Rat Density on Diego Garcia: Implications for Eradication Feasibility
Introduced black rats are among the most invasive species to islands worldwide. In addition to agricultural impacts, rats are vectors of disease, cause damage to native flora and fauna, and negatively impact threatened/endangered species. Eradication efforts have met with mixed success. Success or f...
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ftunivnebraskali:oai:digitalcommons.unl.edu:icwdm_usdanwrc-2785 2023-11-12T04:25:10+01:00 Rat Density on Diego Garcia: Implications for Eradication Feasibility Vogt, Scott Vice, Daniel S. Pitt, William C. Guzman, Antenor Nestor Necessario, Ernesto J. Berentsen, Are R. 2014-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/1787 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/2785/viewcontent/Vogt_P26VPC_2014_Rat_Density_on_Diego_Garcia.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/1787 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/2785/viewcontent/Vogt_P26VPC_2014_Rat_Density_on_Diego_Garcia.pdf USDA Wildlife Services - Staff Publications black rat British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago Diego Garcia Rattus rattus rodent density Life Sciences text 2014 ftunivnebraskali 2023-10-30T11:24:39Z Introduced black rats are among the most invasive species to islands worldwide. In addition to agricultural impacts, rats are vectors of disease, cause damage to native flora and fauna, and negatively impact threatened/endangered species. Eradication efforts have met with mixed success. Success or failure of an eradication effort can depend on the population density of the target species, which can influence rodenticide sowing rates. We used snap trapping grids to estimate black rat densities in two different forest types on Diego Garcia: coconut forest and mixed species forest. Individual snap traps baited with fresh coconut were placed every 10 m in a 100-m × 100-m (1 ha) grid in the mixed forest and every 20 m in a 220-m × 220-m grid (4.8 ha) in the coconut forest. Traps were checked twice daily for 7 and 11 days in the mixed and coconut forest, respectively. In total, 914 rats were captured on the coconut forest grid and 125 rats were captured on the mixed forest grid. Rat density in coconut forest was 187 rats/ha (95% CI: 176-201) and 88 rats/ha (95% CI: 82-104) in mixed forest. Stomach contents were examined in 121 rats trapped in the mixed forest: 81% contained coconut along with other vegetation or meat, and 67% contained coconut exclusively. It is likely that the high rat density is driven by an abundant coconut food source resulting in a variable distribution of rats among habitat types. Planning for eradication will need to consider the variability of rodent densities across different habitats, with management strategies developed to address this variability. Text Rattus rattus University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL Indian |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL |
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ftunivnebraskali |
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unknown |
topic |
black rat British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago Diego Garcia Rattus rattus rodent density Life Sciences |
spellingShingle |
black rat British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago Diego Garcia Rattus rattus rodent density Life Sciences Vogt, Scott Vice, Daniel S. Pitt, William C. Guzman, Antenor Nestor Necessario, Ernesto J. Berentsen, Are R. Rat Density on Diego Garcia: Implications for Eradication Feasibility |
topic_facet |
black rat British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago Diego Garcia Rattus rattus rodent density Life Sciences |
description |
Introduced black rats are among the most invasive species to islands worldwide. In addition to agricultural impacts, rats are vectors of disease, cause damage to native flora and fauna, and negatively impact threatened/endangered species. Eradication efforts have met with mixed success. Success or failure of an eradication effort can depend on the population density of the target species, which can influence rodenticide sowing rates. We used snap trapping grids to estimate black rat densities in two different forest types on Diego Garcia: coconut forest and mixed species forest. Individual snap traps baited with fresh coconut were placed every 10 m in a 100-m × 100-m (1 ha) grid in the mixed forest and every 20 m in a 220-m × 220-m grid (4.8 ha) in the coconut forest. Traps were checked twice daily for 7 and 11 days in the mixed and coconut forest, respectively. In total, 914 rats were captured on the coconut forest grid and 125 rats were captured on the mixed forest grid. Rat density in coconut forest was 187 rats/ha (95% CI: 176-201) and 88 rats/ha (95% CI: 82-104) in mixed forest. Stomach contents were examined in 121 rats trapped in the mixed forest: 81% contained coconut along with other vegetation or meat, and 67% contained coconut exclusively. It is likely that the high rat density is driven by an abundant coconut food source resulting in a variable distribution of rats among habitat types. Planning for eradication will need to consider the variability of rodent densities across different habitats, with management strategies developed to address this variability. |
format |
Text |
author |
Vogt, Scott Vice, Daniel S. Pitt, William C. Guzman, Antenor Nestor Necessario, Ernesto J. Berentsen, Are R. |
author_facet |
Vogt, Scott Vice, Daniel S. Pitt, William C. Guzman, Antenor Nestor Necessario, Ernesto J. Berentsen, Are R. |
author_sort |
Vogt, Scott |
title |
Rat Density on Diego Garcia: Implications for Eradication Feasibility |
title_short |
Rat Density on Diego Garcia: Implications for Eradication Feasibility |
title_full |
Rat Density on Diego Garcia: Implications for Eradication Feasibility |
title_fullStr |
Rat Density on Diego Garcia: Implications for Eradication Feasibility |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rat Density on Diego Garcia: Implications for Eradication Feasibility |
title_sort |
rat density on diego garcia: implications for eradication feasibility |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/1787 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/2785/viewcontent/Vogt_P26VPC_2014_Rat_Density_on_Diego_Garcia.pdf |
geographic |
Indian |
geographic_facet |
Indian |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
USDA Wildlife Services - Staff Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/1787 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/2785/viewcontent/Vogt_P26VPC_2014_Rat_Density_on_Diego_Garcia.pdf |
_version_ |
1782339506762940416 |