Chemical characterization and response of house rats towards faecal odour of conspecifics

Abstract

Repeated use of rodenticides for rodent pest management leads to the development of bait shyness and resistance in rodents. Therefore, using pheromones for rodent management could be a significant step forward. The present study was conducted to determine the response of house rats towards odour of faecal extracts of conspecifics of different age groups and sexes. Rats of different maturity groups and sexes were exposed to 20% faecal extract of mature and immature male and female rats. Results indicated that faecal extract of estrous stage mature females has a significant attractant/repellent effect on mature rats of opposite/same sex, respectively. Gas chromatography-linked mass spectrometry of the faecal extract of estrous female rats identified 62 compounds, of which 16 were already reported in other animals as pheromonal compounds and might be used in communication by house rats. In the future, these identified compounds can be used in a fixed proportion after testing their efficacy to develop a stable lureto increase the trappability and acceptability of antifertility agents and rodenticide-based baits for the management of house rats.

Keywords:

• Pheromones
• Rattus rattus
• faeces
• communication
• rodents management

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Professor and Head, the Department of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, for providing the essential facilities for the experiment. The authors are also thankful to Ms. Sumedha Bhandari, Assistant Professor (English), PAU, Ludhiana for critically reviewing the manuscript for improvement of the English language

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi ICAR-36 (Part A) under the All India Network Project on Vertebrate Pest Management.