BACKGROUND Tick-borne diseases pose a major threat in public health. The epidemiological dynamics of these diseases depends on the tick vector species and their hosts, as well as the geographical distribution and ecology of both. Among many possible hosts for ticks, small mammals have a major role in the development of immature stages of several tick species. Small mammals are also important re...

BACKGROUND Sperm design varies enormously across species and sperm competition is thought to be a major factor influencing this variation. However, the functional significance of many sperm traits is still poorly understood. The sperm of most murid rodents are characterised by an apical hook of the sperm head that varies markedly in extent across species. In the European woodmouse Apodemus sylv...

Rodent gammaherpesviruses have become important models for understanding human herpesvirus diseases. In particular, interactions between murid herpesvirus 4 and Mus musculus (a non-natural host species) have been extensively studied under controlled laboratory conditions. However, several fundamental aspects of murine gammaherpesvirus biology are not well understood, including how these viruses...

The development of appropriate wildlife survey techniques is essential to promote effective and efficient monitoring of species of conservation concern. Here, we demonstrate the utility of two rapid-assessment, non-invasive methods to detect the presence of elusive, small, arboreal animals. We use the hazel dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius, a rodent of conservation concern, as our focal speci...

Seed presentation and availability for seed predators change during every plant reproductive cycle. We know very little about how those changes impinge on both the ability of seed predators to impact plant populations and the foraging costs associated with seed consumption. Therefore, we conducted several field experiments to evaluate whether wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus balance food and safet...

Background Rodents are considered as reservoirs of various zoonotic diseases including helminthic infections. The current study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of helminth infections in rodents, in Boyer-Ahmad district, Southwestern Iran. Methods Overall, 52 rodents were captured from various areas of the district by Sherman live traps. The animals were then euthanized and dissected. During ...