Population dynamics of the ship rat<i>Rattus rattus</i>L. in the Orongorongo Valley, New Zealand

Efford, Murray G.; Fitzgerald, Brian M.; Karl, Brian J.; Berben, Peter H.

doi:10.1080/03014223.2006.9518457

Cited by 42 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…For example, dramatic seasonal increases in rat and mouse populations in New Zealand were explained by several correlated factors including litter arthropods, beech (Northofagus truncata) flowers (Fitzgerald et al 1996), fruit and seed availability ( Alley et al 2001), and predator populations (Efford et al 2006). Studies in New Zealand have suggested that stoats and cats are key predators that may partly regulate R. rattus populations , Blackwell et al 2003, Efford et al 2006, and cats and mongooses are rodent predators in Hawai'i that may influence R. rattus populations Malecha 1971, Shiels 2010). Food availability may be an important factor influencing rodent reproduction and abundance ( Blackwell et al 2003).…”

Section: Reproduction and Population Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to laboratory studies, R. rattus reaches sexual maturity at 2 -4 months ( Watts and Aslin 1981). Rattus rattus is capable of having litters every 32 days (range, 27 -38 [Innes 2005a]), and four to six litters per year is common (Tobin et al 1994, Efford et al 2006. Each litter typically averages 3 -6.5 individuals (Tobin et al 1994), yet in laboratory trials the litter size ranges from three to 10 and averages five to eight (Innes 2005a).…”

Section: Reproduction and Population Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 11.Rattus rattus,the Black Rat (Rodentia: Muridae)

et al. 2014

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Section: Reproduction and Population Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Reproduction and Population Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 11.Rattus rattus,the Black Rat (Rodentia: Muridae)

et al. 2014

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“…Ship rats are relatively small mammals, with a fast metabolism (Innes 2005), so colder than average winter temperatures or wet conditions may increase their food requirements, and make them more likely to enter a baited trap. Efford et al (2006) attributed increased winter capture rates to an increase in capture probability of autumn born rats. Alterio et al (1999) also noted an increase in ship rat capture rates at a beech forest site in late winter followed by a decrease in spring but did not relate this to temperature or probability of capture.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Records from sites such as Cupola Basin (RT, unpubl. data), Craigieburn (King & Moody 1982) and the Orongorongo Valley (Efford et al 2006), suggest ship rats were rare or nonexistent in high elevation silver and mountain beech forest prior to 1999. However, trapping was generally for only short time periods and did not extend into the alpine zone (King & Moody 1982;Efford et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…data), Craigieburn (King & Moody 1982) and the Orongorongo Valley (Efford et al 2006), suggest ship rats were rare or nonexistent in high elevation silver and mountain beech forest prior to 1999. However, trapping was generally for only short time periods and did not extend into the alpine zone (King & Moody 1982;Efford et al 2006). A long-term study at Mt Misery ) summarised changes in the number of mouse and stoat captures across an elevational gradient in relation to beech seed production and season, between 1974 and 1993, but did not include ship rat capture results even though these data were collected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How elevation affects ship rat (Rattus rattus) capture patterns, Mt Misery, New Zealand

Christie¹,

Wilson²,

Taylor³

et al. 2017

NZ J Ecol

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Abstract:There is a lack of information about how elevation affects the distribution of ship rats in New Zealand. In this study, ship rats (Rattus rattus) were captured in traps set along a 2 km elevational transect (455-1585 m a.s.l.) in beech (Nothofagaceae) forest and adjacent alpine tussock at Mt Misery, in Nelson Lakes National Park, from 1974 to 1993. A total of 118 rats were captured. In years with beech seed fall, upper range limits corresponded with the red beech forest (Fuscospora fusca) limit (~1030 m a.s.l.), with no rats caught above this line in the silver (Lophozonia menziesii) and mountain (F. cliffortioides) beech forest (1050-1408 m a.s.l.) or alpine zone (1425-1585 m a.s.l.). Binary generalised linear models indicated there is an indirect relationship between ship rat capture and temperature, as beech seed production, as well as decreasing elevation, were important predictors of rat capture. There was some evidence to suggest decreasing winter temperature and increasing annual precipitation also influenced ship rat capture and warrants further investigation. Our analyses provide an important insight into the drivers of ship rat elevational distribution, as well as providing a benchmark for comparing both current and future ship rat elevational distributions. Interrogation of more recent rat monitoring data from a range of beech forest types and sites is needed to test hypotheses around how warming temperatures, as predicted with climate change, will both directly and indirectly effect ship rat distribution.

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An intercontinental comparison of the dynamic behavior of mast seeding communities

2008

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Cases of mast seeding, involving highly variable seed production synchronized over large geographic areas, provide dramatic examples of resource pulses that have been documented for most major world land masses. Here, we compare the dynamic behavior of two of these systems, with the goal of understanding differences in the long‐term consequences of masting events to their respective communities. Responses to mast events in deciduous oak forests in eastern North America are characteristically complex and of low resilience. That is, each event produces long‐lasting cascading effects in the community, ultimately influencing not only seed consumers such as rodents and deer, but also the parasites and prey of those consumers, diseases transmitted by those parasites, and outbreaks of insect herbivores. In contrast, despite more extreme resource pulsing in New Zealand Nothofagus forests, responses to mast events there are less complex and more resilient, i.e., producing only short‐term (<2 years), smoothly damped, numerical responses by a few species, except after (rare) ‘double‐mast’ events in consecutive years. A detailed examination of the two systems suggests some tentative explanations for the strongly contrasting dynamics of these systems. Firstly, the higher number of species involved in North America seems to reduce resilience by increasing food chain length, lags, and alternative prey, all of which increase the dynamic complexity compared with that in New Zealand. Secondly, lack of a shared evolutionary history among species did not necessarily reduce resilience. Some exotic species showed well‐damped fluctuations (e.g., stoats (Mustela erminea L.) in New Zealand), while other exotics showed complex dynamics (e.g., gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar L.) in North America). Thirdly, recent extinctions of species such as the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius L.), once the dominant acorn predator in eastern North American forests, have likely produced qualitative changes in system dynamics in both communities. Fourthly, the North American community has more lags and hysteresis, which probably contribute to the greater dynamic complexity in eastern North America than in New Zealand Nothofagus forests. However, positive feedback loops present in North America seem to have little influence on system dynamics. Because the massive perturbations induced by masting events are major recurring challenges to an ecosystem, disentangling the causes of different system responses is likely to lead us to a better understanding of ecosystem function, resilience and stability.

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Population dynamics of the ship ratRattus rattusL. in the Orongorongo Valley, New Zealand

Cited by 42 publications

References 32 publications

Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 11.Rattus rattus,the Black Rat (Rodentia: Muridae)

Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 11.Rattus rattus,the Black Rat (Rodentia: Muridae)

How elevation affects ship rat (Rattus rattus) capture patterns, Mt Misery, New Zealand

An intercontinental comparison of the dynamic behavior of mast seeding communities

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