Are wild rodents attracted to lure laboratory rats?

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
A C Gsell ◽  
M N H Seabrook-Davison ◽  
D H Brunton

invasions to New Zealand’s unique biodiversity, ‘pest-free’ offshore and mainland island refuges have been created. The success of this approach depends on the long term maintenance of the pest-free status of these refuges. Because the occurrence of rodent incursions is an on-going risk, early detection and elimination of invading animals is crucial. We conducted field-based experiments to determine if lures of live female and male laboratory Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) held in cages in the wild, and lures consisting of urine-soaked rodent bedding could be used to detect the presence of wild rodents. We found that the use of live rodents and bedding significantly increased the probability of detecting wild rodents, although we were not able to determine the sex, age or number of wild rodents attracted to each live rodent station. We also found that wild rats were equally attracted to the scent of male and female rats i.e., lures and bedding. Our approach provides potential as a tool for early detection of rodents in vulnerable refuges and we suggest that further research is needed to investigate the feasibility of developing rat scented monitoring stations.

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-133
Author(s):  
L.I. Bugaeva ◽  
◽  
V.V. Bagmetova ◽  
Yu.V. Markina ◽  
A.A. Kolmakov ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
Omar H Azeez

Aspartame (ASP) is a sugar substitute. Its use rose because it has been demonstrated to have deleterious effects after being metabolized. In the presence of antioxidant vitamins C or E, the effects of ASP on reproductive hormones of adult male and female Albino Wister rats were investigated. A total of eighty male and female rats were used in this study. The rats were divided into four groups: group 1, received no treatment; group 2, received ASP at 40 mg/kg BW; group 3, received ASP at 40 mg/kg BW with vitamin C at 150 mg/kg BW; and group 4, received ASP at 40 mg/kg BW and vitamin E at 100 mg/kg BW. All treatments were given orally by gavage needle once daily for consecutive 90 days. The levels of estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone hormone (TH) were measured after 90 days in blood plasma. In comparison with the control group, ASP treatment resulted in lower levels of E2, FSH, and LH in male and female rats. When the antioxidants vitamin C or E was given, the effects of ASP were reversed, and the levels of E2, LH, and FSH were increased. The testosterone hormone was likewise significantly increased by ASP, but testosterone hormone concentrations were decreased by vitamin C or E treatments. Long-term ASP consumption caused interfering with testicular and ovarian hormonal activity, while vitamins C and E on the other hand, overcome longstanding consumption ASP's effects.


1976 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. DONIACH ◽  
D. J. SHALE

SUMMARY From the differences in radiation profiles between 131I and 125I isotopes of iodine it would be expected that they would show different effects on thyroid function. The differences should lead to lower rates of thyroid gland destruction with 125I and hence less post-irradiation hypothyroidism. This difference in biological effect has been demonstrated in rats by indirect assessment of thyroid function. In this report the long-term effects of a range of similar doses of 131I and 125I were compared, in male and female rats, by direct assessment of thyroid function. Seventeen months after receiving 25 and 125 μCi of 131I, male and female rats showed significant elevation of serum TSH concentration and a reduction in 3 h radioiodine uptake. Rats receiving 1 and 5 μCi of 131I and all doses of 125I showed no significant changes in thyroid function. These findings confirm the previously reported differences in effect between the 131I and 125I isotopes of iodine in the rat.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 586
Author(s):  
Bor-Chyuan Su ◽  
Chao-Chin Li ◽  
Chia-Wen Liu ◽  
Jyh-Yih Chen

Recombinant Epinephelus lanceolatus piscidin (RELP) was previously shown to improve growth performance and immune response when used as a feed additive for Gallus gallus domesticus. However, the long-term toxicity of RELP has not be thoroughly investigated. In the present study, we evaluated the subacute and subchronic oral toxicities of RELP in SD rats by hematological, biochemical, and histopathological analyses. To determine subacute and subchronic toxicities, male and female rats were fed with RELP 1000 mg/kg bodyweight/day for 28 and 90 days, respectively. Bodyweight and food intake were unchanged by RELP treatment over the course of the studies. After exposure, samples of blood, heart, lung, liver, and kidney were collected and analyzed. Results demonstrated that RELP exposure did not cause any observable hematological, biochemical, or histological abnormalities in SD rats. Thus, RELP may be a safe feed additive for use in agriculture and aquaculture.


1994 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1540-1547 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Prezant ◽  
B. Richner ◽  
T. K. Aldrich ◽  
D. E. Valentine ◽  
E. I. Gentry ◽  
...  

The effects of long-term undernutrition (10 wk) on diaphragm contractility, fatigue, and fiber type proportions were studied in male and female rats. Contractility and fatigue resistance indexes were measured in an in vitro diaphragm costal strip preparation by using direct stimulation at 37 degrees C. Undernutrition allowed for continued growth in males and females but with substantial reductions in weight gain. Relative to control rats of the same sex, final weights were significantly lower in undernourished males (74 +/- 3%) than females (90 +/- 5%), but weight gain was not significantly different between undernourished males (58 +/- 5%) and females (60 +/- 3%). Only in males did undernutrition significantly reduce costal diaphragm weight (to 77 +/- 5% of control). Diaphragm forces, normalized for cross-sectional area, were not significantly different from male or female control values. Fatigue resistance indexes (fatigue/baseline force) were increased at all stimulation frequencies in undernourished males but not in undernourished females. Costal diaphragm atrophy, involving types I and II fibers, occurred in undernourished males but not in undernourished females. In conclusion, despite long-term undernutrition reducing weight gain to similar levels in males and females (relative to control), there was excellent preservation of diaphragm weight, function, and structure in females but, although diaphragm atrophy occurred, there was preserved contractility and increased fatigue resistance in males.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 900
Author(s):  
Antoniette M. Maldonado-Devincci ◽  
Cheryl L. Kirstein

Early alcohol use is a major concern due to the dramatic rise in alcohol use during adolescence. In humans, adolescent males and females consume alcohol at equivalent rates; however, in adulthood males are more likely to consume harmful levels of alcohol. In animal models, the long-term dose-dependent and sex-dependent effects of alcohol exposure during adolescence have not been readily assessed relative to exposure that is initiated in adulthood. The purpose of the present set of experiments was to determine if adolescent exposure to chronic ethanol would predispose male and female rats to greater ethanol intake in adulthood when compared to animals that were not exposed to chronic ethanol exposure until early adulthood. Male and female rats were chronically administered 0.75 g/kg or 1.5 g/kg ethanol or saline for 21 days during adolescence (postnatal day (PND) 30–50) or adulthood (PND 60–80). All rats subsequently underwent 14-days of abstinence (PND 51–64 or PND 81–94, respectively). Finally, all rats were given 30-min daily access to saccharin-sweetened ethanol or saccharin alone from PND 65–80 for adolescent-exposed rats and PND 95–110 for adult-exposed rats. Exposure to 0.75 g/kg ethanol did not alter ethanol or saccharin intake in adolescent-exposed or adult-exposed rats, regardless of sex. In contrast, chronic exposure to the higher 1.5 g/kg dose during adolescence increased ethanol intake in adulthood in female rats. However, there was no change in saccharin intake in animals exposed to 1.5 g/kg ethanol during adolescence or adulthood, regardless of sex. Additionally, there were no clear age- and ethanol-dependent changes in duration of loss of righting reflex and blood ethanol concentrations to a challenge administration of a higher dose of ethanol. The results of the present set of experiments indicate chronic exposure to a high dose of ethanol during adolescence in female rats did indeed predispose rats to consume more ethanol in adulthood. Given that these effects were only observed in adolescent-exposed female rats, these results support a unique vulnerability to the long-term consequences of adolescent ethanol exposure in female rats, an effect that is not merely mediated by the sweetener used in the ethanol solution.


2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antònia Nadal-Casellas ◽  
Emilia Amengual-Cladera ◽  
Ana María Proenza ◽  
Isabel Lladó ◽  
Magdalena Gianotti

1971 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Helmer Serensen ◽  
Inge Hindberg

ABSTRACT The influence of short-term and long-term treatment with gonadal hormones on the response to calcitonin was investigated in the rat. Oestrogen-treatment, short-term as well as long-term, resulted in a reduced responsiveness to calcitonin. Long-term treatment with androgens enhanced the hypocalcaemic effect of calcitonin in castrated rats of either sex, but reduced the effect in intact animals. No sex differences could be registered in the sensitivity to calcitonin, when intact animals were compared according to age, while marked differences were observed, when the animals were compared according to weight. There was a linear decrease in the response to calcitonin with increasing age in rats of both sexes. An intraperitoneal calcium load was followed by an acute rise in the serum calcium levels. The adult animals counteracted the hypercalcaemia more slowly than the young ones. Significant differences also occurred between male and female rats, the rise in the serum calcium concentration being much more pronounced in the latter group. The hypocalcaemic activity of thyroid tissue from rats of both sexes and of various ages showed considerable variations, but no differences correlated to age or sex.


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