Invasive rat establishment and changes in small mammal populations on Caribbean Islands following two hurricanes

Shiels, Aaron B.; Lombard, Claudia D.; Shiels, Laura; Hillis‐Starr, Zandy

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e00986

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Despite the higher levels of rodent catches, activity and sighting during lockdown is consistent with rodent population observations after hurricanes 22,23 , whereas the rapid decline at the end of the lockdown period is not. We hypothesize that this might be due to the undeniable temporal and physical differences between a climatic event and a pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have suggested that changes in human behavior following natural catastrophes typically result in changes in rat populations [21][22][23] . For example, large storms such as hurricanes, can often cause large spikes in rodent abundance 22,23 . It is thought that in urban environments, where this pattern has been recorded, the increased rodent abundance might be due to a process of counter-urbanization [24][25][26] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hunger Pandemic: Urban Rodents' Boom and Bust During COVID-19

Bedoya‐Pérez

Ward

Loomes

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Shortly after the enactment of restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, local governments and public health authorities around the world reported an increased sighting of rats. We combined multi-catch rodent station data, rodent bait stations data, and rodent-related residents’ complaints data to explore the effects that social distancing and lockdown measures might have had on the rodent population within the City of Sydney, Australia. We found that rodent captures, activity, and rodent related residents’ complaints increased during the COVID-19 related lockdown period, followed by a steep decline post-lockdown. We found no changes in the geographical distribution of any of our indices of rodent abundance. We hypothesize that lockdown measures resulted in an increase in rodent activity driven by a reduction in human-derived food resources. This might have increased the mortality rate, triggering a population crash. There is a high chance that the surviving individuals might be rodenticide resistant. It is possible that the onset of COVID-19 might have disrupted commensal rodent populations, with profound implications for the future management of these ubiquitous urban indicator species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hunger Pandemic: Urban Rodents' Boom and Bust During COVID-19

Bedoya‐Pérez

Ward

Loomes

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…More than one-third of pest management companies surveyed reported 50-100% of their post-lockdown jobs were from new clients, while six companies reported that 100% of their client-base had changed from old to new clients. Within the pest management industry, such pronounced changes in rat populations following catastrophes are expected 37,38 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Natural disasters typically result in temporary decreases in rat populations followed shortly by an uptick in populations 37,38 . Residents near food service establishments should therefore be prepared for local increases in rat populations during the late spring and early summer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rats and the COVID-19 pandemic: Early data on the global emergence of rats in response to social distancing

Parsons

Kiyokawa

Richardson

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Following widespread closures of food-related businesses due to efforts to curtail the spread of SARS-CoV-2, public health authorities reported increased sightings of rats in close vicinity of people. Because rats vector a number of pathogens transmissible to people, changes in their behavior has consequences for human health risks. To determine the extent of how stay-at-home measures influenced patterns of rat sightings we: 1) examined the number of rat-related public service requests before and during the period of lockdown in New York City (NYC) and Tokyo, Japan; 2) examined reports made in proximity to closed food service establishments in NYC; and 3) surveyed pest control companies in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Poland. During the month following lockdown, the overall number of reports decreased by 30% in NYC, while increasing 24% in Tokyo. However, new hotspots of 311 calls were observed in proximity of closed food service establishments in NYC; and there was a consistent positive association between kernel density estimates of food service establishments and location of 311 calls (r = 0.33 to 0.45). Similarly, more reports were observed in the restaurant-dense eastern side of Tokyo. Changes in clientele for pest control companies varied geographically, with 37% of pest-management companies surveyed in North America reporting 50-100% of their post-lockdown rat-related requests coming from new clients. In Warsaw, where there are no clusters of restaurants in densely-populated areas, there were no changes. In Tokyo, there were no changes in clients. We conclude that changes in public service calls are region-specific and localized, with increases in rat sightings more likely near restaurant-dense regions. Pest control companies surveyed in North America either lost much of their business or shifted clientele from old to new locations. We discuss possible mitigation measures including ramping up pest control during re-opening of food-related establishments and the need for citywide rodent surveillance and disease monitoring.

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Invasive rodent responses to experimental and natural hurricanes with implications for global climate change

Shiels¹,

Arellano

Shiels

2022

Ecosphere

Self Cite

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Hurricanes cause dramatic changes to forests by opening the canopy and depositing debris onto the forest floor. How invasive rodent populations respond to hurricanes is not well understood, but shifts in rodent abundance and foraging may result from scarce fruit and seed resources that follow hurricanes. We conducted studies in a wet tropical forest in Puerto Rico to better understand how experimental (canopy trimming experiment) and natural (Hurricane Maria) hurricane effects alter populations of invasive rodents (Rattus rattus [rats] and Mus musculus [mice]) and their foraging behaviors. To monitor rodent populations, we used tracking tunnels (inked and baited cards inside tunnels enabling identification of animal visitors' footprints) within experimental hurricane plots (arborist trimmed in 2014) and reference plots (closed canopy forest). To assess shifts in rodent foraging, we compared seed removal of two tree species (Guarea guidonia and Prestoea acuminata) between vertebrate‐excluded and free‐access treatments in the same experimental and reference plots, and did so 3 months before and 9 months after Hurricane Maria (2017). Trail cameras were used to identify animals responsible for seed removal. Rat incidences generated from tracking tunnel surveys indicated that rat populations were not significantly affected by experimental or natural hurricanes. Before Hurricane Maria there were no mice in the forest interior, yet mice were present in forest plots closest to the road after the hurricane, and their forest invasion coincided with increased grass cover resulting from open forest canopy. Seed removal of Guarea and Prestoea across all plots was rat dominated (75%–100% rat‐removed) and was significantly less after than before Hurricane Maria. However, following Hurricane Maria, the experimental hurricane treatment plots of 2014 had 3.6 times greater seed removal by invasive rats than did the reference plots, which may have resulted from rats selecting post‐hurricane forest patches with greater understory cover for foraging. Invasive rodents are resistant to hurricane disturbance in this forest. Predictions of increased hurricane frequency from expected climate change should result in forest with more frequent periods of grassy understories and mouse presence, as well as with heightened rat foraging for fruit and seed in preexisting areas of disturbance.

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Invasive rat establishment and changes in small mammal populations on Caribbean Islands following two hurricanes

Cited by 13 publications

References 19 publications

Hunger Pandemic: Urban Rodents' Boom and Bust During COVID-19

Hunger Pandemic: Urban Rodents' Boom and Bust During COVID-19

Rats and the COVID-19 pandemic: Early data on the global emergence of rats in response to social distancing

Invasive rodent responses to experimental and natural hurricanes with implications for global climate change

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