PROBOSCIS WORM MONILIFORMIS MONILIFORMIS (ACANTHOCEPHALA, MONILIFORMIDAE) IN BELARUS AND ITS MEDICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Data on the detection of the proboscis worm Moniliformis moniliformis (Bremser, 1811) as the result of the helminthological investigation in 2015–2020 of 535 specimens of small rodents of 8 species inhabiting the banks of drainage channels in the south-west part of Belarus are presented. A brief description of this parasite is given, the owner of which is a stripped field mouse. The first case of finding this helminth in Belarus (Malorita district) indicated. Special attention paid to its medical significance. Key words: proboscis worm, Moniliformis moniliformis, striped field mouse, Malorita district, south-west part of Belarus

The striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) as a host of fleas (Siphonaptera) and tapeworms (Cestoda) in suburban environment of Lublin (eastern Poland)

The striped field mouse, Apodemus agrarius, is one of the most abundant species among small rodents in Poland. It occurs commonly across the whole country inhabiting diverse ecological niches as meadows, farmlands, enclaves of natural habitats in cities. Wide range of ecological tolerance of this species makes it often the host, reservoir and vector of many pathogens: viruses, bacteria, protozoa, helminths and arthropods. The aim of the present study was to carry out a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the fleas community and intestinal tapeworms of A. agrarius in suburban environment of Lublin (eastern Poland). In studied population three species of Siphonaptera class i.e. Ctenophthalmus agyrtes, Nosopsyllus fasciatus, Hystrichopsylla talpae and one intestine Cestoda species Hymenolepis diminuta were identified. The results of our researches confirmed role of A. agrarius as the reservoir for tapeworms and host for fleas in urban environment. High level of the prevalence of fleas and tapeworms in rodents indicates the significant degree of contamination and can cause an epidemiological threat for human’s health.