Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico
Black rats are among the world’s most invasive rodent species and are responsible for considerable agricultural losses and risks to human health through zoonotic disease. In Puerto Rico, rats may also compete with the primary rabies reservoir (the small Indian mongoose) for baits during oral rabies...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org/ark:/13030/qt7bv499st 2023-05-15T18:05:07+02:00 Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico Berentsen, Are R. Torres-Toledo, Fabiola B. Rivera-Rodriguez, Mel J. Davis, Amy Gilbert, Amy T. 2018-01-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7bv499st unknown eScholarship, University of California qt7bv499st https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7bv499st public Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, vol 28, iss 28 abundance black rat home range oral rabies vaccination population density Puerto Rico radiotelemetry Rattus rattus tracking tunnel article 2018 ftcdlib 2020-01-10T23:53:15Z Black rats are among the world’s most invasive rodent species and are responsible for considerable agricultural losses and risks to human health through zoonotic disease. In Puerto Rico, rats may also compete with the primary rabies reservoir (the small Indian mongoose) for baits during oral rabies vaccination (ORV) programs. We evaluated black rat population density and home range size on the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Puerto Rico. We fitted 10 rats with VHF transmitters and tracked them using radio telemetry for approximately 4 weeks. We entered locations into ArcGIS and obtained minimum convex polygon (MCP) home range estimates. We established two plots of 55 snap traps and performed removal for 5 consecutive days during January and July, to correspond roughly with wet and dry seasons for this region. To calculate abundance, we entered snap trap data using a removal model approach in Program MARK. We calculated the effective trapping area by creating a buffer around the trapping area based on the square root of mean home range estimate. We divided the abundance calculated in MARK by the effective trapping area to calculate the estimated population density. Mean MCP home range estimate was 0.28 ha (SE: 0.05, range: 0.07-0.50 ha). Population density estimates were 114.7 (SE: 201.80) and 19.3 (SE: 6.85) per ha for January and July, respectively. To reduce the potential for rat consumption of ORV baits, wildlife managers should consider conducting ORV activities in Puerto Rico during periods of lower rat abundance or density. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus University of California: eScholarship Indian |
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University of California: eScholarship |
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ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
abundance black rat home range oral rabies vaccination population density Puerto Rico radiotelemetry Rattus rattus tracking tunnel |
spellingShingle |
abundance black rat home range oral rabies vaccination population density Puerto Rico radiotelemetry Rattus rattus tracking tunnel Berentsen, Are R. Torres-Toledo, Fabiola B. Rivera-Rodriguez, Mel J. Davis, Amy Gilbert, Amy T. Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico |
topic_facet |
abundance black rat home range oral rabies vaccination population density Puerto Rico radiotelemetry Rattus rattus tracking tunnel |
description |
Black rats are among the world’s most invasive rodent species and are responsible for considerable agricultural losses and risks to human health through zoonotic disease. In Puerto Rico, rats may also compete with the primary rabies reservoir (the small Indian mongoose) for baits during oral rabies vaccination (ORV) programs. We evaluated black rat population density and home range size on the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Puerto Rico. We fitted 10 rats with VHF transmitters and tracked them using radio telemetry for approximately 4 weeks. We entered locations into ArcGIS and obtained minimum convex polygon (MCP) home range estimates. We established two plots of 55 snap traps and performed removal for 5 consecutive days during January and July, to correspond roughly with wet and dry seasons for this region. To calculate abundance, we entered snap trap data using a removal model approach in Program MARK. We calculated the effective trapping area by creating a buffer around the trapping area based on the square root of mean home range estimate. We divided the abundance calculated in MARK by the effective trapping area to calculate the estimated population density. Mean MCP home range estimate was 0.28 ha (SE: 0.05, range: 0.07-0.50 ha). Population density estimates were 114.7 (SE: 201.80) and 19.3 (SE: 6.85) per ha for January and July, respectively. To reduce the potential for rat consumption of ORV baits, wildlife managers should consider conducting ORV activities in Puerto Rico during periods of lower rat abundance or density. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Berentsen, Are R. Torres-Toledo, Fabiola B. Rivera-Rodriguez, Mel J. Davis, Amy Gilbert, Amy T. |
author_facet |
Berentsen, Are R. Torres-Toledo, Fabiola B. Rivera-Rodriguez, Mel J. Davis, Amy Gilbert, Amy T. |
author_sort |
Berentsen, Are R. |
title |
Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico |
title_short |
Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico |
title_full |
Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico |
title_fullStr |
Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico |
title_sort |
population density and home range estimates of black rat (rattus rattus) populations in southwestern puerto rico |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7bv499st |
geographic |
Indian |
geographic_facet |
Indian |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, vol 28, iss 28 |
op_relation |
qt7bv499st https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7bv499st |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1766176566376660992 |