Urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets
Over the past 1000 years, rats (Rattus spp.) have become one of the most successful and prolific pests in human society. Despite their cosmopolitan distribution across six continents and ubiquity throughout the world's cities, rat urban ecology remains poorly understood. We investigate the role...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Urban_rats_have_less_variable_higher_protein_diets/12659732 |
id |
ftleicesterunfig:oai:figshare.com:article/12659732 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftleicesterunfig:oai:figshare.com:article/12659732 2023-05-15T18:05:27+02:00 Urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets E Guiry M Buckley 2018-10-24T00:00:00Z https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Urban_rats_have_less_variable_higher_protein_diets/12659732 unknown 2381/12659732.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Urban_rats_have_less_variable_higher_protein_diets/12659732 CC BY 4.0 CC-BY Uncategorized Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics Environmental Sciences & Ecology urban ecology archaeology commensalism Rattus norvegicus stable isotopes historical ecology STABLE-ISOTOPE ANALYSIS RATTUS-RATTUS REMAINS NORVEGICUS IMPACTS PEOPLE RATIOS WHEAT Text Journal contribution 2018 ftleicesterunfig 2021-11-11T19:16:00Z Over the past 1000 years, rats (Rattus spp.) have become one of the most successful and prolific pests in human society. Despite their cosmopolitan distribution across six continents and ubiquity throughout the world's cities, rat urban ecology remains poorly understood. We investigate the role of human foods in brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) diets in urban and rural areas over a 100 year period (ca AD 1790-1890) in Toronto, Canada using stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analyses of archaeological remains. We found that rat diets from urban sites were of higher quality and were more homogeneous and stable over time. By contrast, in rural areas, they show a wide range of dietary niche specializations that directly overlap, and probably competed, with native omnivorous and herbivorous species. These results demonstrate a link between rodent diets and human population density, providing, to our knowledge, the first long-term dietary perspective on the relative value of different types of human settlements as rodent habitat. This study highlights the potential of using the historical and archaeological record to provide a retrospective on the urban ecology of commensal and synanthropic animals that could be useful for improving animal management and conservation strategies in urban areas. Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus University of Leicester: Figshare Canada |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Leicester: Figshare |
op_collection_id |
ftleicesterunfig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Uncategorized Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics Environmental Sciences & Ecology urban ecology archaeology commensalism Rattus norvegicus stable isotopes historical ecology STABLE-ISOTOPE ANALYSIS RATTUS-RATTUS REMAINS NORVEGICUS IMPACTS PEOPLE RATIOS WHEAT |
spellingShingle |
Uncategorized Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics Environmental Sciences & Ecology urban ecology archaeology commensalism Rattus norvegicus stable isotopes historical ecology STABLE-ISOTOPE ANALYSIS RATTUS-RATTUS REMAINS NORVEGICUS IMPACTS PEOPLE RATIOS WHEAT E Guiry M Buckley Urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets |
topic_facet |
Uncategorized Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics Environmental Sciences & Ecology urban ecology archaeology commensalism Rattus norvegicus stable isotopes historical ecology STABLE-ISOTOPE ANALYSIS RATTUS-RATTUS REMAINS NORVEGICUS IMPACTS PEOPLE RATIOS WHEAT |
description |
Over the past 1000 years, rats (Rattus spp.) have become one of the most successful and prolific pests in human society. Despite their cosmopolitan distribution across six continents and ubiquity throughout the world's cities, rat urban ecology remains poorly understood. We investigate the role of human foods in brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) diets in urban and rural areas over a 100 year period (ca AD 1790-1890) in Toronto, Canada using stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analyses of archaeological remains. We found that rat diets from urban sites were of higher quality and were more homogeneous and stable over time. By contrast, in rural areas, they show a wide range of dietary niche specializations that directly overlap, and probably competed, with native omnivorous and herbivorous species. These results demonstrate a link between rodent diets and human population density, providing, to our knowledge, the first long-term dietary perspective on the relative value of different types of human settlements as rodent habitat. This study highlights the potential of using the historical and archaeological record to provide a retrospective on the urban ecology of commensal and synanthropic animals that could be useful for improving animal management and conservation strategies in urban areas. |
format |
Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
author |
E Guiry M Buckley |
author_facet |
E Guiry M Buckley |
author_sort |
E Guiry |
title |
Urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets |
title_short |
Urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets |
title_full |
Urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets |
title_fullStr |
Urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets |
title_full_unstemmed |
Urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets |
title_sort |
urban rats have less variable, higher protein diets |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Urban_rats_have_less_variable_higher_protein_diets/12659732 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_relation |
2381/12659732.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Urban_rats_have_less_variable_higher_protein_diets/12659732 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
_version_ |
1766176926716657664 |