Retention of the bait marker Rhodamine B in wild house mice

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Jacob ◽  
D. A. Jones ◽  
G. R. Singleton

We investigated the retention of the systemic bait marker Rhodamine�B (RB) in house mice (Mus domesticus) that were fed RB in pellet bait (0.5% RB) and in water solutions (1.6%). Wild mice fed RB baits (3 mg RB) or provided with treated water (0.3 mg RB) were screened for traces of RB in whiskers, blood, urine, faeces, and the digestive tract. The dye was detectable in all tissues and excretions tested 12 h after its uptake in pellet bait or solution. RB was detectable under ambient light in urine and the digestive tract for up to four days and in faeces for up to two days. RB was detectable in blood sera for up to 84 h using a fluorometer. RB-bands were found in whiskers for up to seven weeks after ingestion of RB. There was no difference between males and females regarding the presence of RB in blood and whiskers. A second dose of RB (1.8 mg) one week after the first dose resulted in two bands in mouse whiskers. Fewer mice were scored RB positive when uptake of RB was low. In contrast to whiskers, analysis of blood sera provided quantitative results and allowed rapid screening of animals. We conclude that RB is an appropriate marker for short- and medium-term studies on bait uptake in house mice.

Behaviour ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 863-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Palanza ◽  
L. Re ◽  
D. Mainardi ◽  
P.F. Brain ◽  
S. Parmigiani

Male and female aggression at different reproductive stages was investigated in pairs of wild mice. Fourteen pairs of laboratory-outbred wild mice were established, each pair living in a multiple set of cages, connected by runaways. Intruder tests were carried out at different stages of the reproductive cycle, i.e. 48 h after introduction, during pregnancy and lactation. In these stages, a female, a male and two pups were consecutively introduced in each territory (24 h separating each intrusion). Male residents were highly aggressive towards (and always intolerant of) male but not female intruders. Conversely, resident females preferentially attacked same sex intruders after colony establishment and during pregnancy, but they attacked either sex of intruder when nursing young. Seven out of 14 female intruders were tolerated 48 h after introduction of residents but tolerance of females decreased during pregnancy and lactation. Male and female residents were essentially responsible for the intolerance of same-sex intruders. Both males and females exhibited infanticide, but sex differences in the timing of attack on alien pups were observed. In the 7 colonies where the intruder female was tolerated (since that two females were present) only one female reproduced successfully. This suggests that, as in males, females of this stock compete for the opportunity to reproduce; they can be exclusively territorial or form a dominance hierarchy which probably determines reproductive success. While male competitive aggression appears to be mostly directed to other males, females seem largely responsible of the regulation of the reproductive potential of a deme unit throughout intrasexual aggression (intolerance towards other females), and possibly also inhibition of subordinate reproduction and killing of unrelated pups.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn A Hinds ◽  
Steve Henry ◽  
Nikki Van de Weyer ◽  
Freya Robinson ◽  
Wendy A Ruscoe ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of zinc phosphide (ZnP) for broadacre control of wild house mice in Australia is being reported by growers as increasingly variable. Have mice become less sensitive over time or are they taking a sub-lethal dose and developing aversion? In this laboratory study the sensitivity of groups of wild caught and an outbred laboratory strain of mice was assessed using oral gavage of a range of ZnP concentrations. The willingness of mice to consume ZnP-coated grains was then determined. RESULTS: Each mouse group had very similar LD50 values (72 to 79 mg ZnP per kg body weight) which are significantly higher than previously reported. Time to death post-gavage ranged between 2.5 to 48 h. ZnP coated grains (50 mg ZnP per kg grain) presented in the absence of alternative food were consumed and 94 percent of wild mice died. Mice provided with alternative food and ZnP coated wheat grains (either 25 or 50 mg ZnP per kg grain) consumed toxic and non-toxic grains, and mortality was lower (33 to 55 percent). If a sublethal amount of ZnP coated grain was consumed, aversion occurred mostly in the presence of alternative food. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity of wild house mice to ZnP in Australia is significantly lower than previously assumed. Under laboratory conditions ZnP coated grains coated with a new higher dose (50 mg ZnP per kg grain) were readily consumed. Consumption of toxic grain occurred when alternative food was available but was decreased. It is important to assess the efficacy of the higher ZnP dose per grain under natural field conditions, especially when background food is low.


1969 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret E. Wallace ◽  
Christine A. Hudson

Breeding, handling and cleaning methods for wild house mice ( Mus musculus) are described. In the absence of measures of efficiency in the literature for wild rodents in general, measures of breeding performance and of time needed for handling and cleaning are proposed; figures for these measures are given for the cage, chute and methods here described in reference to wild mice.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1607-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odile Pouliquen ◽  
Michelle Leishman ◽  
Trevor D. Redhead

Experiments were conducted in the laboratory and in the field to test the effects of radio collars (1.7–1.9 g) on wild house mice (Mus domesticus). There was a decrease in the activity of the collared animals in the laboratory immediately after collar attachment. There were no adverse effects on social interactions in the laboratory, nor on survival for 4–5 days in the field. Provided that the collar is well adjusted, there should be no need to keep wild animals captive for more than 1 h after collar attachment. These results are consistent with those of other researchers on the effect of transmitters on some species of small mammals.


1981 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Dooher ◽  
R. J. Berry ◽  
K. Artzt ◽  
D. Bennett

SUMMARYBreeding tests of wild house mice, trapped from an isolated population from Sanday in the Orkney Islands, have demonstrated the presence of a semilethal t-haplotype designated tw106. Microscopic examination of sperm and testes from a sterile male obtained from this population revealed the histological characteristics typical for homozygotes for semilethal t-haplotypes. This report is the first description of the recovery of a t-haplotype from an island population of wild mice.


1994 ◽  
Vol 143 (5) ◽  
pp. 766-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Lenington ◽  
Carol B. Coopersmith ◽  
Mark Erhart

Genetics ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 795-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothea Bennett ◽  
L C Dunn ◽  
Susan Badenhausen
Keyword(s):  

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Phifer-Rixey ◽  
Michael W Nachman

The house mouse, Mus musculus, was established in the early 1900s as one of the first genetic model organisms owing to its short generation time, comparatively large litters, ease of husbandry, and visible phenotypic variants. For these reasons and because they are mammals, house mice are well suited to serve as models for human phenotypes and disease. House mice in the wild consist of at least three distinct subspecies and harbor extensive genetic and phenotypic variation both within and between these subspecies. Wild mice have been used to study a wide range of biological processes, including immunity, cancer, male sterility, adaptive evolution, and non-Mendelian inheritance. Despite the extensive variation that exists among wild mice, classical laboratory strains are derived from a limited set of founders and thus contain only a small subset of this variation. Continued efforts to study wild house mice and to create new inbred strains from wild populations have the potential to strengthen house mice as a model system.


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