Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage?
Context Rattus tanezumi is a serious crop pest within the island of Luzon, Philippines. In intensive flood-irrigated rice field ecosystems of Luzon, female R. tanezumi are known to primarily nest within the tillers of ripening rice fields and along the banks of irrigation canals. The nesting habits...
| Autores principales: | , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
2012
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/165816 |
| _version_ | 1855532906926047232 |
|---|---|
| author | Stuart, Alexander M. Prescott, Colin V. Singleton, Grant R. |
| author_browse | Prescott, Colin V. Singleton, Grant R. Stuart, Alexander M. |
| author_facet | Stuart, Alexander M. Prescott, Colin V. Singleton, Grant R. |
| author_sort | Stuart, Alexander M. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Context Rattus tanezumi is a serious crop pest within the island of Luzon, Philippines. In intensive flood-irrigated rice field ecosystems of Luzon, female R. tanezumi are known to primarily nest within the tillers of ripening rice fields and along the banks of irrigation canals. The nesting habits of R. tanezumi in complex rice–coconut cropping systems are unknown. Aims To identify the natal nest locations of R. tanezumi females in rice–coconut systems of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor (SMBC), Luzon, during the main breeding season to develop a management strategy that specifically targets their nesting habitat. Methods When rice was at the booting to ripening stage, cage-traps were placed in rice fields adjacent to coconut habitat. Thirty breeding adult R. tanezumi females were fitted with radio-collars and successfully tracked to their nest sites. Key results Most R. tanezumi nests (66.7%) were located in coconut groves, five nests (16.7%) were located in rice fields and five nests (16.7%) were located on the rice field edge. All nests were located above ground level and seven nests were located in coconut tree crowns. The median distance of nest sites to the nearest rice field was 22.5 m. Most nest site locations had good cover of ground vegetation and understorey vegetation, but low canopy cover. Only one nest location had an understorey vegetation height of less than 20 cm. Conclusions In the coastal lowland rice–coconut cropping systems of the SMBC, female R. tanezumi showed a preference for nesting in adjacent coconut groves. This is contrary to previous studies in intensive flood-irrigated rice ecosystems of Luzon, where the species nests mainly in the banks of irrigation canals. It is important to understand rodent breeding ecology in a specific ecosystem before implementing appropriate management strategies. Implications In lowland rice–coconut cropping systems, coconut groves adjacent to rice fields should be targeted for the management of R. tanezumi nest sites during the main breeding season as part of an integrated ecologically based approach to rodent pest management. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace165816 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publishDateRange | 2012 |
| publishDateSort | 2012 |
| publisher | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
| publisherStr | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1658162025-12-08T10:29:22Z Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage? Stuart, Alexander M. Prescott, Colin V. Singleton, Grant R. flooded rice irrigated rice rats rattus tanezumi rice fields rodents philippines Context Rattus tanezumi is a serious crop pest within the island of Luzon, Philippines. In intensive flood-irrigated rice field ecosystems of Luzon, female R. tanezumi are known to primarily nest within the tillers of ripening rice fields and along the banks of irrigation canals. The nesting habits of R. tanezumi in complex rice–coconut cropping systems are unknown. Aims To identify the natal nest locations of R. tanezumi females in rice–coconut systems of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor (SMBC), Luzon, during the main breeding season to develop a management strategy that specifically targets their nesting habitat. Methods When rice was at the booting to ripening stage, cage-traps were placed in rice fields adjacent to coconut habitat. Thirty breeding adult R. tanezumi females were fitted with radio-collars and successfully tracked to their nest sites. Key results Most R. tanezumi nests (66.7%) were located in coconut groves, five nests (16.7%) were located in rice fields and five nests (16.7%) were located on the rice field edge. All nests were located above ground level and seven nests were located in coconut tree crowns. The median distance of nest sites to the nearest rice field was 22.5 m. Most nest site locations had good cover of ground vegetation and understorey vegetation, but low canopy cover. Only one nest location had an understorey vegetation height of less than 20 cm. Conclusions In the coastal lowland rice–coconut cropping systems of the SMBC, female R. tanezumi showed a preference for nesting in adjacent coconut groves. This is contrary to previous studies in intensive flood-irrigated rice ecosystems of Luzon, where the species nests mainly in the banks of irrigation canals. It is important to understand rodent breeding ecology in a specific ecosystem before implementing appropriate management strategies. Implications In lowland rice–coconut cropping systems, coconut groves adjacent to rice fields should be targeted for the management of R. tanezumi nest sites during the main breeding season as part of an integrated ecologically based approach to rodent pest management. 2012 2024-12-19T12:55:30Z 2024-12-19T12:55:30Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/165816 en Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Stuart, Alexander M.; Prescott, Colin V. and Singleton, Grant R. 2012. Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage?. Wildl. Res., Volume 39 no. 6 p. 496 |
| spellingShingle | flooded rice irrigated rice rats rattus tanezumi rice fields rodents philippines Stuart, Alexander M. Prescott, Colin V. Singleton, Grant R. Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage? |
| title | Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage? |
| title_full | Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage? |
| title_fullStr | Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage? |
| title_short | Natal nest locations of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems: a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage? |
| title_sort | natal nest locations of the asian house rat rattus tanezumi in lowland rice coconut cropping systems a coconut penthouse or rice bunds with water frontage |
| topic | flooded rice irrigated rice rats rattus tanezumi rice fields rodents philippines |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/165816 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stuartalexanderm natalnestlocationsoftheasianhouseratrattustanezumiinlowlandricecoconutcroppingsystemsacoconutpenthouseorricebundswithwaterfrontage AT prescottcolinv natalnestlocationsoftheasianhouseratrattustanezumiinlowlandricecoconutcroppingsystemsacoconutpenthouseorricebundswithwaterfrontage AT singletongrantr natalnestlocationsoftheasianhouseratrattustanezumiinlowlandricecoconutcroppingsystemsacoconutpenthouseorricebundswithwaterfrontage |