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.

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.

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

Trappability of introduced and native rodents in different trap types in coastal forests of south-eastern Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki L. Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Coastal Forests ◽  
Sex Structure ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Black Rat ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Invaluable Tool ◽  
Invasive Rodents ◽  
Abundance And Distribution ◽  
Black Rats

Trapping is an invaluable tool for estimating community composition and population size and structure of mammals. Bias in the relative contribution of species to a community and the age and sex structure of populations can occur where the traps used do not equally trap all species, sexes or cohorts. The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of enclosed Elliott traps and open wire cage traps in trapping the invasive black rat, Rattus rattus, and the native rodent, Rattus fuscipes. Both trap types were suitable for trapping R. fuscipes and there was no apparent bias in capture of sex and age classes. In contrast, black rats were considerably more trappable in cage traps. Juveniles were more readily trapped in Elliott traps than adults, but were still considerably undersampled where only Elliott traps were used. These findings have important implications for sampling invasive rodents in Australian forests where Elliott traps are commonly used to census small mammals. Only using Elliott traps will underestimate density, distribution and impacts of R. rattus in native habitats. Cage traps or a combination of traps are recommended for reliably trapping black rats and obtaining representative data on presence, abundance and distribution.

scholarly journals Palaeogenomic analysis of black rat (Rattus rattus) reveals multiple European introductions associated with human economic history

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
He Yu ◽  
Alexandra Jamieson ◽  
Ardern Hulme-Beaman ◽  
Chris J. Conroy ◽  
Becky Knight ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Economic History ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Population History ◽  
Black Rat ◽  
Population Turnover ◽  
History Of ◽  
Climatic Cooling ◽  
Black Rats

AbstractThe distribution of the black rat (Rattus rattus) has been heavily influenced by its association with humans. The dispersal history of this non-native commensal rodent across Europe, however, remains poorly understood, and different introductions may have occurred during the Roman and medieval periods. Here, in order to reconstruct the population history of European black rats, we generated a de novo genome assembly of the black rat, 67 ancient black rat mitogenomes and 36 ancient nuclear genomes from sites spanning the 1st-17th centuries CE in Europe and North Africa. Analyses of mitochondrial DNA confirm that black rats were introduced into the Mediterranean and Europe from Southwest Asia. Genomic analyses of the ancient rats reveal a population turnover in temperate Europe between the 6th and 10th centuries CE, coincident with an archaeologically attested decline in the black rat population. The near disappearance and re-emergence of black rats in Europe may have been the result of the breakdown of the Roman Empire, the First Plague Pandemic, and/or post-Roman climatic cooling.

scholarly journals Diet of an Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris in northern New South Wales

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 44-48
Author(s):  
Stephen Kearney ◽  
Keyword(s):  
House Mouse ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
National Park ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Black Rat ◽  
South Wales

A single Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris was observed in Bundjalung National Park, New South Wales, in September 2019. Pellets (n = 17) collected from its roost contained the remains of House Mouse Mus musculus, Grassland Melomys Melomys burtoni, Black Rat Rattus rattus, Swamp Rat R. lutreolus, Fawn-footed Melomys Melomys cervinipes, Common Planigale Planigale maculata, Eastern Blossom Bat Syconycteris australis and honeyeater Phylidonyris sp. The most interesting findings were the Eastern Blossom Bat (the first published record of a bat in the diet of an Eastern Grass Owl in Australia) and that one of the Grassland Melomys specimens had pink bones.

The control of introduced Rattus rattus L. on Lord Howe Island. II. The status of warfarin resistance in rats and mice

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Billing
Keyword(s):  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Untreated Group ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Lord Howe Island ◽  
The Status ◽  
Warfarin Resistance ◽  
Rats And Mice ◽  
Black Rats

Black rats (Rattus rattus) and house mice (Mus musculus) from Lord Howe Island were live-trapped, housed in the laboratory and tested for resistance to the anticoagulant poison warfarin. All rats fed warfarin (0.025% w/w) in their diet died within 4–12 days whereas no rats in the untreated group died. Mice fed warfarin at the same concentration over 21 days all survived. Black rats on Lord Howe Island remain susceptible to warfarin, but house mice appear resistant.

Patterns of helminth infections in Rattus rattus and Mus musculus from two Mayan communities in Mexico

2019 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Panti-May ◽  
E.E. Palomo-Arjona ◽  
Y.M. Gurubel-González ◽  
R.C. Barrientos-Medina ◽  
M.C. Digiani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Hymenolepis Diminuta ◽  
Nippostrongylus Brasiliensis ◽  
Intensity Of Infection ◽  
Gastrointestinal Helminths ◽  
Trichuris Muris ◽  
Black Rat

Abstract The black rat Rattus rattus and the house mouse Mus musculus are two commensal rodent species that harbour and shed zoonotic pathogens, including helminths. The aim of this survey was to study the helminth community and the patterns of infections in R. rattus and M. musculus from two Mayan communities in Mexico. Gastrointestinal helminths were isolated from 322 M. musculus and 124 R. rattus, including Gongylonema neoplasticum, Hassalstrongylus aduncus, Hassalstrongylus musculi, Hydatigera taeniaeformis metacestode, Hymenolepis diminuta, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Oligacanthorhynchidae gen. sp., Syphacia muris, Syphacia obvelata, Rodentolepis microstoma and Trichuris muris. The overall richness of helminths was seven in R. rattus and six in M. musculus. The results of generalized linear models showed that juvenile rodents had lower probabilities of being infected with G. neoplasticum, H. taeniaeformis and H. musculi than adult rodents. A positive association between the prevalence of S. muris and rat abundance was found. The intensity of infection with S. muris was higher in the rainy season than in the dry season; the opposite result was found for H. musculi infection. Male R. rattus harboured more S. muris specimens. The intensity of infection with T. muris was inversely associated with mouse abundance. The presence of the zoonotic H. diminuta, as well as H. taeniaeformis and R. microstoma in rodent populations indicates that there is risk of transmission, and that their entire life cycle occurs in the study area.

scholarly journals Differential immune gene expression associated with contemporary range expansion in two invasive rodents in Senegal

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Charbonnel ◽  
Maxime Galan ◽  
Caroline Tatard ◽  
Anne Loiseau ◽  
Christophe Diagne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Differential Expression ◽  
House Mouse ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Gene Expression Profiles ◽  
Invasion Success ◽  
Immune Gene ◽  
Mus Musculus Domesticus ◽  
Black Rat

Abstract Biological invasions are major anthropogenic changes associated with threats to biodiversity and health. However, what determines the successful establishment and spread of introduced populations remains unclear. Here, we explore several hypotheses linking invasion success and immune phenotype traits, including those based on the evolution of increased competitive ability concept. We compared gene expression profiles between anciently and recently established populations of two major invading species, the house mouse Mus musculus domesticus and the black rat Rattus rattus, in Senegal (West Africa). Transcriptome analyses identified differential expression between anciently and recently established populations for 364 mouse genes and 83 rat genes. All immune-related genes displaying differential expression along the mouse invasion route were overexpressed at three of the four recently invaded sites studied. Complement activation pathway genes were overrepresented among these genes. By contrast, no particular immunological process was found to be overrepresented among the differentially expressed genes of black rat. Changes in transcriptome profiles were thus observed along invasion routes, but with different specific patterns between the two invasive species. These changes may be driven by increases in infection risks at sites recently invaded by the house mouse, and by stochastic events associated with colonization history for the black rat. These results constitute a first step toward the identification of immune eco-evolutionary processes potentially involved in the invasion success of these two rodent species.

Gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the black rat (Rattus rattus) in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria

1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.F. Mafiana ◽  
M.B. Osho ◽  
S. Sam-Wobo
Keyword(s):  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Hymenolepis Diminuta ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Trichuris Muris ◽  
Mean Intensity ◽  
Black Rat ◽  
Southwest Nigeria ◽  
Moniliformis Moniliformis ◽  
Taenia Taeniaeformis

AbstractA survey of 612 black rats, Rattus rattus (282 males and 330 females), for infections with helminth parasites was carried out in Abeokuta, in southwest Nigeria. Three hundred and ninety six (64.7%) were infected with one or more of seven species of helminths comprising three cestodes (Hymenolepis diminuta, Taenia taeniaeformis (cyst) and Raillietina sp.) three nematodes (Mastophorus muris, Trichuris muris and Syphacia sp.) and one acanthocephalan (Moniliformis moniliformis). Although the prevalence of infection in males (76.6%) was more than in females (54.5%) (P< 0.01), there was no difference in the mean intensity of infection, MI, (males = 11.6 ± 0.94, females = 11.1 ± 1.56). Among the different weight classes, rats of 100–130g were more infected (89.3%) and had the highest mean intensity (MI = 21.6) than those that weighed <100g (47.1%, MI = 6.4) and >130g (73.9%, MI = 9.3). Moniliformis moniliformis was the most common species encountered (39.2%) and had the highest mean intensity in both sexes ( = 7.4 ± 0.74). Considering the rat-man proximity, this finding has considerable public health implications.

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