Food habits of rodents in grain godowns of Karachi, Pakistan

Lathiya, S. B.; Ahmed, Shabir; Pervez, Amjad; Rizvi, Syed Arif Hussain

doi:10.1016/j.jspr.2007.06.001

Cited by 18 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Less information appears to exist on invertebrates in the diets of Asian Musk Shrews, which are generally considered to be highly omnivorous, incorporating significant quantities of arthropods in their diets including Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Blattaria and Chilopoda (Advani & Rana ; Prakash & Singh ; Lathiya et al . ). On Ile aux Aigrettes, the African land snail Achatina fulica was consumed when used as bait in traps (Varnham et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Dietary competition between the alien Asian Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus) and a re‐introduced population of Telfair's Skink (Leiolopisma telfairii)

et al. 2013

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Re-introduction of rare species to parts of their historical range is becoming increasingly important as a conservation strategy. Telfair's Skinks (Leiolopisma telfairii), once widespread on Mauritius, were until recently found only on Round Island. There it is vulnerable to stochastic events, including the introduction of alien predators that may either prey upon it or compete for food resources. Consequently, skinks have been introduced to Ile aux Aigrettes, another small Mauritian island that has been cleared of rats. However, the island has been invaded by Asian Musk Shrews (Suncus murinus), a commensal species spread by man well beyond its natural Asian range. Our aim was to use next-generation sequencing to analyse the diets of the shrews and skinks to look for niche competition. DNA was extracted from skink faeces and from the stomach contents of shrews. Application of shrew- and skink-specific primers revealed no mutual predation. The DNA was then amplified using general invertebrate primers with tags to identify individual predators, and then sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing. 119 prey MOTUs (molecular taxonomic units) were isolated, although none could be identified to species. Seeding of cladograms with known sequences allowed higher taxonomic assignments in some cases. Although most MOTUs were not shared by shrews and skinks, Pianka's niche overlap test showed significant prey overlap, suggesting potentially strong competition where food resources are limited. These results suggest that removal of the shrews from the island should remain a priority.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Dietary competition between the alien Asian Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus) and a re‐introduced population of Telfair's Skink (Leiolopisma telfairii)

et al. 2013

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“…Hence, for pest species, accurate knowledge of what items they are eating is very important to determine the actual crop damages due to them and also their impact on stored food products (Heroldova et al 2008). Better understanding of the feeding habits of these pest species can also help to develop more effective management strategies, including targeted baits and lures (Lathiya et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet analysis of small mammal pests: A comparison of molecular and microhistological methods

Khanam

Howitt

Mushtaq

et al. 2016

Integrative Zoology

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Knowledge of what pest species are eating is important to determine their impact on stored food products and to plan management strategies accordingly. In this study, we investigated the food habits of 2 rodents, Rattus rattus (ship rat) and Mus musculus castaneus (house mouse) as well as an insectivore, Suncus murinus (shrew), present in human dwellings. Both a microhistological approach and a DNA barcoding approach were used in the present study. Following DNA extraction, amplification was performed using group-specific primers targeting birds, plants and invertebrates. Resulting polymerase chain reaction products were sequenced and analyzed to identify the different prey species present in the gut contents. The findings from the application of both techniques were in agreement, but the detection of prey type with each technique was different. The DNA barcoding approach gave greater species-level identification when compared to the microhistological method, especially for the invertebrate and avian prey. Overall, with both techniques, 23 prey taxa were identified in the gut contents of the 3 species, including 15 plants, 7 insects and a single bird species. We conclude that with a selection of suitable "barcode genes" and optimization of polymerase chain reaction protocols, DNA barcoding can provide more accurate and faster results. Prey detection from either technique alone can bias the dietary information. Hence, combining prey information of both microhistological analysis and DNA barcoding is recommended to study pest diet, especially if the pest is an omnivore or insectivore species.

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“…The bulk of storage takes place in on-farm storage systems. These systems are characterized by traditional storage structures (Nukenine 2010) that are prone to invasion by agents of stored food losses including insects and rodents (Lathiya et al 2007). In Kenya, earlier work by De Lima (1979) identified insects and rodents as the main causes of postharvest losses in durable crops.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On-farm maize storage systems and rodent postharvest losses in six maize growing agro-ecological zones of Kenya

et al. 2016

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Rodents are one of the major postharvest pests that affect food security by impacting on both food availability and safety. However, knowledge of the impact of rodents in onfarm maize storage systems in Kenya is limited. A survey was conducted in 2014 to assess magnitudes of postharvest losses in on-farm maize storage systems in Kenya, and the contribution of rodents to the losses. A total of 630 farmers spread across six maize growing agro-ecological zones (AEZs) were interviewed. Insects, rodents and moulds were the main storage problems reported by farmers. Storage losses were highest in the moist transitional and moist mid-altitude zones, and lowest in the dry-transitional zone. Overall, rodents represented the second most important cause of storage losses after insects, and were ranked as the main storage problem in the lowland tropical zone, while insects were the main storage problem in the other AEZs. Where maize was stored on cobs, total farmer perceived (farmer estimation) storage weight losses were 11.1 ± 0.7 %, with rodents causing up to 43 % of these losses. Contrastingly, where maize was stored as shelled grain, the losses were 15.5 ± 0.6 % with rodents accounting for up to 30 %. Regression analysis showed that rodents contributed significantly to total storage losses (p < 0.0001), and identified rodent trapping as the main storage practice that significantly (p = 0.001) lowered the losses. Together with insecticides, rodent traps were found to significantly decrease total losses. Improved awareness and application of these practices could mitigate losses in on farm-stored maize.

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Food habits of rodents in grain godowns of Karachi, Pakistan

Cited by 18 publications

References 7 publications

Dietary competition between the alien Asian Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus) and a re‐introduced population of Telfair's Skink (Leiolopisma telfairii)

Dietary competition between the alien Asian Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus) and a re‐introduced population of Telfair's Skink (Leiolopisma telfairii)

Diet analysis of small mammal pests: A comparison of molecular and microhistological methods

On-farm maize storage systems and rodent postharvest losses in six maize growing agro-ecological zones of Kenya

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