No abstract

No abstract

The current study was undertaken to estimate the morphometric pattern of three commensal rodents, i.e., Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, and Rattus rattus in Qatar. One hundred forty-eight rodents were captured from different facilities throughout Qatar. The captured rodents were used to identify the external body and cranio-mandibular morphometry. The study found that R. norvregicus was the most prevalent (n = 120, 81%, 95% CI: 73.83–87.05). Most of the rodents were collected from Al Rayan municipality (n = 92, 62%), were adults (n = 138, 93.2%, 95% CI: 87.92–96.71), and were from livestock farms (n = 79, 49%, 95% CI: 41.02–57.65). The rodents’ average body weights were 18.8 ± 2.2 gm, 264.3 ± 87.5 gm, and 130 ± 71.3 gm for M. musculus, R. norvegicus, and R. rattus, respectively. The research found that the studied rodents are smaller than those of other countries such as Turkey, Tunisia, and Iran. The study of morphometry is a useful tool for the traditional identification of small mammal species, including rodents. The average morphometric measurements of the external body and skull were normally distributed and can be used as a reference of R. norvegicus and R. rattus for Qatar. A further comprehensive study is required to investigate the rodent population index, eco-friendly control program, and public health importance in Qatar.

Background: Traditionally, household pest control relies entirely on the use of pesticides. Multiple hazards are associated with the use of pesticides. Objectives of the study: Because of the potential health effects of pesticides exposure, the main aim of this study is to seek alternative methods to control cockroaches. Management measures that keep unwanted pests out buildings and houses can control cockroaches and their associated allergens better than traditional pesticides spraying. Methods: Three methods of investigations were used: interviews with house owners, estimation of cockroach density by using sticky traps and direct observations on the habitat. Although the study was conducted mainly in Rayyan municipality but information on cockroach population density were also collected from other municipalities in Qatar. Results: Two species of cockroaches were identified. The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.) and the German cockroach (Blattela germanica L.). Sewage water manholes were the preferred locations for the American cockroach while the German cockroaches were found mainly in kitchens. Houses which were connected to the sewage water disposal nets suffered less from cockroach infestations. Clean houses that sanitary measures are less subjected to cockroach infestations. Regular house repairs and maintenance are negatively correlated with cockroach density. Houses with many entries suffer more from cockroaches. Number of residence in the house are positively correlated with cockroach density. Education level and awareness of the house owner is negatively correlated with the cockroach density. The use of pesticides alone achieved 54% control. Conclusion: The information collected in this study can be utilized to develop a pest management strategy taking into consideration all the components which may lead to suppress the pest population without relying exclusively on chemical use. This could be achieved through habitat manipulation, which includes maintaining proper sewer system, repairing around the house, fixing water leaks, sealing around electrical plumbing outlets, cleaning, covering garbage cans and tie garbage bags, etc. Pesticides can be used only as a spot treatment in locations where pests were located. Residents education is a major component in the control program because it will improve the awareness about the pest and how to co-operate in the control program.

In the present study data were collected from Seds experimental station of Animal Production, Ministry of Agriculture, during the years from 1995 to 2006 on local Saidi sheep. A total number of 1644 Saidi lambs records were available for this study. The data were analyzed by the method of Least-Square analysis. The study aimed to determine the effects of some environmental factors ( lambing season, lambing year, sex of lamb and type of birth ) and inbreeding on the weights of lambs at birth, monthly weight until 18 month and average daily gain in body weight at different periods of age, Bw-3, ˃3-6, ˃6-9, ˃9-12, ˃12-15 and ˃15-18 months. All weights at different age significantly affected (P<0.001) by the environmental factors except weights at the periods of 12, 16, 17 and 18th for lambing season and at 15, 16 and 18 months for type of birth. The inbreeding did not had significant effect on body weights at different periods of age except the weight at one and two months of age were significant (P< 0.001). The average daily gain in body weight of Saidi lambs at all different periods of age were significantly affected (P<0.001) by lambing season, lambing year and sex of lamb except at the period of ˃12-15 months for lambing season were not significant. Results indicated that only the average daily gain in body weight at the periods of ˃Bw-3 and ˃3-6 months were influenced (P<0.001) by type of birth. The average daily gain at the period from birth to 3 months affected significantly by inbreeding (P<0.037). Therefore the non-genetic factors must be considered in evaluating growth performance in the case of increase the economic gain to avoid the breeding effect.