Temporal production of coloured faeces in wild roof rats (Rattus rattus) following consumption of fluorescent non-toxic bait and a comparison with wild R. norvegicus and Mus musculus. (March 2019) - Frankova, Marcela
Abstract: In the laboratory, we evaluated the efficacy of the use of fluorescent non-toxic bait for the monitoring of wild roof rats ( Rattus rattus ). We described the temporal dynamics of the production of fluorescent faeces after the consumption of fluorescent bait and compared it with those of R. norvegicus and Mus musculus . Roof rats produced, on average, 52 faecal pellets per 24 h, ranging from 31 to 81. The dry weight of the produced faeces per 24 h ranged from 1.1 to 3.4 g. The production peak of highly detectable fluorescent faeces was 8–18 h after consuming the bait, and the last detectable faeces were recorded 28–30 h after consuming the bait. Our data showed that roof rats produced the highest proportion of highly fluorescent faeces, indicating that best physiological potential for the use of this type of fluorescent bait exists in R. rattus since R. norvegicus and M. musculus produced 80% and 65% of the fluorescent faeces produced by R. rattus, respectively. Highlights: Roof rats produced fluorescent faeces 8–18 h after the consumption of the tested bait. Roof rat, Norway rat and house mouse differed in production of fluorescent faeces. Roof rats produced the highest proportion of fluorescent faeces in the 3 species. Fluorescent bait is a promising tool for rodent monitoring in stores and food industry.