A Two-Year Ecological Study of Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a Brazilian Urban Slum

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152511

. 2016 Mar 25;11(3):e0152511.

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152511. eCollection 2016.

A Two-Year Ecological Study of Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a Brazilian Urban Slum

Jesús A Panti-May ¹, Ticiana S A Carvalho-Pereira ¹, Soledad Serrano ¹, Gabriel G Pedra ¹, Josh Taylor ^{1

2}, Arsinoê C Pertile ¹, Amanda Minter ², Vladimir Airam ¹, Mayara Carvalho ¹, Nivison N Júnior ¹, Gorete Rodrigues ³, Mitermayer G Reis ^{1

4}, Albert I Ko ^{1

4}, James E Childs ⁴, Mike Begon ², Federico Costa ^{1

2

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde, Salvador, Brazil.
² Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
³ Centro de Controle de Zoonoses, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Salvador, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
⁵ Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.

PMID: 27015422
PMCID: PMC4807843
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152511

A Two-Year Ecological Study of Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a Brazilian Urban Slum

Jesús A Panti-May et al. PLoS One. 2016.

. 2016 Mar 25;11(3):e0152511.

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152511. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Jesús A Panti-May ¹, Ticiana S A Carvalho-Pereira ¹, Soledad Serrano ¹, Gabriel G Pedra ¹, Josh Taylor ^{1

2}, Arsinoê C Pertile ¹, Amanda Minter ², Vladimir Airam ¹, Mayara Carvalho ¹, Nivison N Júnior ¹, Gorete Rodrigues ³, Mitermayer G Reis ^{1

4}, Albert I Ko ^{1

4}, James E Childs ⁴, Mike Begon ², Federico Costa ^{1

2

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde, Salvador, Brazil.
² Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
³ Centro de Controle de Zoonoses, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Salvador, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
⁵ Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.

PMID: 27015422
PMCID: PMC4807843
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152511

Abstract

The Norway or brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) is among the most ubiquitous of rodents. However, the lack of studies describing Norway rat populations from tropical areas have limited our understanding regarding their demography and seasonal dynamics. In this study, we describe seasonal pattern in the abundance, reproductive parameters, and morphometrics of Norway rat populations in Salvador, Brazil. Rodents were trapped over four seasonal trapping periods (2013-2014) from three valleys. A total of 802 Norway rats were trapped over the course of the study over 7653 trap-nights. Norway rat abundance was high, but there was no significant differences between seasons. The reproductive parameters (e.g. frequency of pregnant and lactating females) did not show statistical differences between seasons. Female rats collected in the rainy season were heavier and older than females from the dry season. Salvador rats had a high incidence of pregnancy and birth rate (estimated birth rate of 79 young per year) compared to previous studies. The information generated is critical for the understanding of the ecology of Norway rat, the main reservoir of Leptospira in Salvador. However, future studies examining the effect of rodent control programs aimed at reducing populations, and determining rates of recovery, will further clarify our understanding of population dynamics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1

Fig 1. Seasonal comparison of age (above) and mass (below) classes for male and female Norway rats from Salvador, Brazil.

Black bars for rainy season and white bars for dry season. Statistical differences were found in age and mass structure of females between seasons (P < 0.05).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Pimentel D, Zuniga R, Morrison D. Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecol Econ. 2005;52: 273–288.
1. Easterbrook JD, Kaplan JB, Vanasco NB, Reeves WK, Purcell RH, Kosoy MY, et al. A survey of zoonotic pathogens carried by Norway rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Epidemiol Infect. 2007;135: 1192–1199. - PMC - PubMed
1. Costa F, Porter FH, Rodrigues G, Farias H, de Faria MT, Wunder EA, et al. Infections by Leptospira interrogans, Seoul virus, and Bartonella spp. among Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from the urban slum environment in Brazil. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2014;14: 33–40. 10.1089/vbz.2013.1378 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Himsworth CG, Bai Y, Kosoy MY, Wood H, DiBernardo A, Lindsay R, et al. An investigation of Bartonella spp., Rickettsia typhi, and Seoul Hantavirus in rats (Rattus spp.) from an inner-city neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada: Is pathogen presence a reflection of global and local rat population structure? Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2015;15: 21–26. 10.1089/vbz.2014.1657 - DOI - PubMed
1. Vadell MV, Gómez Villafañe IE, Cavia R. Are life-history strategies of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) and house mice (Mus musculus) dependent on environmental characteristics? Wildl Res. 2014;41: 172–184.

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[1] Pimentel D, Zuniga R, Morrison D. Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecol Econ. 2005;52: 273–288.

[2] Pimentel D, Zuniga R, Morrison D. Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecol Econ. 2005;52: 273–288.

[3] Easterbrook JD, Kaplan JB, Vanasco NB, Reeves WK, Purcell RH, Kosoy MY, et al. A survey of zoonotic pathogens carried by Norway rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Epidemiol Infect. 2007;135: 1192–1199. - PMC - PubMed

[4] Easterbrook JD, Kaplan JB, Vanasco NB, Reeves WK, Purcell RH, Kosoy MY, et al. A survey of zoonotic pathogens carried by Norway rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Epidemiol Infect. 2007;135: 1192–1199. - PMC - PubMed

[5] Costa F, Porter FH, Rodrigues G, Farias H, de Faria MT, Wunder EA, et al. Infections by Leptospira interrogans, Seoul virus, and Bartonella spp. among Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from the urban slum environment in Brazil. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2014;14: 33–40. 10.1089/vbz.2013.1378 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Costa F, Porter FH, Rodrigues G, Farias H, de Faria MT, Wunder EA, et al. Infections by Leptospira interrogans, Seoul virus, and Bartonella spp. among Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from the urban slum environment in Brazil. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2014;14: 33–40. 10.1089/vbz.2013.1378 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Himsworth CG, Bai Y, Kosoy MY, Wood H, DiBernardo A, Lindsay R, et al. An investigation of Bartonella spp., Rickettsia typhi, and Seoul Hantavirus in rats (Rattus spp.) from an inner-city neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada: Is pathogen presence a reflection of global and local rat population structure? Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2015;15: 21–26. 10.1089/vbz.2014.1657 - DOI - PubMed

[8] Himsworth CG, Bai Y, Kosoy MY, Wood H, DiBernardo A, Lindsay R, et al. An investigation of Bartonella spp., Rickettsia typhi, and Seoul Hantavirus in rats (Rattus spp.) from an inner-city neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada: Is pathogen presence a reflection of global and local rat population structure? Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2015;15: 21–26. 10.1089/vbz.2014.1657 - DOI - PubMed

[9] Vadell MV, Gómez Villafañe IE, Cavia R. Are life-history strategies of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) and house mice (Mus musculus) dependent on environmental characteristics? Wildl Res. 2014;41: 172–184.

[10] Vadell MV, Gómez Villafañe IE, Cavia R. Are life-history strategies of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) and house mice (Mus musculus) dependent on environmental characteristics? Wildl Res. 2014;41: 172–184.

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A Two-Year Ecological Study of Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a Brazilian Urban Slum

Affiliations

A Two-Year Ecological Study of Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a Brazilian Urban Slum

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources