Abundance, age structure and reproductive patterns ofRattus norvegicusandMus musculusin two areas of the city of Buenos Aires

Abstract

The aim of this research was to compare the abundance, growth, age structure and reproductive patterns of Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus populations of a shanty town and a parkland in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Live trapping of rodents was conducted in each area every 2 months, from September 2006 to August 2007. Abundance of R. norvegicus and M. musculus was significantly higher in the shanty town than in the parkland. Abundance of both species showed significant differences between trapping sessions in both study sites. Both species showed a peak in abundance in summer in the parkland and also in autumn in the shanty town. Age structure of both species differed between summer-autumn and winter-spring in the shanty town. In the parkland, pregnant females of both species were only found in spring-summer. No significant differences were found in any of the reproductive parameters compared between the shanty town and the parkland. Our results suggest that the shanty town represents a favourable but not constant habitat for rodents throughout the year.

Helminth Diversity in Synanthropic Rodents from an Urban Ecosystem

“…Shantytowns refer to areas inhabited by a very lowincome population that lives in precarious dwellings with an inadequate supply of basic urban services, such as garbage removal, sanitation networks, electricity, telephones, and plumbing (Fernández et al 2007;Vadell et al 2010;Hancke and Suárez 2014).…”

“…Parklands refer to public areas of recreation, where areas of spontaneous vegetation and woodlots with planted species are included in a matrix of grass or ornamental lawn (Cavia et al 2009;Vadell et al 2010). The parklands studied were located on the banks of the Río de la Plata River and the Riachuelo River, both of which allow the entry of native flora and fauna to an urban ecosystem (Cavia et al 2009).…”

A Mixed Methods Approach to Exploring the Relationship between Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus) Abundance and Features of the Urban Environment in an Inner-City Neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada

“…They found that Norway rats were more common in shantytowns and parklands compared to industrial-residential neighborhoods and natural preserves [4]. Another study in the same city found that Norway rats were more abundant in shantytowns compared to parklands [5]. In Salzburg, Austria, Norway rats were trapped in a variety of urban locations with distinct environmental features [6].…”

Commensal Rodents in the City of Buenos Aires: A Temporal, Spatial, and Environmental Analysis at the Whole City Level

“…In these areas, there are several shantytowns where both high values in the proportion of people who answered having seen rodents in their dwellings and neighborhood in the last quarter (Fig. 3c) and high abundance of commensal rodents had been previously documented (Coto 2001;Fernández et al 2007;Vadell et al 2010;Cavia et al 2012). Possibly, the existing rodent problems in these neighborhoods do not motivate people to claim to the City Government because they have other essential needs.…”

“…Moreover, both Bajomi (1993), Vadell et al (2010), and Tamayo-Uria et al (2013b) all observed seasonal cycles of abundance of rats (R. norvegicus and R. rattus) in urban areas, which were positively associated with average temperature. In the present study, the same pattern was observed.…”