Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was used to examine the extent of mtDNA polymorphism among six strains of rats (Rattus norvegicus)--Wistar, Wistar Munich, Brown Norway, Wistar Kyoto, SHR and SHR-SP. A survey of 26 restriction enzymes has revealed a low level of genetic divergence among strains. The sites of cleavage by EcoRI, NcoI and XmnI were shown to be polymorphic. The use o...

Human commensal species are thought to depend so closely on resources provided by humans that they effectively ‘natives' of urban environments. However, while their adaptations existence well understood, ecology and habitat choices have not been examined. This study investigated the preferences archetypal species, invasive black rat Rattus rattus, at urban–bushland interface in Sydney, Australi...

Fleas are the vectors of many communicable diseases that are normally found in oriental rats. Climate and environmental changes influence the habitat and migration patterns of vectors. In this study, the oriental rat flea abundance, represented as total flea index, was determined in correlation to host specificity and various environmental factors. The number of hosts and fleas calculated from ...

Comparative efficacy of brodifacoum, bromadialone (second-generation single-dose anticoagulant) was evaluated in a coconut crop on Minicoy Island. Preand postrodent control relative levels of rodent populations and damages were recorded as indices for assessing effectiveness of different concentrations and different bait formulations of three rodenticides. The black rat, Rattus rattus (Linnaeus...

In this study we examine the size of primary sensory areas in the neocortex and the cellular composition of area 17/V1 in three rodent groups: laboratory nocturnal Norway rats (Long-Evans; Rattus norvegicus), wild-caught nocturnal Norway rats (R. norvegicus), and laboratory diurnal Nile grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus). Specifically, we used areal measures of myeloarchitecture of the primary ...

Fifteen experimental treatments with rodenticidal baits containing 0.1, 0.15 or 0.2% flupropadine were conducted on farmsteads against Rattus norvegicus infestations. Eight treatments were completely successful and the others gave kills ranging from 36 to 72% in 28 days. Treatments with 0.1 and 0.15% flupropadine were less successful against large infestations than against small ones. Flupropad...

Norway rats were eradicated on bush-covered Hawea Island (9 ha) in Breaksea Sound, using the anticoagulant rodenticide "Talon 50 WB" (brodifacoum). The work was done as a conservation measure and to evaluate the feasibility and costs of eradicating rodents quickly from islands. The 50-100 rats present were eradicated in about two weeks by applying a simple strategy that took full account of the...

In 1926, Crozier and Pincus first reported that 2-week-old rats placed head-down on an inclined plane orient in a head-up direction; this response is called negative geotaxis. In Experiment 1, we replicated this finding by testing 12- to 14-day-old rats on an inclined plane covered with wire mesh. Pups oriented in a head-up direction and avoided the head-down direction at inclines of 45 degrees...