Observations on the food habits of some African rodents
Food habits of four common species of African rodents: the giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus), the black house rat (Rattus rattus), the multimammate rat (Mastomys natalensis) and the pygmy mouse (Mus minutoides) were studied on the basis of stomach content analysis, habitat sampling, and experimental...
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ftucostaricaojs:oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/25543 2023-07-30T04:06:31+02:00 Observations on the food habits of some African rodents Iwuala, Moses O.E. Braide, Ekanem Ikpi Maduka, Nkonyelu 2016-07-11 application/pdf https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/25543 eng eng Universidad de Costa Rica https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/25543/25905 https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/25543 Revista de Biología Tropical; Vol. 28 No. 2 (1980): Volume 28 - Regular number 2 - December 1980; 227-236 Revista de Biología Tropical; Vol. 28 Núm. 2 (1980): Volumen 28 - Número regular 2 - Diciembre 1980; 227-236 Revista Biología Tropical; Vol. 28 N.º 2 (1980): Volumen 28 - Número regular 2 - Diciembre 1980; 227-236 2215-2075 0034-7744 10.15517/rbt.v28i2 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Article 2016 ftucostaricaojs https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v28i2 2023-07-11T20:44:56Z Food habits of four common species of African rodents: the giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus), the black house rat (Rattus rattus), the multimammate rat (Mastomys natalensis) and the pygmy mouse (Mus minutoides) were studied on the basis of stomach content analysis, habitat sampling, and experimental trials with caged animals.Vegetable items (especially grass, grains and tubers) formed the bulk of the food of all the species. Oil-palm nuts and kernels were also common in the guts of C. gambianus and M. natalensis. Animal food components of all the rodent species comprised mainly insects (especially ants, crickets etc.). Vertebrate flesh and scales were also well represented in the guts of C. gambianus. Domestic and miscellaneous food items were recorded from R. rattus, most of which were trapped in human and animal shelters. Inorganic gut contents, primarily sand grains, were found in sizeable quantities in more than 70% of the rodents examined. Results of experimental feeding trials with caged rodents showed close correlation with those recorded from field samples, especially in terms of food choices and the relative quantities consumed. The ecological and practical implications of these observations are discussed in the light of the importance of the rodents as agricultural and domestic pests. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Portal de revistas académicas de la Universidad de Costa Rica |
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Portal de revistas académicas de la Universidad de Costa Rica |
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ftucostaricaojs |
language |
English |
description |
Food habits of four common species of African rodents: the giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus), the black house rat (Rattus rattus), the multimammate rat (Mastomys natalensis) and the pygmy mouse (Mus minutoides) were studied on the basis of stomach content analysis, habitat sampling, and experimental trials with caged animals.Vegetable items (especially grass, grains and tubers) formed the bulk of the food of all the species. Oil-palm nuts and kernels were also common in the guts of C. gambianus and M. natalensis. Animal food components of all the rodent species comprised mainly insects (especially ants, crickets etc.). Vertebrate flesh and scales were also well represented in the guts of C. gambianus. Domestic and miscellaneous food items were recorded from R. rattus, most of which were trapped in human and animal shelters. Inorganic gut contents, primarily sand grains, were found in sizeable quantities in more than 70% of the rodents examined. Results of experimental feeding trials with caged rodents showed close correlation with those recorded from field samples, especially in terms of food choices and the relative quantities consumed. The ecological and practical implications of these observations are discussed in the light of the importance of the rodents as agricultural and domestic pests. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Iwuala, Moses O.E. Braide, Ekanem Ikpi Maduka, Nkonyelu |
spellingShingle |
Iwuala, Moses O.E. Braide, Ekanem Ikpi Maduka, Nkonyelu Observations on the food habits of some African rodents |
author_facet |
Iwuala, Moses O.E. Braide, Ekanem Ikpi Maduka, Nkonyelu |
author_sort |
Iwuala, Moses O.E. |
title |
Observations on the food habits of some African rodents |
title_short |
Observations on the food habits of some African rodents |
title_full |
Observations on the food habits of some African rodents |
title_fullStr |
Observations on the food habits of some African rodents |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observations on the food habits of some African rodents |
title_sort |
observations on the food habits of some african rodents |
publisher |
Universidad de Costa Rica |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/25543 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Revista de Biología Tropical; Vol. 28 No. 2 (1980): Volume 28 - Regular number 2 - December 1980; 227-236 Revista de Biología Tropical; Vol. 28 Núm. 2 (1980): Volumen 28 - Número regular 2 - Diciembre 1980; 227-236 Revista Biología Tropical; Vol. 28 N.º 2 (1980): Volumen 28 - Número regular 2 - Diciembre 1980; 227-236 2215-2075 0034-7744 10.15517/rbt.v28i2 |
op_relation |
https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/25543/25905 https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/25543 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v28i2 |
_version_ |
1772819164238446592 |