Journal article
The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition
Science advances, Vol.10(14), 6755
04/03/2024
PMID: 38569028
Web of Science ID: WOS:001196271300003
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Abstract
While the impacts of black (Rattus rattus) and brown (Rattus rattus) rats on human society are well documented-including the spread of disease, broad-scale environmental destruction, and billions spent annually on animal control-little is known about their ecology and behavior in urban areas due to the challenges of studying animals in city environments. We use isotopic and ZooMS analysis of archaeological (1550s-1900 CE) rat remains from eastern North America to provide a large-scale framework for species arrival, interspecific competition, and dietary ecology. Brown rats arrived earlier than expected and rapidly out-competed black rats in coastal urban areas. This replacement happened despite evidence that the two species occupy different trophic positions. Findings include the earliest molecularly confirmed brown rat in the Americas and show a deep ecological structure to how rats exploit human-structured areas, with implications for understanding urban zoonosis, rat management, and ecosystem planning as well as broader themes of rat dispersal, phylogeny, evolutionary ecology, and climate impacts.
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Details
- Title
- The ratting of North America
- Publication Details
- Science advances, Vol.10(14), 6755
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2024 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- Identifiers
- WOS:001196271300003; 99380576891006600
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology; FPAN; College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities; Archaeology Institute
- Language
- English