Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The secret life of the city rat: a review of the ecology of urban Norway and black rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus)

  • Published:
Urban Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) and black rats (Rattus rattus) are among the most prolific and widespread urban pest species in the world. Yet despite their ubiquity, a unified understanding of the ecology of these species in urban habitats eludes us. A comprehensive understanding of urban rat ecology is important for managing rat populations and mitigating the harmful effects that they may have on urban ecosystems (e.g., structural damage, food contamination, and disease spread). The objective of this systematic review and narrative synthesis is to collate, compare, and contrast data from the published literature regarding the ecology of Norway and black rats in urban centers. Themes emerging from the synthesis process, and discussed in detail, include population dynamics, behavior, movement, and environmental influences on rat populations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aplin KP, Chesser T, ten Have J (2003) Evolutionary biology of the genus Rattus: profile of an archetypal rodent pest. In: Singleton GR, Hinds LA, Krebs CJ, Spratt DM (eds) Rats, mice and people: rodent biology and management. ACIAR, Canberra, pp 487–498

  • Arai L, Britten N, Popay J, Roberts H, Petticrew M, Rodgers M, Sowden A (2007) Testing methodological developments in the conduct of narrative synthesis: a demonstration review of research on the implementation of smoke alarm interventions. Evid Policy 3:361–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett SA (1956) Behaviour components in the feeding of wild and laboratory rats. Behavior 9:24–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett SA (1963) The rat; a study in behaviour. Methuen, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett SA, Spencer MM (1951) Feeding, social behaviour and interspecific competition in wild rats. Behavior 3:229–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett SA, Spencer MM (1953) Experiments on the food preferences of wild rats (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout). J Hyg 51:16–34

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birney EC, Jenness R, Baird DD (1975) Eye lens proteins as criteria of age in cotton rats. J Wildl Manag 39:718–728

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bonnefoy X, Kampen H, Sweeney K (2008) Public health significance of urban pests. World Health Organization, Copenhagen

    Google Scholar 

  • Breed MD, Moore J (2011) Conservation and behavior. In: Animal behavior. Academic, San Diego, pp 433–463

    Google Scholar 

  • Calhoun JB (1948) Mortality and movement of brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in artificially supersaturated populations. J Wildl Manag 12:167–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calhoun JB (1962) The ecology and sociology of the Norway rat. U.S. Department of health, Education and Welfare, Bethesda

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavia R, Ruben Cueto G, Suárez OV (2009) Changes in rodent communities according to the landscape structure in an urban ecosystem. Landsc Urban Plan 90:11–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Childs JE, McLafferty SL, Sadek R, Miller GL, Khan AS, DuPree ER, Advani R, Mills JN, Glass GE (1998) Epidemiology of rodent bites and prediction of rat infestation in New York City. Am J Epidemiol 148:78–87

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clapperton BK (2006) A review of the current knowledge of rodent behaviour in relation to control devices. Sci Conserv 263:1–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Clinton JM (1969) Rats in urban America. Public Health Rep 84:1–7

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dapson RW, Ireland JM (1972) An accurate method of determining age in small mammals. J Mammal 53:100–106

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DE (1949) The weight of wild brown rats at sexual maturity. J Mammal 30:125–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DE (1951a) A comparison of reproductive potential of two rat populations. Ecology 32:469–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DE (1951b) The relation between the level of population and the prevalence of Leptospira, Salmonella, and Capillaria in Norway rats. Ecology 32:465–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DE (1953) The characteristics of rat populations. Q Rev Biol 28:373–401

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DE, Christian JJ (1956) Changes in Norway rat populations induced by introduction of rats. J Wildl Manag 20:378–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DE, Christian JJ (1958) Population consequences of a sustained yield program for Norway rats. Ecology 39:217–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterbrook JD, Shields T, Klein SL, Glass GE (2005) Norway rat population in Baltimore, Maryland, 2004. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 5:296–299

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen JT, Stokes AW, Davis DE (1949) Methods for estimating populations of brown rats in urban habitats. Ecology 30:430–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frantz SC, Comings JP (1976) Evaluation of urban rodent infestation - an approach in Nepal. Proceedings of the 7th Vertebrate Pest Conference, Monterey, California, pp. 279–290

  • Gardner-Santana LC, Norris DE, Fornadel CM, Hinson ER, Klein SL, Glass GE (2009) Commensal ecology, urban landscapes, and their influence on the genetic characteristics of city-dwelling Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus). Mol Ecol 18:2766–2778

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glass GE, Korch GW, Childs JE (1988) Seasonal and habitat differences in growth rates of wild Rattus norvegicus. J Mammal 69:587–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glass GE, Gardner-Santana LC, Holt RD, Chen J, Shields TM, Roy M, Schachterle S, Klein SL (2009) Trophic garnishes: cat-rat interactions in an urban environment. PLoS One 4:e5794

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy AR, Quy RJ, Huson LW (1983) Estimation of age in the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout) from the weight of the eyelens. J Appl Ecol 20:97–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Himsworth CG, Parsons KL, Jardine C, Patrick DM (2012) Rats, cities, people, and pathogens: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of literature regarding the epidemiology of rat-associated zoonoses in urban centers. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis Accepted November 25, 2012

  • Inglis IR, Shepherd DS, Smith P, Haynes PJ, Bull DS, Cowan DP, Whitehead D (1996) Foraging behaviour of wild rats (Rattus norvegicus) towards new foods and bait containers. Appl Anim Behav Sci 47:175–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kosoy MY, Regnery RL, Kosaya OI, Jones DC, Marston EL, Childs JE (1998) Isolation of Bartonella spp. from embryos and neonates of naturally infected rodents. J Wildl Dis 34:305–309

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Langton SD, Cowan DP, Meyer AN (2001) The occurrence of commensal rodents in dwellings as revealed by the 1996 English House Condition Survey. J Appl Ecol 38:699–709

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lund M (1994) Commensal rodents. In: Buckle A, Smith R (eds) Rodent pests and their control. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, pp 23–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Margulis HL (1977) Rat fields, neighborhood sanitation, and rat complaints in Newark, New Jersey. Geogr Rev 67:221–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh RE (1988) Current (1987) and future rodenticides for commensal rodent control. Bull Soc Vector Ecol 13:102–107

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh RE (1994) Roof rats. The handbook: prevention and control of wildlife damage. Paper 6

  • Martin RE, Pine RH, Deblase AF (2001) Age determination. In: A manual of mammalogy, vol 3. McGraw-Hill, Boston, pp 244–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Masi E, Vilaça PJ, Razzolini MTP (2009) Environmental conditions and rodent infestation in Campo Limpo district, São Paulo municipality, Brazil. Int J Environ Health Res 19:1–16

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masi E, Pino FA, Santos MDGS, Genehr L, Albuquerque JOM, Bancher AM, Alves JCM (2010) Socioeconomic and environmental risk factors for urban rodent infestation in São Paulo, Brazil. J Pest Sci 83:231–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClintock MK, Adler NT (1978) The role of the female during copulation in wild and domestic Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus). Behavior 67:67–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire B, Pizzuto T, Bemis WE, Getz LL (2006) General ecology of a rural population of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) based on intensive live trapping. Am Midl Nat 155:221–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meerburg BG, Singleton GR, Kijlstra A (2009) Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health. Crit Rev Microbiol 35:221–270

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mills DS (2010) Encyclopedia of applied animal behaviour and welfare. CABI Publishing, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers K, Carstairs J, Gilber N (1977) Determination of age of indigenous rats in Australia. J Wildl Manag 41:322–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagorsen DW (2005) Rodents & lagomorphs of British Columbia. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Noble J, Todd PM, Tucif E (2001) Explaining social learning of food preferences without aversions: an evolutionary simulation model of Norway rats. Proc R Soc Lond B 268:141–149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nowak RM, Walker EP (1991) Walker’s mammals of the world. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Omodu EA, Ati TT (2010) A survey of rats trapped in residential apartments and their ectoparasites in Makurdi, Nigeria. Res J Agric Biol Sci 6:144–149

    Google Scholar 

  • Orgain H, Schein MW (1953) A preliminary analysis of the physical environment of the Norway rat. Ecology 34:467–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry JS (1945) The reproduction of the wild brown rat (Rattus norvegicus Erxleben). Proc Zool Soc London 115:19–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry RD, Fetherston JD (1997) Yersinia pestis–etiologic agent of plague. Clin Microbiol Rev 10:35–66

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pimentel D, Lach L, Zuniga R, Morrison D (2000) Environmental and economic costs of nonindigenous species in the United States. Bioscience 50:53–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimentel D, McNair S, Janecka J, Wightman J, Simmonds C, O’Connell C, Wong E, Russel L, Zern J, Aquino T, Tsomondo T (2001) Economic and environmental threats of alien plant, animal, and microbe invasions. Agric Ecosyst Environ 84:1–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Promkerd P, Khoprasert Y, Virathavone P, Thoummabouth M, Sirisak O, Jäekel T (2008) Factors explaining the abundance of rodents in the city of Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, as revealed by field and household surveys. Integr Zool 3:11–20

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sacchi R, Gentilli A, Pilon N, Bernini F (2008) GIS-modelling the distribution of Rattus norvegicus in urban areas using non toxic attractive baits. Hystrix It J Mammal 19:13–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp D (2007) On rats, refuse, and recycling. J Urban Health 84:637–638

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singleton G (2003) Impacts of Rodents on rice production in Asia. IRRI Discussion Paper Series no. 45, Los Baños, Philippines, pp 30

  • Storer TI, Davis DE (1953) Studies on rat reproduction in San Francisco. J Mammal 34:365–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi LK, Lore RK (1980) Foraging and food hoarding of wild Rattus norvegicus in an urban environment. Behav Neural Biol 29:527–531

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tamarin RH, Malecha SR (1972) Reproductive parameters in Rattus rattus and Rattus exulans of Hawaii, 1968 to 1970. J Mammal 53:513–528

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Traweger D, Slotta-Bachmayr L (2005) Introducing GIS-modelling into the management of a brown rat (Rattus norvegicus Berk.) (Mamm. Rodentia Muridae) population in an urban habitat. J Pest Sci 78:17–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Traweger D, Travnitzky R, Moser C, Walzer C, Bernatzky G (2006) Habitat preferences and distribution of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus Berk.) in the city of Salzburg (Austria): implications for an urban rat management. J Pest Sci 79:113–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (2012) World urbanization prospects: the 2011 revision. United Nations Population Division, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Vadell MV, Cavia R, Suárez OV (2010) Abundance, age structure and reproductive patterns of Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus in two areas of the city of Buenos Aires. Int J Pest Manag 56:327–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whishaw IQ, Whishaw GE (1996) Conspecific aggression influences food carrying: studies on a wild population of Rattus norvegicus. Aggress Behav 22:47–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams JM (1976) Determination of age of Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans). Proc N Z Ecol Soc 23:79–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson DE, Reeder DAM (2005) Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Wundram IJ, Ruback RB (1986) Urban rats: symbol symptom and symbiosis. Hum Organ 45:212–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Yahner RH (2001) Fascinating mammals: conservation and ecology in the mid-eastern states. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziporyn T, McClintock MK (1991) Passing as an indicator of social dominance among female wild and domestic Norway rats. Behavior 118:26–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Darin Bennett for his contributions to the manuscript. This study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP – 119530 and CGV-104833), the City of Vancouver, the BC Centre for Disease Control, and the Urban Health Research Initiative.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada

    Alice Y. T. Feng & Chelsea G. Himsworth

  2. British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, 1767 Angus Campbell Road, Abbotsford, British Columbia, V3G 2M3, Canada

    Chelsea G. Himsworth

Authors
  1. Alice Y. T. Feng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chelsea G. Himsworth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alice Y. T. Feng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Feng, A.Y.T., Himsworth, C.G. The secret life of the city rat: a review of the ecology of urban Norway and black rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus). Urban Ecosyst 17, 149–162 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-013-0305-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-013-0305-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation