Coexistence of roof rats and carnivores in barns on an urban livestock farm in Japan

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Because these rodents infest livestock farms, rodent control on such farms is an important issue for the livestock industry. Although the diel activity patterns of rodents are key to their control, information on this aspect of their ecology is limited. Furthermore, the effect of carnivores on rodent activity patterns, as well as the carnivore species present, on urban livestock farms is unclear. Here, we set camera traps in an open-type cow barn and in an enclosed pig barn on the same urban livestock farm in Japan from August through October 2021. The only rodents observed in both barns were roof rats, and the carnivore species observed were dogs ( Canis familiaris ), cats ( Felis catus ), and Japanese weasels ( Mustela itatsi ). The relative abundance index of cats was similar between the barns, while dogs and Japanese weasels were observed only in the cow and pig barns, respectively. These results suggest that cats and Japanese weasels could easily enter the enclosed barn. We also found that roof rats showed different patterns of activity and behavior between the barns. However, because the pattern in both barns was nocturnal, the activity patterns of roof rats and carnivores showed a moderate to high degree of overlap. Therefore, roof rats did not appear to shift their activity patterns to avoid nocturnal carnivores. Taken together, the present study provides valuable information for rodent control in urban livestock farms. Black rat predator-prey interaction rodent management ship rats. Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Key Message We camera trapped rodents and carnivores in a cow and a pig barn on an urban livestock farm. The only rodents observed were roof rats, and the carnivores observed were dogs, cats, and a Japanese weasel. Although the pattern differed between barns, roof rats showed a nocturnal activity pattern. The activity patterns of roof rats and carnivores showed a moderate to high degree of overlap. Introduction Brown rats ( Rattus norvegicus ), roof rats ( Rattus rattus ), and house mice ( Mus musculus ) are three of the most important pest rodent species in the world. These rodents are considered to be important pests not only in urban centers (Himsworth et al. 2013 ), but also on livestock farms (Leirs et al. 2004 ) for several reasons. First, they can be a source of food-borne zoonoses to humans, including campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, yersiniosis, listeriosis, and toxoplasmosis (Chlebicz and Slizewska 2018 ; Jones and Dubey 2012 ). Second, rodent infestations increase the risk of disease infection in livestock because livestock cannot avoid feed contaminated with rodent excreta (Daniels and Hutchings 2001 ), and this can result in salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis, and infection with tapeworms. Third, these rodents cause physical damage to barns by gnawing on electrical cables and burrowing under buildings. Fourth, rodents also cause economic damage because they consume animal food. Therefore, rodent control on livestock farms is an important issue for the livestock industry. Knowledge of diel activity patterns is essential for rodent control. Because the main tools of rodent control, including rodenticides and traps, are passive methods, they are expected to be most effective when used during the target animals’ active part of the 24-hr period. While house mice show neither a clear nocturnal activity pattern nor clear peak(s) of activity during the night (Daan et al. 2011 ; Robbers et al. 2015 ), both brown rats (Calhoun 1962 ; Klemann and Pelz 2006 ; Takahashi and Lore 1980 ) and roof rats (Salgado et al. 2022 ; Tanikawa 1995 ) are known to show an intrinsic nocturnal activity pattern with bimodal peaks at approximately sunset and sunrise. However, brown rats have been shown to exhibit an altered rhythm in the presence of carnivores. For example, in urban environments, brown rats were observed to alter their temporal and spatial use patterns to avoid cats ( Felis catus ) (Parsons et al. 2018 ). Consistent with this avoidance, brown rats showed a diurnal activity pattern when a nocturnal carnivore species, the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), was present in their habitat (Fenn and Macdonald 1995 ). Therefore, for the purposes of rodent control on urban farms, it is more appropriate to understand the diel activity patterns of pest rodents in the context of interaction with other carnivore species present in livestock barns. It has been reported that a wide variety of carnivore species visit livestock farms, ranging from wild canids (e.g., wolves), ursids (bears), and felines (e.g., pumas) (Gehring et al. 2010 ; Miller 2015 ; Miller et al. 2016 ). However, because this information was obtained mainly from rural livestock farms, little is known about carnivores visiting urban livestock farms. Dogs ( Canis familiaris ) and cats are two of the most popular pet carnivores worldwide. In addition, dogs and cats are the most populous free-ranging carnivores in urban areas, which has been shown to have negative effects on nearby wildlife populations (Cecchetti et al. 2021 ; Hughes and Macdonald 2013 ). Therefore, we expect that dogs and cats are two major carnivores visiting barns on urban livestock farms. To clarify these points, we set camera traps in a cow and a pig barn on the same urban livestock farm in Japan from August through October 2021 with the following objectives: to identify the rodent species present and the carnivore species that visited these barns, analyze the diel activity patterns of rodent activity and rodent behavior, and analyze the diel activity patterns of carnivore activity and evaluate its overlap with that of the rodents. Materials and Methods This study was an observational study using camera traps, and as such, The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization Research Ethics Committee judged that it does not require ethical approval. Location The study was conducted on a livestock farm in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan (36°16’28.7” N, 140°19’46.4” E). We considered the farm as urban because it was located on a busy road with a restaurant (500 m), a gas station (500 m), a barber shop (650 m), two convenience stores (900 m and 1000 m), a highway interchange (900 m), a café (1000 m), and many residences and sales offices nearby. The cow barn (approximately 20 ´ 31.5 m) was an open-type barn with a vented gable roof. There were two walls on two short sides of the barn. During the camera trapping, the barn housed 15 cows in tie stalls. When calves were born, they were housed individually in small pens. The cows were fed straw, grass and corn silage, and commercial concentrates once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The pig barn (approximately 8.1 ´ 33 m) was an enclosed barn with a vented gable roof. There were four walls, one on each side of the barn. Inside the barn, three large (approximately 3.8 ´ 6.1 m) and six small (approximately 3.6 ´ 2.7 m) pens were aligned along one long side of the barn, all of which were connected to individual outdoor pens by a small door. The outdoor pens were also enclosed with wire mesh. While two to three adult sows were housed in each of the three large pens, four to six feeder pigs were housed in each of the two small pens until shipment. The pigs were fed a commercial feed formulation once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The distance between the cow and pig barns was approximately 165 m, with several paths and buildings between them. Camera trapping from August 13 th to October 20 th , 2021 We set 11 and 13 cameras in the cow and pig barns, respectively. These cameras were sufficient to monitor the entire target area of each barn. We used Hyke Cam LT4G cameras (Hyke Inc., Hokkaido, Japan), which were equipped with a passive, movement-triggered infrared sensor. A 60-second video was recorded with no interval and high sensor sensitivity when animal movement was detected within the range of the sensor. Under low-light conditions, the cameras used an infrared light during recording. Experimenters entered the barns only to check the camera batteries and memory cards every two weeks to minimize disturbance. Each camera was kept in only one location during the study. No humans appeared in the barns except for the caretakers. Data analysis For each video, an experimenter recorded the timestamp and the presence of rodents (brown rats, roof rats, and house mice), livestock caretakers, and/or carnivores. Animals were regarded as “present” when their whole body was seen in the video. Because we aimed to analyze the degree of activity, all videos were included in the analyses. In contrast, to calculate the relative abundance indices (RAI), successive videos (< 30 min apart) of the same species were considered as one event. The RAI was calculated in each barn in accordance with Tanwar et al. (2021) as follows: We defined 05:00–17:59 h as daytime and 18:00–04:59 h as nighttime based on sunrise and sunset during this period. The ratio of videos recorded during the night with respect to all videos (night ratio) was calculated for rodents in each barn. To analyze the diel activity patterns, we estimated the probability density of target animals by kernel density estimation using the “Overlap” package of R 4.2.2 (R Development Core Team 2022). To analyze the overlap between the two probability densities, we calculated the overlap coefficient (Δ) and 95% confidence interval using the same package. Here, we used 1 and 4 in accordance with Ridout and Linkie (2009) when the number of videos was less than 75 and more than 75, respectively. The overlap was considered to be low (Δ 0.75) (Monterroso et al. 2014; Perez-Irineo et al. 2021). Confidence intervals were obtained from 1,000 bootstrap samples. We also recorded the occurrence of exploration (rearing or sniffing an object), veering (changing direction), social behavior (any physical touching of other rodents), resting (lying on its stomach or its side), grooming (face washing, oral grooming, and scratch grooming), and stretch attend posture (SAP, approaching an object with a flattened body with its head oriented toward the object) exhibited by rodents in each video. The percentage of videos that included each behavior with respect to all videos was calculated in each barn. Results In this study, we obtained 17,003 videos. Among them, the only rodents we observed were roof rats (12,830 videos), and no videos showed brown rats or house mice. Carnivores that regularly visited these barns were five dogs (67 videos) and two cats (129 videos), which were identified based on body size and appearance (Fig. 1 ). In addition, a Japanese weasel ( Mustela itatsi ) was once observed in the pig barn (1 video) (Fig. 1 ). The cameras also recorded the livestock caretakers (3,970 videos). The RAI of these animals is shown in Table 1 . The RAI of roof rats was higher in the pig barn. Although the RAI of cats was similar between the barns, dogs and Japanese weasels were observed only in the cow barn and pig barn, respectively. Table 1 The relative abundance indices of each species observed in the two barns monitored in this study. Cow barn Pig barn Rodents (total) 75 160 Roof rats 75 160 Brown rats 0 0 House mice 0 0 Caretakers 73 59 Carnivores (total) 14 8.3 Cats 7 8 Dogs 7 0 Japanese weasels 0 0.3 The probability density of roof rats and their behaviors is shown in Fig. 2 . In the cow barn (Fig. 2 a), the probability density started to increase around sunset and peaked unimodally at approximately midnight, and then decreased toward sunrise. Therefore, most of the videos were recorded during the night (night ratio = 0.99). The observed behaviors of roof rats, in order of frequency, were exploration (50.7%), veering (37.9%), social behavior (7.4%), resting (1.6%), grooming (1.3%), and SAP (1.1%). In the pig barn (Fig. 2 b), the probability density showed a bimodal pattern. It began to rise at approximately noon and reached its first peak at approximately sunset. After decreasing at approximately midnight, the probability density increased again, reaching a second peak at approximately sunrise, and then suddenly dropping after sunrise. More videos were recorded at night than during the day (night ratio = 0.64). The observed behaviors of roof rats, in order of frequency, were social behavior (31.1%), exploration (26.0%), grooming (25.0%), resting (15.7%), veering (1.3%), and SAP (0.9%). Because the number of videos was too small to estimate the probability density of cats, dogs, and Japanese weasels separately, these three species were combined as one group (carnivores). In the cow barn (Fig. 2 a), the probability density of carnivores showed a bimodal pattern. The probability density started to increase at approximately 2.5 h before sunset and reached its first peak at approximately 2 h after sunset. Then, after decreasing once at approximately midnight, the probability density increased again, reaching a second peak at approximately 2.5 h before sunrise, and then suddenly dropped toward 2 h after sunrise. Therefore, most of the videos were recorded during the night (night ratio = 0.93). In the pig barn (Fig. 2 b), the probability density showed a unimodal pattern. It started to increase at approximately 2.5 h before sunset, then continued to increase and peaked at approximately 1 h after midnight, gradually decreasing toward sunrise and disappearing at approximately 4 h after sunrise. More videos were recorded at night than during the day (night ratio = 0.86). The overlap between the densities is shown in Fig. 3 . The probability density of roof rats was highly overlapped with that of carnivores in the cow barn (Fig. 3 a, Δ = 0.82, CI: 0.76–0.90) and moderately overlapped with that of carnivores in the pig barn (Fig. 3 b, Δ = 0.60, CI: 0.53–0.67). In addition to the carnivores, the livestock caretakers also routinely visited both the cow and pig barns. Consistent with the fact that cows and pigs were fed once in the morning and once in the afternoon, the probability density of caretakers was high in the morning and evening in both barns. When we evaluated the overlap, the probability density of caretakers showed a limited overlap with that of roof rats in the cow barn (Fig. 3 a, Δ = 0.01, CI: 0.01–0.02) and in the pig barn (Fig. 3 b, Δ = 0.27, CI: 0.26–0.28) Discussion In the present study, we analyzed videos recorded by camera traps set in a cow and a pig barn on the same urban livestock farm. The only rodents we observed in both barns were roof rats. Although cats were observed in similar numbers between the barns, dogs and Japanese weasels were observed only in the cow barn and pig barn, respectively. We also found that roof rats showed different activity patterns and behaviors between the barns. However, because the overall pattern in both barns was nocturnal, the overlap in the activity patterns of roof rats and carnivores was moderate to high. Therefore, roof rats did not appear to shift their activity patterns to avoid nocturnal carnivores. Taken together, the present study provides valuable information for rodent control in urban livestock farms. This is the first report to show that dogs and cats are two major carnivore species on urban livestock farms. Analysis of their RAI suggests that cats and Japanese weasels can easily enter enclosed barns. In recent years, there has been an epidemic of classical swine fever in Japan (Shimizu et al. 2021 ). Because wild boars are considered to be reservoirs (Meng et al. 2009 ), livestock farms have made great efforts to prevent wild boars from entering farms and barns. This was also the case in the pig barn observed in the present study. Although all the farm staff had never seen wild boars in the vicinity, they had taken precautions. Specifically, the pig barn was surrounded by a wire fence. In addition, the barn and outdoor pens were completely enclosed in wire mesh. Nevertheless, the RAIs of the cats were similar between the enclosed pig barn and the open-type cow barn. Furthermore, Japanese weasels were only observed in the pig barn. Therefore, it can be assumed that small wildlife species are present even in enclosed barns. In addition to dogs and cats, mammals such as raccoons ( Procyon lotor ), raccoon dogs ( Nyctereutes procyonoides ), and Japanese hares ( Lepus brachyurus ) are also known to be in urban areas of Japan (Saito and Koike 2013 ). Therefore, in addition to livestock, such urban mammals should be considered when implementing rodent control campaigns on urban livestock farms. We also reported for the first time the diel activity patterns of roof rats living in livestock barns. We found that the activity patterns differed between the cow and pig barns. One possible interpretation is that the difference between carrying capacity and population density varies between the barns. A longitudinal observation of a population of brown rats kept in an experimental enclosure revealed that the diel activity patterns changed with population density (Calhoun 1962 ). When the population density was well below carrying capacity, all rats showed a nocturnal bimodal activity pattern. However, as the density approached carrying capacity, competition for resources became more intense. In this situation, while socially higher-ranking rats maintained the bimodal activity pattern, socially lower-ranking rats were forced to be most active before and after these two peaks to avoid being attacked by higher-ranking rats. As a result, the activity of the entire population became stable throughout the night. On the basis of the similarity of the patterns in this study, it is possible that the population density of roof rats in the cow and pig barns was close to carrying capacity and still below carrying capacity, respectively. This interpretation is further supported by the differences in the observed behavior between the two barns. The high frequency of veering and a low frequency of social behavior we observed in the cow barn would correspond with an avoidance of socially higher-ranking rats by lower-ranking rats in a dense population. In contrast, the observed high frequency of social behavior in the pig barn would correspond with a sparser population. However, because information on the ecology of roof rats is limited, it is unclear whether they share a similar social structure with brown rats. In addition, although there were no videos of roof rats entering or leaving the barns, we cannot rule out an alternative possibility that a single population, rather than two independent populations, occupied these two barns. Specifically, after starting their activities in the pig barn, roof rats may have moved to the cow barn at approximately midnight. Then, the roof rats could have moved back to the pig barn at approximately sunrise. As a result, we may have been observing complementary activity patterns in these barns. To clarify these points, further studies on this aspect of roof rat ecology are needed, especially for those living in farm buildings. Contrary to our expectations, the probability density of roof rats overlapped moderately to highly with that of the carnivores. Therefore, it is possible that the carnivores, especially cats, do not pose the same degree of threat to roof rats as they do to brown rats. Roof rats are usually active on the higher levels, such as the roof, beams, and girders of barns. Even when they come down to the ground, they can easily climb up vertical columns (Ewer 1971 ; Tanikawa and Sato 1993 ) and return to the higher levels. In contrast, cats, dogs, and Japanese weasels are mostly active on the ground level, although cats and Japanese weasels can climb up to a certain level, including on shelves or steps on walls. Therefore, unlike brown rats, which are mostly active at ground level, roof rats do not necessarily need to perceive these carnivores as risks when they enter barns at ground level. Indeed, in our videos, the roof rats stayed on the beams or in the ceiling insulation, even when a cat was watching them from the top of a pig pen wall (Fig. 4 ). In addition, there were no videos showing carnivores preying on roof rats. A previous study reporting that roof rats did not avoid cat and dog odors (Carthey and Banks 2018 ) further supports this possibility. However, it is also possible that roof rats perceive a greater degree of risk from humans than brown rats do, although both roof rats and brown rats perceive a similar degree of threat from carnivores. This may explain why the roof rats in this study were more active in the presence of carnivores than in the presence of caretakers. Further research is needed to assess this hypothesis. In summary, we detected roof rats, cats, dogs and a Japanese weasel in the barns on the urban livestock farm. The roof rats showed different activity patterns between the barns. However, the activity patterns of both species showed a moderate to high degree of overlap with that of the carnivores. On the basis of these findings, we recommend that rodent control campaigns be implemented at night in barns where roof rats are present. However, even in enclosed barns, it should be assumed that small wildlife species will be present during the campaign, in addition to the housed livestock. Therefore, small wildlife species should be considered in addition to livestock when implementing rodent control campaigns. Further analysis of the ecology of rodents in livestock barns would contribute to the improvement of public health and animal health by effectively preventing food-borne zoonoses and disease infections in livestock. Declarations Acknowledgement This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers 20H03160 and 22K14979). We would like to thank Dr. Kuwahara and all the staff of the Animal Resource Science Center, The University of Tokyo for their kind support. Funding: This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers 20H03160 and 22K14979). Competing interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Author contributions: Ryoko Koizumi and Yasushi Kiyokawa conceived and designed the research. Ryoko Koizumi, Tsutomu Tanikawa, Shigeki Hirata, and Yasushi Kiyokawa provided resources. Ryoko Koizumi, Tsutomu Tanikawa, and Yasushi Kiyokawa collected the data. Ryoko Koizumi and Tomohiko Endo analyzed the data. Ryoko Koizumi and Yasushi Kiyokawa wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript. Data availability: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Ethics approval: This is an observational study. The Animal Care and Use Committee for National Agriculture and Food Research Organization has confirmed that no ethical approval is required. Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent to publish: Not applicable. References Calhoun JB (1962) The ecology and sociology of the Norway rat. Public Health Service Publication, Maryland, USA Carthey AJR, Banks PB (2018) Naive, bold, or just hungry? 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3877829","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":268550491,"identity":"744a4a2c-9652-442f-860f-6a4904cab38e","order_by":0,"name":"Ryoko Koizumi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Agriculture and Food Research Organization","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ryoko","middleName":"","lastName":"Koizumi","suffix":""},{"id":268550492,"identity":"c2ad6b43-d957-4dfe-997c-f8120e006beb","order_by":1,"name":"Tomohiko Endo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Institute for Environmental Studies","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tomohiko","middleName":"","lastName":"Endo","suffix":""},{"id":268550493,"identity":"3c6338f1-4d35-462e-b282-dc4f5b4c8025","order_by":2,"name":"Tsutomu Tanikawa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Japan Pest Control Association","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tsutomu","middleName":"","lastName":"Tanikawa","suffix":""},{"id":268550494,"identity":"c51c0b47-6efc-4836-852c-cf8bd27d2302","order_by":3,"name":"Shigeki Hirata","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Agriculture and Food Research Organization","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shigeki","middleName":"","lastName":"Hirata","suffix":""},{"id":268550495,"identity":"162e952a-72f9-413e-bc3c-2f482461914f","order_by":4,"name":"Yasushi Kiyokawa","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Tokyo","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yasushi","middleName":"","lastName":"Kiyokawa","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-01-19 06:14:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3877829/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3877829/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":50075665,"identity":"87d8e87a-2410-4699-aa34-675c0e0d0576","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-24 05:47:44","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":270837,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe carnivores observed in the cow and pig barns monitored in this study. (a) A dog (\u003cem\u003eCanis familiaris\u003c/em\u003e) in the cow barn. (b) A cat (\u003cem\u003eFelis catus\u003c/em\u003e) in the pig barn. (c) A Japanese weasel (\u003cem\u003eMustela itatsi\u003c/em\u003e) in the pig barn.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Onlinefig1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3877829/v1/6d50f963921e48416aa48b46.png"},{"id":50075666,"identity":"ba8051d2-54f4-4773-9bea-93567f2ba5fa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-24 05:47:44","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":237504,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe activity patterns of roof rats (\u003cem\u003eRattus rattus\u003c/em\u003e) and carnivores in this study. The probability density of roof rats and their behaviors and the probability density of carnivores (a) in the cow barn and (b) in the pig barn.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Onlinefig2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3877829/v1/cec1ec848506c595359c2aff.png"},{"id":50075664,"identity":"60d4497d-fcc7-4d69-947d-6c3bd00f3a77","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-24 05:47:44","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":455247,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe overlap of activity patterns of the species observed in this study. The overlap of the probability density of roof rats (\u003cem\u003eRattus rattus\u003c/em\u003e, solid line) and carnivores (dotted line) and between roof rats (solid line) and livestock caretakers (dotted line) (a) in the cow barn and (b) in the pig barn. The gray shading represents the area of overlap.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Onlinefig3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3877829/v1/d430769e8fff24f4c463a95f.png"},{"id":50075668,"identity":"a50d73e0-a749-41d1-8d08-3205210d582f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-24 05:47:44","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":2758510,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eRepresentative photos showing the coexistence of roof rats (\u003cem\u003eRattus rattus\u003c/em\u003e) and a cat (\u003cem\u003eFelis catus\u003c/em\u003e) in the pig barn monitored in this study. Roof rats on a beam and in the ceiling insulation (white circles) and a cat at the top of a pig pen wall looking at each other.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Onlinefig4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3877829/v1/33aafc97a816c2a3a0962f5f.png"},{"id":50075938,"identity":"4cff0e49-4bce-4fc8-bd79-88ac240b282a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-24 05:55:47","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1004182,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3877829/v1/11edded1-7fe1-4e8b-81ef-626f875df7c9.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"Competing interest reported. JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers 20H03160 and 22K14979)","formattedTitle":"Coexistence of roof rats and carnivores in barns on an urban livestock farm in Japan","fulltext":[{"header":"Key Message","content":"\u003cp\u003eWe camera trapped rodents and carnivores in a cow and a pig barn on an urban livestock farm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe only rodents observed were roof rats, and the carnivores observed were dogs, cats, and a Japanese weasel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough the pattern differed between barns, roof rats showed a nocturnal activity pattern.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe activity patterns of roof rats and carnivores showed a moderate to high degree of overlap.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eBrown rats (\u003cem\u003eRattus norvegicus\u003c/em\u003e), roof rats (\u003cem\u003eRattus rattus\u003c/em\u003e), and house mice (\u003cem\u003eMus musculus\u003c/em\u003e) are three of the most important pest rodent species in the world. These rodents are considered to be important pests not only in urban centers (Himsworth et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e), but also on livestock farms (Leirs et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e) for several reasons. First, they can be a source of food-borne zoonoses to humans, including campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, yersiniosis, listeriosis, and toxoplasmosis (Chlebicz and Slizewska \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Jones and Dubey \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). Second, rodent infestations increase the risk of disease infection in livestock because livestock cannot avoid feed contaminated with rodent excreta (Daniels and Hutchings \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e), and this can result in salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis, and infection with tapeworms. Third, these rodents cause physical damage to barns by gnawing on electrical cables and burrowing under buildings. Fourth, rodents also cause economic damage because they consume animal food. Therefore, rodent control on livestock farms is an important issue for the livestock industry.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKnowledge of diel activity patterns is essential for rodent control. Because the main tools of rodent control, including rodenticides and traps, are passive methods, they are expected to be most effective when used during the target animals\u0026rsquo; active part of the 24-hr period. While house mice show neither a clear nocturnal activity pattern nor clear peak(s) of activity during the night (Daan et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Robbers et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), both brown rats (Calhoun \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1962\u003c/span\u003e; Klemann and Pelz \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Takahashi and Lore \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e) and roof rats (Salgado et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Tanikawa \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e) are known to show an intrinsic nocturnal activity pattern with bimodal peaks at approximately sunset and sunrise. However, brown rats have been shown to exhibit an altered rhythm in the presence of carnivores. For example, in urban environments, brown rats were observed to alter their temporal and spatial use patterns to avoid cats (\u003cem\u003eFelis catus\u003c/em\u003e) (Parsons et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Consistent with this avoidance, brown rats showed a diurnal activity pattern when a nocturnal carnivore species, the red fox (\u003cem\u003eVulpes vulpes\u003c/em\u003e), was present in their habitat (Fenn and Macdonald \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, for the purposes of rodent control on urban farms, it is more appropriate to understand the diel activity patterns of pest rodents in the context of interaction with other carnivore species present in livestock barns.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt has been reported that a wide variety of carnivore species visit livestock farms, ranging from wild canids (e.g., wolves), ursids (bears), and felines (e.g., pumas) (Gehring et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Miller \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Miller et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). However, because this information was obtained mainly from rural livestock farms, little is known about carnivores visiting urban livestock farms. Dogs (\u003cem\u003eCanis familiaris\u003c/em\u003e) and cats are two of the most popular pet carnivores worldwide. In addition, dogs and cats are the most populous free-ranging carnivores in urban areas, which has been shown to have negative effects on nearby wildlife populations (Cecchetti et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Hughes and Macdonald \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, we expect that dogs and cats are two major carnivores visiting barns on urban livestock farms.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo clarify these points, we set camera traps in a cow and a pig barn on the same urban livestock farm in Japan from August through October 2021 with the following objectives: to identify the rodent species present and the carnivore species that visited these barns, analyze the diel activity patterns of rodent activity and rodent behavior, and analyze the diel activity patterns of carnivore activity and evaluate its overlap with that of the rodents.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study was an observational study using camera traps, and as such, The\u0026nbsp;National Agriculture and Food Research Organization Research Ethics Committee judged that it does not require ethical approval.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLocation\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study was conducted on a livestock farm in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan (36\u0026deg;16\u0026rsquo;28.7\u0026rdquo; N, 140\u0026deg;19\u0026rsquo;46.4\u0026rdquo; E). We considered the farm as urban because it was located on a busy road with a restaurant (500 m), a gas station (500 m), a barber shop (650 m), two convenience stores (900 m and 1000 m), a highway interchange (900 m), a caf\u0026eacute; (1000 m), and many residences and sales offices nearby.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cow barn (approximately 20\u0026nbsp;\u0026acute;\u0026nbsp;31.5 m) was an open-type barn with a vented gable roof. There were two walls on two short sides of the barn. During the camera trapping, the barn housed 15 cows in tie stalls. When calves were born, they were housed individually in small pens. The cows were fed straw, grass and corn silage, and commercial concentrates once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The pig barn (approximately 8.1\u0026nbsp;\u0026acute;\u0026nbsp;33 m) was an enclosed barn with a vented gable roof. There were four walls, one on each side of the barn. Inside the barn, three large (approximately 3.8\u0026nbsp;\u0026acute;\u0026nbsp;6.1 m) and six small (approximately 3.6\u0026nbsp;\u0026acute;\u0026nbsp;2.7 m) pens were aligned along one long side of the barn, all of which were connected to individual outdoor pens by a small door. The outdoor pens were also enclosed with wire mesh. While two to three adult sows were housed in each of the three large pens, four to six feeder pigs were housed in each of the two small pens until shipment. The pigs were fed a commercial feed formulation once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The distance between the cow and pig barns was approximately 165 m, with several paths and buildings between them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCamera trapping from August 13\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e to October 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e, 2021\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe set 11 and 13 cameras in the cow and pig barns, respectively. These cameras were sufficient to monitor the entire target area of each barn. We used Hyke Cam LT4G cameras (Hyke Inc., Hokkaido, Japan), which were equipped with a passive, movement-triggered infrared sensor. A 60-second video was recorded with no interval and high sensor sensitivity when animal movement was detected within the range of the sensor. Under low-light conditions, the cameras used an infrared light during recording. Experimenters entered the barns only to check the camera batteries and memory cards every two weeks to minimize disturbance. Each camera was kept in only one location during the study. No humans appeared in the barns except for the caretakers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData analysis\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor each video, an experimenter recorded the timestamp and the presence of rodents (brown rats, roof rats, and house mice), livestock caretakers, and/or carnivores. Animals were regarded as \u0026ldquo;present\u0026rdquo; when their whole body was seen in the video. Because we aimed to analyze the degree of activity, all videos were included in the analyses. In contrast, to calculate the relative abundance indices (RAI), successive videos (\u0026lt; 30 min apart) of the same species were considered as one event. The RAI was calculated in each barn in accordance with Tanwar et al. (2021) as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"data:image/png;base64,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\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe defined 05:00\u0026ndash;17:59 h as daytime and 18:00\u0026ndash;04:59 h as nighttime based on sunrise and sunset during this period. The ratio of videos recorded during the night with respect to all videos (night ratio) was calculated for rodents in each barn. To analyze the diel activity patterns, we estimated the probability density of target animals by kernel density estimation using the \u0026ldquo;Overlap\u0026rdquo; package of R 4.2.2 (R Development Core Team 2022). To analyze the overlap between the two probability densities, we calculated the overlap coefficient (\u0026Delta;) and 95% confidence interval using the same package. Here, we used\u0026nbsp;\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e and\u0026nbsp;\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e in accordance with Ridout and Linkie (2009) when the number of videos was less than 75 and more than 75, respectively. The overlap was considered to be low (\u0026Delta; \u0026lt; 0.5), moderate (\u0026Delta; 0.5\u0026ndash;0.75), or high (\u0026Delta; \u0026gt; 0.75) (Monterroso et al. 2014; Perez-Irineo et al. 2021). Confidence intervals were obtained from 1,000 bootstrap samples.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe also recorded the occurrence of exploration (rearing or sniffing an object), veering (changing direction), social behavior (any physical touching of other rodents), resting (lying on its stomach or its side), grooming (face washing, oral grooming, and scratch grooming), and stretch attend posture (SAP, approaching an object with a flattened body with its head oriented toward the object) exhibited by rodents in each video. The percentage of videos that included each behavior with respect to all videos was calculated in each barn.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn this study, we obtained 17,003 videos. Among them, the only rodents we observed were roof rats (12,830 videos), and no videos showed brown rats or house mice. Carnivores that regularly visited these barns were five dogs (67 videos) and two cats (129 videos), which were identified based on body size and appearance (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, a Japanese weasel (\u003cem\u003eMustela itatsi\u003c/em\u003e) was once observed in the pig barn (1 video) (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). The cameras also recorded the livestock caretakers (3,970 videos). The RAI of these animals is shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. The RAI of roof rats was higher in the pig barn. Although the RAI of cats was similar between the barns, dogs and Japanese weasels were observed only in the cow barn and pig barn, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe relative abundance indices of each species observed in the two barns monitored in this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCow barn\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePig barn\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRodents (total)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e160\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRoof rats\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e160\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrown rats\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHouse mice\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCaretakers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCarnivores (total)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCats\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDogs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eJapanese weasels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe probability density of roof rats and their behaviors is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. In the cow barn (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ea), the probability density started to increase around sunset and peaked unimodally at approximately midnight, and then decreased toward sunrise. Therefore, most of the videos were recorded during the night (night ratio\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.99). The observed behaviors of roof rats, in order of frequency, were exploration (50.7%), veering (37.9%), social behavior (7.4%), resting (1.6%), grooming (1.3%), and SAP (1.1%). In the pig barn (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003eb), the probability density showed a bimodal pattern. It began to rise at approximately noon and reached its first peak at approximately sunset. After decreasing at approximately midnight, the probability density increased again, reaching a second peak at approximately sunrise, and then suddenly dropping after sunrise. More videos were recorded at night than during the day (night ratio\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.64). The observed behaviors of roof rats, in order of frequency, were social behavior (31.1%), exploration (26.0%), grooming (25.0%), resting (15.7%), veering (1.3%), and SAP (0.9%).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause the number of videos was too small to estimate the probability density of cats, dogs, and Japanese weasels separately, these three species were combined as one group (carnivores). In the cow barn (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ea), the probability density of carnivores showed a bimodal pattern. The probability density started to increase at approximately 2.5 h before sunset and reached its first peak at approximately 2 h after sunset. Then, after decreasing once at approximately midnight, the probability density increased again, reaching a second peak at approximately 2.5 h before sunrise, and then suddenly dropped toward 2 h after sunrise. Therefore, most of the videos were recorded during the night (night ratio\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.93). In the pig barn (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003eb), the probability density showed a unimodal pattern. It started to increase at approximately 2.5 h before sunset, then continued to increase and peaked at approximately 1 h after midnight, gradually decreasing toward sunrise and disappearing at approximately 4 h after sunrise. More videos were recorded at night than during the day (night ratio\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.86).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe overlap between the densities is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. The probability density of roof rats was highly overlapped with that of carnivores in the cow barn (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ea, Δ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.82, CI: 0.76\u0026ndash;0.90) and moderately overlapped with that of carnivores in the pig barn (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003eb, Δ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.60, CI: 0.53\u0026ndash;0.67). In addition to the carnivores, the livestock caretakers also routinely visited both the cow and pig barns. Consistent with the fact that cows and pigs were fed once in the morning and once in the afternoon, the probability density of caretakers was high in the morning and evening in both barns. When we evaluated the overlap, the probability density of caretakers showed a limited overlap with that of roof rats in the cow barn (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ea, Δ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.01, CI: 0.01\u0026ndash;0.02) and in the pig barn (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003eb, Δ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.27, CI: 0.26\u0026ndash;0.28)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn the present study, we analyzed videos recorded by camera traps set in a cow and a pig barn on the same urban livestock farm. The only rodents we observed in both barns were roof rats. Although cats were observed in similar numbers between the barns, dogs and Japanese weasels were observed only in the cow barn and pig barn, respectively. We also found that roof rats showed different activity patterns and behaviors between the barns. However, because the overall pattern in both barns was nocturnal, the overlap in the activity patterns of roof rats and carnivores was moderate to high. Therefore, roof rats did not appear to shift their activity patterns to avoid nocturnal carnivores. Taken together, the present study provides valuable information for rodent control in urban livestock farms.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is the first report to show that dogs and cats are two major carnivore species on urban livestock farms. Analysis of their RAI suggests that cats and Japanese weasels can easily enter enclosed barns. In recent years, there has been an epidemic of classical swine fever in Japan (Shimizu et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Because wild boars are considered to be reservoirs (Meng et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e), livestock farms have made great efforts to prevent wild boars from entering farms and barns. This was also the case in the pig barn observed in the present study. Although all the farm staff had never seen wild boars in the vicinity, they had taken precautions. Specifically, the pig barn was surrounded by a wire fence. In addition, the barn and outdoor pens were completely enclosed in wire mesh. Nevertheless, the RAIs of the cats were similar between the enclosed pig barn and the open-type cow barn. Furthermore, Japanese weasels were only observed in the pig barn. Therefore, it can be assumed that small wildlife species are present even in enclosed barns. In addition to dogs and cats, mammals such as raccoons (\u003cem\u003eProcyon lotor\u003c/em\u003e), raccoon dogs (\u003cem\u003eNyctereutes procyonoides\u003c/em\u003e), and Japanese hares (\u003cem\u003eLepus brachyurus\u003c/em\u003e) are also known to be in urban areas of Japan (Saito and Koike \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, in addition to livestock, such urban mammals should be considered when implementing rodent control campaigns on urban livestock farms.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe also reported for the first time the diel activity patterns of roof rats living in livestock barns. We found that the activity patterns differed between the cow and pig barns. One possible interpretation is that the difference between carrying capacity and population density varies between the barns. A longitudinal observation of a population of brown rats kept in an experimental enclosure revealed that the diel activity patterns changed with population density (Calhoun \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1962\u003c/span\u003e). When the population density was well below carrying capacity, all rats showed a nocturnal bimodal activity pattern. However, as the density approached carrying capacity, competition for resources became more intense. In this situation, while socially higher-ranking rats maintained the bimodal activity pattern, socially lower-ranking rats were forced to be most active before and after these two peaks to avoid being attacked by higher-ranking rats. As a result, the activity of the entire population became stable throughout the night. On the basis of the similarity of the patterns in this study, it is possible that the population density of roof rats in the cow and pig barns was close to carrying capacity and still below carrying capacity, respectively. This interpretation is further supported by the differences in the observed behavior between the two barns. The high frequency of veering and a low frequency of social behavior we observed in the cow barn would correspond with an avoidance of socially higher-ranking rats by lower-ranking rats in a dense population. In contrast, the observed high frequency of social behavior in the pig barn would correspond with a sparser population. However, because information on the ecology of roof rats is limited, it is unclear whether they share a similar social structure with brown rats. In addition, although there were no videos of roof rats entering or leaving the barns, we cannot rule out an alternative possibility that a single population, rather than two independent populations, occupied these two barns. Specifically, after starting their activities in the pig barn, roof rats may have moved to the cow barn at approximately midnight. Then, the roof rats could have moved back to the pig barn at approximately sunrise. As a result, we may have been observing complementary activity patterns in these barns. To clarify these points, further studies on this aspect of roof rat ecology are needed, especially for those living in farm buildings.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eContrary to our expectations, the probability density of roof rats overlapped moderately to highly with that of the carnivores. Therefore, it is possible that the carnivores, especially cats, do not pose the same degree of threat to roof rats as they do to brown rats. Roof rats are usually active on the higher levels, such as the roof, beams, and girders of barns. Even when they come down to the ground, they can easily climb up vertical columns (Ewer \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1971\u003c/span\u003e; Tanikawa and Sato \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e) and return to the higher levels. In contrast, cats, dogs, and Japanese weasels are mostly active on the ground level, although cats and Japanese weasels can climb up to a certain level, including on shelves or steps on walls. Therefore, unlike brown rats, which are mostly active at ground level, roof rats do not necessarily need to perceive these carnivores as risks when they enter barns at ground level. Indeed, in our videos, the roof rats stayed on the beams or in the ceiling insulation, even when a cat was watching them from the top of a pig pen wall (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, there were no videos showing carnivores preying on roof rats. A previous study reporting that roof rats did not avoid cat and dog odors (Carthey and Banks \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) further supports this possibility. However, it is also possible that roof rats perceive a greater degree of risk from humans than brown rats do, although both roof rats and brown rats perceive a similar degree of threat from carnivores. This may explain why the roof rats in this study were more active in the presence of carnivores than in the presence of caretakers. Further research is needed to assess this hypothesis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn summary, we detected roof rats, cats, dogs and a Japanese weasel in the barns on the urban livestock farm. The roof rats showed different activity patterns between the barns. However, the activity patterns of both species showed a moderate to high degree of overlap with that of the carnivores. On the basis of these findings, we recommend that rodent control campaigns be implemented at night in barns where roof rats are present. However, even in enclosed barns, it should be assumed that small wildlife species will be present during the campaign, in addition to the housed livestock. Therefore, small wildlife species should be considered in addition to livestock when implementing rodent control campaigns. Further analysis of the ecology of rodents in livestock barns would contribute to the improvement of public health and animal health by effectively preventing food-borne zoonoses and disease infections in livestock.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers 20H03160 and 22K14979). We would like to thank Dr. Kuwahara and all the staff of the Animal Resource Science Center, The University of Tokyo for their kind support.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFunding: This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers 20H03160 and 22K14979).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompeting interests:\u0026nbsp;The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthor contributions: Ryoko Koizumi and Yasushi Kiyokawa conceived and designed the research.\u0026nbsp;Ryoko Koizumi,\u0026nbsp;Tsutomu Tanikawa,\u0026nbsp;Shigeki Hirata, and\u0026nbsp;Yasushi Kiyokawa\u0026nbsp;provided resources.\u0026nbsp;Ryoko Koizumi,\u0026nbsp;Tsutomu Tanikawa, and\u0026nbsp;Yasushi Kiyokawa\u0026nbsp;collected the data.\u0026nbsp;Ryoko Koizumi\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;Tomohiko Endo\u0026nbsp;analyzed the data.\u0026nbsp;Ryoko Koizumi\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;Yasushi Kiyokawa\u0026nbsp;wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData availability:\u0026nbsp;The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthics approval: This is an observational study. The Animal Care and Use Committee for National Agriculture and Food Research Organization has confirmed that no ethical approval is required.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsent to participate: Not applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsent to publish: Not applicable.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCalhoun JB (1962) The ecology and sociology of the Norway rat. Public Health Service Publication, Maryland, USA\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCarthey AJR, Banks PB (2018) Naive, bold, or just hungry? 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targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTanwar KS, Sadhu A, Jhala YV (2021) Camera trap placement for evaluating species richness, abundance, and activity Sci Rep 11:23050 doi:\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1038/s41598-021-02459-w\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1038/s41598-021-02459-w\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Black rat, predator-prey interaction, rodent management, ship rats.","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3877829/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3877829/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBrown rats (\u003cem\u003eRattus norvegicus\u003c/em\u003e), roof rats (\u003cem\u003eRattus rattus\u003c/em\u003e), and house mice (\u003cem\u003eMus musculus\u003c/em\u003e) are three of the most important rodent pest species in the world. Because these rodents infest livestock farms, rodent control on such farms is an important issue for the livestock industry. Although the diel activity patterns of rodents are key to their control, information on this aspect of their ecology is limited. Furthermore, the effect of carnivores on rodent activity patterns, as well as the carnivore species present, on urban livestock farms is unclear. Here, we set camera traps in an open-type cow barn and in an enclosed pig barn on the same urban livestock farm in Japan from August through October 2021. The only rodents observed in both barns were roof rats, and the carnivore species observed were dogs (\u003cem\u003eCanis familiaris\u003c/em\u003e), cats (\u003cem\u003eFelis catus\u003c/em\u003e), and Japanese weasels (\u003cem\u003eMustela itatsi\u003c/em\u003e). The relative abundance index of cats was similar between the barns, while dogs and Japanese weasels were observed only in the cow and pig barns, respectively. These results suggest that cats and Japanese weasels could easily enter the enclosed barn. We also found that roof rats showed different patterns of activity and behavior between the barns. However, because the pattern in both barns was nocturnal, the activity patterns of roof rats and carnivores showed a moderate to high degree of overlap. Therefore, roof rats did not appear to shift their activity patterns to avoid nocturnal carnivores. Taken together, the present study provides valuable information for rodent control in urban livestock farms.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Coexistence of roof rats and carnivores in barns on an urban livestock farm in Japan","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-01-24 05:47:40","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3877829/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"35eb21a5-1891-4af1-b9b7-471d01bb1e17","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 24th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-01-24T05:47:40+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-01-24 05:47:40","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3877829","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3877829","identity":"rs-3877829","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}