New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts
The home range of ship rats (Rattus rattus) in beech forest
in the Eglinton Valley, Fiordland, New Zealand: a pilot study
Moira Pryde
Peter Dilks
Southern Regional Science Centre
Department of Conservation
P.O. Box 13 049
Christchurch, New Zealand
Ian Fraser
Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria
(ARAZPA)
Private Bag 78 700
Grey Lynn
Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract Three male and two female ship rats (Rattus
rattus) were radio-tagged and tracked in beech (Nothofagus)
forest in the Eglinton Valley, Fiordland, New Zealand over two field
periods in 1996 and 2000. The home range of each animal was calculated
using the minimum convex polygon method. Ranges of three male rats were
7.5, 9.1, and 11.4 ha whereas those of the female rats were 0.89
and 0.27 ha. The home ranges recorded for male rats were
considerably larger than those reported from other studies in non-beech
forest. Ship rats are important predators of forest birds, and home
range information could be used to provide a guide for trap or bait
station spacing in beech forests. To carry out rat control in beech
forests effectively, further studies are needed to determine if the
results of this pilot study are typical, and if home ranges of ship
rats change with season, or at various stages of the beech mast cycle.
Keywords ship rat; Rattus rattus; radio
tracking; home range; trapping
Z04040; Received 1 December 2004; accepted 25 April 2005; Online
publication date 2 August 2005
New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 2005, Vol. 32: 139–142
0301–4223/05/3203–0139 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2005
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