BACKGROUND Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is a neglected disease with public health importance that is common in many rural areas of Iran. In recent years, behavioral resistance and/or bait shyness against the common rodenticide among reservoir hosts of ZCL have been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Klerat® and zinc phosphide against natural reservoir...

Plague, a flea-transmitted infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is a primary threat to the persistence of prairie dog populations (Cynomys spp.). We conducted a 3-yr survey (2004-2006) of fleas from Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) and their burrows in montane grasslands in Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico. Our objectives were to describe flea com...

—Populations of a common burrowing rodent, Microtus californicus (the California vole), thrive in ungrazed or lightly grazed grasslands in coastal California. Two sites ungrazed by livestock, one dominated by native perennial grasses and another dominated by invasive annuals, were evaluated over 2 consecutive years for the relationship between plant species richness and location of M. californi...

MAMMALS and birds sometimes seek shelter or nesting sites in the ground. Many of them scarcely affect the soil as a medium for plant growth. A notable exception is the soil-dwelling rodents. Although their acreweight is usually only about a few pounds even in the uncultivated land, their soil transporting activities sometimes are considerable. In building their tunnels and nests, they transport...

We characterized the relationship between fleas and their rodent hosts in the presence of prairie dog colonies and compared them to adjacent assemblages away from colonies. We evaluated the rodent-flea relationship by quantifying prevalence, probability of infestation, flea load, and intensity of fleas on rodents. As prairie dog burrows provide refugia for fleas, we hypothesized that prevalence...

The endemic Sri Lankan subspecies of rock python, Python molurus pimbura is the largest snake found in Lanka. Though distributed island wide, it listed as Near Threatened due to rapid population decline. This a common victim illegal trade (as pets and for skin/meat). prey items python are poorly documented, but not unusual them take difficult such porcupines. In India, Bhupathy & Vijayan (1...

Following an epidemiological survey of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in several villages of Badrood, a rural district north of the city of Natanz, central Iran, Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) papatasi Scopoli were found to be naturally infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) major zymodeme MON-26. Sand flies were collected and dissected biweekly from rodent burrows from May to October 2001. L...

Food-storage behaviors can be plastic for food-hoarding species. Some hibernating, granivorous rodents switch seasonally from scatter hoarding (storing food in small, separate caches) to larder hoarding (concentrating food in a central location). To date, little is known about seasonal food-hoarding behaviors of free-living rodents that forage and store food year-round (i.e., nonhibernators). U...

The juvenile hormone analogues methoprene and pyriproxyfen were evaluated as rodent feed-through insecticides for control of immature stages of the sandfly Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli (Diptera: Psychodidae). The development and survival of P. papatasi second-instar larvae fed faeces from Syrian hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus, that had been fed a diet containing methoprene (0, 9.788, 97.88 or 9...

Pest rodents significantly reduce crop yields globally each year, necessitating an efficient rodent management program. In small rice-producing nations like Malaysia, these might lead to food insecurity, thus a science-based pest strategy is crucial. We attempted identify the key habitat structure that affects populations by investigating relationships of with farming practices, site-level habi...