Forest edges can strongly affect avian nest success by altering nest predation rates, but this relationship is inconsistent and context dependent. There is a need for researchers to improve the predictability of edge effects on nest predation rates by examining the mechanisms driving their occurrence and variability. In this study, we examined how the capture rates of ship rats, an invasive nes...

Exotic predators are a major threat to native wildlife in many parts of the world. Developing and implementing effective strategies to mitigate their effects requires robust quantitative data so that management can be evidence-based, yet in many ecosystems this is missing. Birds in particular have been severely impacted by exotic mammalian predators, and a plethora of studies on islands record ...

Calodium hepaticum (syn. Capillaria hepatica) is a trichurid nematode that parasitizes the hepatic parenchyma of rodents and other mammals. Infections in humans are rare, although they have been reported worldwide. A number of factors contribute to the distribution of this zoonosis, particularly the presence of dense populations of rodents associated with relatively poor urban environments, suc...

Moving an animal from the environmental context in which it has learned a particular task to an entirely different context can reduce performance. We investigated the effect of switching environmental contexts on the ability of adult laboratory rats, Rattus norvegicus, to recognize and habituate to repeated presentations of juvenile conspecifics. Adults were exposed to juveniles for four period...

Rapid morphological change has been shown in rodent populations on islands, including endemic deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus subspp.) on the California Channel Islands. Surprisingly, most of these changes were towards a smaller size. Black rats were introduced to Anacapa Island in the mid-1800s (probably in 1853) and eradicated in 2001-2002. To assess possible changes in these rats since the...

Abstract Three species of Rattus, Norway rat (R. norvergicus), black rattus) and Asian house tanezumi) are currently known to occur in South Africa. The latter two cryptic form part the Rattus rattus complex. Historically, R. norvegicus has been reported along coast urban centres, is widespread most areas, except drier while tanezumi was only recorded country (and Africa) ca. 15 years ago, its ...

The present study has investigated the cytoprotective effects of chlorophyllin in tobacco induced chromosomal aberrations in bone marrow of rats. Chromosomal aberrations per cell and percent aberrant cells were observed to calculate genotoxic action of tobacco. Oral treatment with different doses of chln was able to reduce chromosomal aberrations significantly at the pre-treatment level and con...

Toxoplasma gondii is obligate coccidian zoonotic parasite. Felidae family is definitive and wide ranges of warm-blooded vertebrates are intermediate hosts for the parasite. Rodents are measured as an important source of T. gondii infection for the definitive host. Thus, this study aimed to investigate Toxoplasm infection in rodents of Ahvaz district, southwest of Iran. A total of 100 rodents (7...

A total of 4,281 rodents, belonging to 20 species, was collected from three villages in Chiangrai Province, northern Thailand, from January 1994 to December 2001. The predominant species were Rattus rattus, R. losea and Bandicota indica, accounting for 96% of the total. More than 135,000 chigger mites were removed from wild rodents of which 1% were identified as Leptotrombidium chiangraiensis, ...

Rats are considered the principal maintenance hosts of Leptospira. The objectives of this study were isolation and identification of Leptospira serovars circulating among urban rat populations in Kuala Lumpur. Three hundred urban rats (73% Rattus rattus and 27% R. norvegicus) from three different sites were trapped. Twenty cultures were positive for Leptospira using dark-field microscopy. R. ra...