Rodents

Here in Hawaii, the only ones in the rat race are mongooses, along with Federal and State officials wanting to kill both rats and mongooses.  However, there is a big flaw in the recent Federal and State proposal for statewide eradication of Hawaii's rodents and mongooses, currently under review.  Here is the argument against eradication.

Climate change is taking place more rapidly and severely in the Arctic than anywhere on the globe, exposing Arctic vertebrates to a host of impacts. Changes in the cryosphere dominate the physical changes that already affect these animals, but increasing air temperatures, changes in precipitation, and ocean acidification will also affect Arctic ecosystems in the future. Adaptation via natural selection is problematic in such a rapidly changing environment. Adjustment via phenotypic plasticity is therefore likely to dominate Arctic vertebrate responses in the short term, and many such adjustments have already been documented. Changes in phenology and range will occur for most species but will only partly mitigate climate change impacts, which are particularly difficult to forecast due to the many interactions within and between trophic levels. Even though Arctic species richness is increasing via immigration from the South, many Arctic vertebrates are expected to become increasingly ...

rodents take primary share due to their role as pests as well as vectors. They make both qualitative and quantitative losses by feed and egg consumption, losses to the structures, nuisance value causing loss of productivity in the farms. In addition, they transmit dreaded disease like Salmonellosis, Pasteurellosis, Mycoplasmosis, Hemorrhagic enteritis, Hymenolepiasis, Capilariasis, and Ascaridiasis to the birds. A Global level review was made on different rodent species responsible for these losses, the characteristic features of major pests. The procedures involved in inspection of the poultry premises and assessing the rodent infestation were spelled out to facilitate planning the rodent management measures. The available management practices of prevention of these unwanted creatures in to the poultry premises along with curative practices viz., using traps and rodenticides were spelled out.

Ontogenetic variation in venom composition was examined in the Pacific rattlesnakes Crotalus viridis helleri and C. v. oreganus. Venoms were analyzed for protease, phospholipase A2, L-amino acid oxidase, exonuclease and elastinolytic activities, and toxicity toward a native prey (Sceloporus graciosus). Protease activity increased significantly with size; L-amino acid oxidase and exonuclease activities also tended to increase. Phospholipase A2 activity decreased significantly with size, as did venom toxicity. These factors produce a highly toxic venom with low protease activity in juvenile snakes, which facilitates efficient handling of lizards and young rodents. Analysis of gut contents of museum specimens showed that lizards constitute a major fraction of prey taken by juvenile rattlesnakes. Lizards continue to be taken with high frequency until snakes reach approx. 500 mm in total length; above this size, mammals are taken exclusively. As snakes increase in size, they feed on larger mammalian prey, and a functionally different venom is produced. Venom from adult Pacific rattle-snakes is less toxic but has high protease activity, aiding in the digestion of prey in a thermally variable environment.

This research provides an overview of the historical advances of the maze tests that are widely used to assess the cognitive impairments in rodents. Particularly, this study focuses on the issue of learning and memory behavioral tests, including dry and water mazes. Several types of mazes have been used in this setting, but their real advantages and applications depend on the type selected by the researcher. We answered some of the basic questions that any interested researcher in such studies may be faced with. The reviewed topics are as follows: the definition of maze learning, the role of the memory in the maze learning, the differences between several types of mazes, and foremost the rationale behind the maze constructions and designs.

Arunachal Pradesh is one of the North Eastern States of India bordering PR China. It has rice biomass of bamboo species and their flowering coincide with rodent outbreak. An attempt was made to identify the rodent species of this State and spell out possible management measures to reduce the crop losses.

A chapter in the Book - Rats, Mice and People: Rodent Biology and Management. 2003. ACIAR Monograph No. 96, Canberra, 203-212. Eds: GR Singleton, LA Hinds, CJ Krebs and Spratt, DM. The review was made on problems in Agriculture (crop wise losses, post harvest losses) and Public health (Rodent borne zoonoses) caused by rodents in India, major pest/vector species, existing technical knowhow and the strategies adopted by Government to mitigate those issues. Also given history of rodent outbreaks in the country. Critical suggestions to avoid the problems were also given.

Effective management of pain is critical to the improvement of animal welfare. For this to happen, pain must be recognised and assessed in a variety of contexts. Pain is a complex phenomenon, making reliable, valid, and feasible measurement challenging. The use of facial expressions as a technique to assess pain in non-verbal human patients has been widely utilised for many years. More recently this technique has been developed for use in a number of non-human species: rodents, rabbits, ferrets, cats, sheep, pigs and horses. Facial expression scoring has been demonstrated to provide an effective means of identifying animal pain and in assessing its severity, overcoming some of the limitations of other measures for pain assessment in animals. However, there remain limitations and challenges to the use of facial expression as a welfare assessment tool which must be investigated. This paper reviews current facial expression pain scales ("Grimace Scales"), discussing the general conceptual and methodological issues faced when assessing pain, and highlighting the advantages of using facial expression scales over other pain assessment methods. We provide guidance on how facial expression scales should be developed so as to be valid and reliable, but we also provide guidance on how they should be used in clinical practice.

Abstract
In this review, information about over 200 species of small mammals, concerning their morphology, taxonomy, and distribution across more than 20 localities, covering the last 4.5 million years, is given. A detailed biostratigraphic scheme is developed which is compared with independent sources of chronology. The quantitative changes in the abundance of taxa in stratigraphic assemblages are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the possibility of distinguishing the role of local landscape peculiarities from those of global climate change. In this context, the paleoecological information provided by the local stratigraphic assemblages is correlated with global paleoclimatic evidence. It was found that during the Pliocene climate was warm and humid; towards the end of the period there was a trend towards aridization; during the Early Pleistocene, although the climate was colder, it retained a relatively high thermal balance and atmospheric humidity and promoted the spreading of meadow parksforests and forests; the progressive climatic continentality during the Middle and especially the Late Pleistocene led to the creation of modern forest vegetation during the interglacial and forest-steppes and steppes during the cold stages; in mountainous landscapes, the variable terrain differentiates the regional climate during the Last Glacial Maximum, with the local climate in protected sites allowing the survival of mesophilic elements. Morphological evolution within families is traced in the light of data from Europe and adjacent areas. The synthesis of these data allows identifying the essential aspects of the history of the fauna. Comparisons between bats and terrestrial micromammals, two groups differing in their dispersal ability, show differences in the way their faunas develop. In bats, the similarity between the Pliocene and the Holocene faunas is considerable. Conversely, in terrestrial micromammals it is low. These differences can be explained by the occurrence of physiographic barriers with W-E orientation (seas, mountain chains, and deserts) in the southern part of Palearctic. These barriers were easily overcome by the bats, so, they were able to survive in southern retreat areas during the cold climatic episodes; upon favorable conditions, they returned again. In contrast, these obstacles significantly hampered the S-N range shifting of terrestrial micromammals. As a result, in the course of the Quaternary, their fauna has undergone a significant gradual change associated with extinctions, expansion of cold-adapted species, and well pronounced morphological evolution in many phyletic lineages. Details of the faunal dynamics of both groups are presented, illustrating these processes.

The vast number of plant secondary metabolites
(PSMs) produced by higher plants has generated many efforts
to exploit their potential for pest control. We performed a
systematic literature search to retrieve relevant publications,
and we evaluated these according to PSM groups to derive
information about the potential for developing plant-derived
rodent repellents.We screened a total of 54 publicationswhere
different compounds or plants were tested regarding rodent
behavior/metabolism. In the search for widely applicable
products, we recommend multi-species systematic screening
of PSMs, especially from the essential oil and terpenoid
group, as laboratory experiments have uniformly shown the
strongest effects across species. Other groups of compounds
might be more suitable for the management of species-specific
or sex-specific issues, as the effects of some compounds on
particular rodent target species or sex might not be present in
non-target species or in both sexes. Although plant metabolites
have potential as a tool for ecologically-based rodent
management, this review demonstrates inconsistent success
across laboratory, enclosure, and field studies, which ultimately
has lead to a small number of currently registered PSMbased
rodent repellents.

Eight species belonging to Muridae and Viverridae family were documented and collected in the three sampling sites: Polomolok, South Cotabato; Upper Biangan, Malungon, Sarangani Province and; K'laja, Conel, General Santos City. Philippines contain unique small non-volant fauna, which can be seen in greater Mindanao, the second largest island of the country, that has not yet been studied that much and still lacks information predominantly on areas like South Cotabato, Sarangani and General Santos City. This study was conducted to determine the different species found in three sampling sites on agricultural landscapes in selected areas of SOCCSKSARGEN. Sampling was done on October – December of 2015 using baited Sherman trap cages that were set through the three sampling sites. Species Rattus everetti was the dominant and most abundant group along the three sites. Species diversity is low as well as endemism; furthermore, there is observed much significant difference in species evenness and species richness. However, the study provides vital information about the current diversity of small non-volant mammals residing on certain parts of SOCCSKSARGEN region.

(In Spanish)
Una sociedad comprometida con la conservación de la biodiversidad debe buscar e implementar fórmulas realistas y eficaces para conseguir objetivos loables como la  gestión de los recursos naturales, la protección estricta de las especies salvajes y la ecuanimidad social, de tal manera que sea la sociedad en su conjunto la que se haga cargo de esta tarea. Estamos convencidos de que esto no sólo es posible, sino que es una tarea factible a la altura de países modernos que presumen de biodiversidad y compromisos con la conservación de la naturaleza. El castor (Castor fiber), por su condición de especie estrictamente protegida en España y por su rol ecológico sin parangón en el mundo animal, es uno de los exponentes y mejores indicadores del compromiso ambiental de nuestra sociedad.
Tres especialistas en la especie han elaborado la primera guía digital de conocimientos sobre los castores en España, con el fin de resaltar su papel fundamental como especie salvaje protegida nativa, clave para los ecosistemas, e ingeniero natural que promueve la restauración de la biodiversidad en zonas húmedas continentales (ríos, lagunas, etc.). Esta guía de índole divulgativo, pretende aportar información contrastable fundamentada en el mejor conocimiento disponible como alternativa a las leyendas y exageraciones que rodean a esta especie, contribuyendo así a divulgar positivamente sobre el papel ecológico de los castores en nuestros ríos y zonas húmedas. Está redactada con un lenguaje sencillo y ameno, cuenta con infografía de calidad, y su objetivo es ofertar una herramienta digital que pueda contribuir a ayudar a los profesionales de la información a la hora de tratar noticias sobre castores y sus hábitats, así como también a la ciudadanía en general, para que amplíe sus conocimientos sobre este animal estrictamente protegido.

Se presentan los resultados preliminares de los análisis Zooarqueológicos de roedores procedentes de los sitios Cañada Honda y Río Luján, ubicados en el norte de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Se evalúa su incidencia en la dieta y como potenciales agentes perturbadores del registro. En ambos conjuntos son muy abundantes los restos de roedores aunque existen ciertas diferencias: Myocastor coypus (coipo) es muy importante en los dos. Cavia aperea (cuis) es escaso en Río Luján, pero predomina en Cañada Honda; Ctenomys sp. (tucu-tucu) e Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris (carpincho) son escasos en ambos y Lagostomus maximus (vizcacha) sólo se halló en Cañada Honda. Uno de los objetivos de este trabajo fue evaluar, desde una perspectiva tafonómica, el ingreso de los huesos de roedores al contexto arqueológico, con este fin se analizaron modificaciones en las superficies óseas, fracturas, abundancia taxonómica y anatómica. Podemos proponer que fueron aprovechados M. coypus y L. maximus; C. aperea pudo ser explotado pero sólo en Cañada Honda, pues probablemente ingresó en el registro de Río Luján por cuestiones naturales; la presencia de Ctenomys sp. en ambos conjuntos se debería a causas naturales. H. hydrochaeris plantea una situación particular, pues aunque está ampliamente distribuido en la microregión y pudo haber contribuido con diversos subproductos, es escaso en estos sitios.

Die antike Fabel von der Stadtmaus und der Landmaus handelt von der Ernährung urbaner Eliten: Während der Landmaus eine bescheidene Auswahl regionaler Lebensmittel, v.a. Getreide, Hülsenfrüchte, Trockenobst und Nüsse zur Verfügung stehen, kann die Stadtmaus aus einer großen Vielfalt energiereicher und teils importierter Speisen schöpfen.

Aber besteht dieses Muster mit der Ruralisierung der frühbyzantinischen Städte auf dem Balkan nach dem Niedergang des Villensystems noch weiter? Wie veränderte sich die Ernährung in den Städten, als sich das Landleben zunehmend in die Städte verlagerte? Naturwissenschaftliche Analysen im südserbischen Caričin Grad zeigen auf, welche landwirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten und Tiere in die nur kurz im 6./7. Jh. bestehende Stadt gelangten und welche Ackerbau- und Vorratshaltungsstrategien dort verfolgt wurden.

Zu diesem Zweck wurde das Nordplateau von Caričin Grad, ein radial an die Nordmauer der Acropolis anschließendes Viertel der Oberstadt, geoarchäometrisch, archäozoologisch und archäologisch beprobt. Das beprobte Areal umfasst kleine schlichte Gebäude, Höfe, Straßen und den Getreidespeicher der Stadt.

Die Pflanzenfunde bezeugen eine diversifizierte lokale Land- und Sammelwirtschaft, die vermutlich auf eine hohe Resilienz angelegte Anbausysteme verfolgte. Die Weiterverarbeitung der halb gereinigt in die Stadt gelangten Kulturpflanzen erfolgte in öffentlichen und privaten Bereichen der Stadt, die Lagerung ebenfalls.
Die geoarchäometrischen Untersuchungen belegen Aktivitätszonen: In den Straßen fanden sich Spuren von Pflanzenfresserfäkalien, in den Häusern und im Hof wurden Knochen und tierisches Gewebe eingebracht. Bereiche der Nahrungszubereitung finden sich in den Gebäuden, Abfälle wurden im Hof entsorgt. Das nur kurz seinem eigentlichen Zweck zugeführte und später umgenutzte Horreum diente möglicherweise zeitweise als Stall.
Die Kleinsäugerfauna in den Häusern und dem Horreum ist eine typische Stadtfauna mit hohen Anteilen kommensaler Kulturfolger wie Hausratten und Hausmäusen. In den Straßen fanden sich fast keine Kleinsäugerreste, wohl aber in einem für die Vorratshaltung unzugänglichen Acropolisturm, dessen typische Gewöllefauna einen Einblick von der Kleinsäugerfauna im Umland gibt.

El rol de la vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) en los procesos de formación de los sitios arqueológicos de la llanura Interserrana argentina The role of the vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) in the formation processes of archaeological sites from the Argentinian interhill plains Resumen El movimiento de sedimentos que generan los mamíferos cavadores constituye uno de los principales procesos de formación que sufren los sitios arqueológicos de la región pampeana. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de un estudio actualista realizado sobre una colonia de vizcachas ubicada en la localidad arqueológica El Trebolar, provincia de Buenos Aires. El objetivo principal fue describir el impacto que estos roedores generan sobre el paisaje, con el fin de identificar su accionar en los sitios arqueológicos de la región. A partir del relevamiento de 21 vizcacheras se pudo establecer que las vizcachas afectan al registro arqueológico de diferentes maneras. Por un lado, su actividad cavadora altera las secuencias estratigráficas y genera asociaciones de materiales de distinta cronología. Por otra parte, las vizcacheras son ocupadas por otros animales, dando lugar a conjuntos faunísticos con alta riqueza taxonómica. Además, estos roedores acarrean a sus madrigueras objetos disponibles localmente. Por último, un alto porcentaje de especímenes óseos presentan surcos que generan las vizcachas para mantener funcionales sus incisivos. En conclusión, las distintas evidencias presentadas permitirían reconocer el accionar de este roedor en el registro fósil, diferenciándolo de otros animales fosoriales que habitan la región pampeana.
The movement of sediments generated by digging animals/burrowing mammals is one of the main formation processes affecting the archaeological sites in the Pampas region. In this article, we present/report the results of an actualistic study conducted on a vizcacha colony, in the archaeological locality El Trebolar, province of Buenos Aires. The main objective was to describe the impact that these rodents generate on the landscape in order to identify their action on the archaeological sites of the region. The analysis of 21 vizcacheras showed that the vizcachas affect the archaeological record in different ways. Firstly, their digging activity alters stratigraphic sequences and generates associations of material of different chronology. Secondly, the vizcacheras are occupied by other animals, producing/giving rise to taxonomically rich faunal assemblages. In addition, these rodents carry locally available objects to their burrows. Finally, a high percentage of bone specimens present/shows grooves generated by vizcachas to keep their incisors functional. In conclusion, evidence would allow recognizing the action of this rodent in the fossil record, distinguishing it from other fossorial animals that inhabit the Pampas region.

The Philippines is known for its diverse mammal fauna and its mammal assemblages with high endemism. The study provides information on the species richness, composition and status of rodents across vegetation types and other non-volant mammals in the in Mt. Pinamantawan, Tangkulan range. The mountain remains partly explored due to political instability and other security concerns. Inventory of rodents and other mammals in Mt. Pinamantawan, Tangkulan range documented 9 species distributed to 7 families, and 8 genera. Of these, five are endemic species and one vulnerable species. The mountain being haven to vulnerable and endemic species of rodents and other mammals, threatened by deforestation, habitat loss, primitive trapping and hunting calls for conservation efforts by the stakeholders.

A new species of cricetid rodent, Megacricetodon vandermeuleni sp. nov., is described from the local biozone Db, middle Aragonian, from the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin and Loranca Basin (Spain). The large-sized Megacricetodon is characterized by the elongated anteroconid and anterolophulid on m1 and the robust and swollen cusps. Comparisons with other species of similar size and morphology are discussed. We consider M. bezianensis a valid species, based on the morphological differences with M. gersii. We propose a group of Megacricetodon species with close relationships including M. aff. collongensis, M. bavaricus, M. aff. bavaricus, M. bezianensis, M. lappi, M. aunayi and M. vandermeuleni nov. sp. The new species is of importance for Spanish biostratigraphy and the proposed Megacricetodon group is very useful for European faunal correlations and timing of migration events.

Работа посвящена разработке и апробации метода потоковой видеорегистрации для полевого изучения активности мелких млекопитающих, в первую очередь - мышевидных грызунов (Arvicolinae, включая леммингов), а также симпатрических землероек Sorex sp.