Using Rhodamine B to assess the movement of small mammals in an urban slum
Using Rhodamine B to assess the movement of small mammals in an urban slum
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DOI：
10.1111/2041-210x.13693
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发表时间：
2021-08-11
影响因子：
6.6
通讯作者：
Khalil, Hussein
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Awoniyi, Adedayo Michael;Souza, Fabio Neves;Khalil, Hussein
小型哺乳动物，尤其是老鼠，是世界各地城市中普遍存在的有害物种。老鼠四处走动，进入住宅和其他人为建筑。它在城市贫民窟尤其普遍，由于其携带和传播的病原体，它对基础设施和公共卫生构成威胁。在大多数城市地区，尽管采取了若干鼠患控制措施，但有效控制鼠患数量仍未成功。关于老鼠运动距离的有限信息阻碍了控制单元的识别和干预期间实施控制的有效尺度。我们评估了罗丹明B（一种无毒生物标志物）用于评估城市贫民窟老鼠行走距离的适用性。我们在2019年至2020年的两次活动中追踪了老鼠。总体而言，27.9%的捕获大鼠在荧光显微镜下发现其胡须中有罗丹明B的迹象。这表明我们的方法为研究该地区小型哺乳动物的运动提供了一种可行的替代方法。我们发现，老鼠在城市贫民窟的移动距离可达90米，体型较小的老鼠比体型较大的老鼠更活跃。从这项研究中获得的信息应有助于指导有效的啮齿动物控制举措，以减少城市贫民窟中家庭啮齿动物侵扰和啮齿动物传播疾病的风险。
The small mammals, especially rats are pest species that are present in cities world-wide. The rat moves around and into residences and other anthropogenic structures. It is especially ubiquitous in urban slums and a threat to infrastructure and public health due to the pathogens it carries and transmits. Effective control of rat populations in most urban areas has been unsuccessful, despite several rodent control efforts. Limited information about rat movement distance has hindered identification of control units and effective scales at which to enact control during interventions. We evaluated the suitability of Rhodamine B, a non-toxic biomarker, for assessing the distance travelled by rats in urban slums. We tracked rats over two campaigns between 2019 and 2020. Overall, 27.9% of trapped rats showed signs of Rhodamine B in their whiskers under fluorescence microscope. This shows that our method provides a viable alternative for investigating the movement of small mammals in this area. We found that rats move up to 90 m distance in urban slums, with smaller rats travelling more actively than bigger rats. Information obtained from this study should be useful in guiding efficient rodent control initiatives to reduce the risk of household rodent infestation and rodent-borne disease in urban slums.